CJ Gunn helps DePaul dispatch Xavier
CJ Gunn scored 22 points and Layden Blocker added 18 to lift DePaul to an 86-77 victory against Xavier on Saturday in Chicago.
DePaul (9-6, 1-3 Big East) picked up its first conference win of the season despite being outscored in the paint and committing more turnovers than the Musketeers (9-6, 1-3).
Xavier led for just 2:06, and not after 18:27 left in the second half. A Tre Carroll jumper drew the Musketeers to within one point with 5:08 to go before the Blue Demons pulled away.
An RJ Smith 3-pointer with 1:41 left stretched the DePaul advantage to seven points.
Carroll paced the Musketeers with 17 points while Roddie Anderson III chipped in 15. Malik Messina-Moore scored 14 points and Filip Borovicanin had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Blue Demons led by as many as 11 points in the final minute while the Musketeers' largest advantage was three. While DePaul went without a field goal over a stretch of 3:38 midway through the second half, the hosts remained effective at getting to the free-throw line, where they shot 25-for-31 compared to 10-for-14 for Xavier.
Fouled by Walker on a 3-point attempt with the shot clock close to expiring, Blocker swished all three free throws as part of a 7-0 run that pushed the lead to 57-49 with 10 minutes left.
Borovicanin answered with a trey on the ensuing possession, ending a Xavier scoring drought of 3:22.
Brandon Maclin (13 points), Kaleb Banks (11), N.J. Benson (10), and Smith (10) also scored in double figures for DePaul. Banks and Benson grabbed seven boards apiece as the Blue Demons outrebounded the Musketeers 35-34. Xavier had a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass.
DePaul led 40-37 at halftime. Gunn had 12 points to lead all scorers at the break and was involved in a skirmish with Anderson after the buzzer sounded. Officials issued double technical fouls on the play.
The Blue Demons capitalized on Jovan Milicevic's foul trouble. The Musketeers forward played just six first-half minutes with three fouls and 10 total minutes before fouling out. He had five points.
Messina-Moore paced Xavier with seven points at the break.
The Blue Demons stopped a six-game losing streak in the series.