ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Xavier had no reason to panic even as it trailed by nine points early in Saturday's Big East game with DePaul.

Despite a cold start, the No. 7 Musketeers (19-2, 7-2 Big East) also set the stage for a successful comeback en route to an 86-65 Big East victory.

"Offensively I thought (the deficit) was a little misleading," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "Even though we didn't have a bucket for the first three or four minutes, we did have five team fouls on DePaul and that can change the course of a game when you get to the bonus as quickly as we ended up getting."

Xavier hit 13 of 14 free throws in the opening half while reversing fortunes following an early 9-0 deficit. The Musketeers opened an eight point led by intermission and pulled away in the second half.

Five players scored in double figures -- including a team-high 15 from forward Trevon Bluiett -- as the Musketeers won their seventh in eight games and claimed sole possession of second in the Big East behind Villanova.

Reserves Larry Austin and J.P. Macura each had 12 points, while forward Jalen Reynolds and guard Myles Davis had 10 apiece.

DePaul guard Billy Garrett Jr. scored a game-high 18 points, center Tommy Hamilton IV had 15, while forward Myke Henry and guard Eli Cain added 10 points each as the Blue Demons (7-14, 1-8) dropped their eighth in nine games.

Xavier missed nine shots and committed a turnover before forward James Farr broke the shutout following a Musketeer rebound at the 15:37 mark.

Xavier quickly closed the gap and trailed 24-21 following Farr's jam. Hamilton hit two 3-pointers over a 31-second span as DePaul pushed the first half lead back to 30-23.

The Musketeers replied with a 19-3 run through the balance of the half -- including 15 unanswered points over a 3:03 span -- for a 42-33 halftime lead.

They also switched to a 1-3-1 zone late in the half that left the Blue Demons struggling to answer.

"I thought it impacted the run greatly," Mack said. "They went on a scoreless streak for a little while. ... (although) I didn't think our defense needed to be changed."

For DePaul coach Dave Leitao, his team's early fouls and Xavier's depth came back to hurt.

"Today it was fouls that got us in trouble, we got good players sitting beside me and then it was free throws that (the Musketeers) got out of it," Leitao said.

Xavier took advantage of 26 DePaul fouls, hitting 25 of 31 for the game.

"They can (also) go nine deep, 10 deep and all make positive contributions and not just in the scoring column but in different ways that positively affect the game," Leitao said.

Xavier quickly extended the lead to 17 points early in the second half when Bluiett's jumper with 16:41 left made it 52-35. He added a baseline jumper at 15:07 that pushed the lead to 59-39.

"Our energy level to start the (second) half I think really put DePaul on their heels," Mack said. "Truthfully it wasn't much of a game after that."

The Blue Demons got no closer than 11 points in the second half while the Musketeers opened leads of as many as 26.

Farr, who scored seven points, left late in the game with a left leg injury.

"He didn't know exactly what happened but sort of tweaked the back of his leg," Mack said.

The win was Xavier's second straight over DePaul this season, including an 84-64 victory on Jan. 12 at the Cintas Center. The Musketeers have beaten the Blue Demons in five of the last six meetings.

NOTES: Xavier F James Farr earned Big East weekly honors after collecting 23 points and 15 rebounds in an 84-76 win over Seton Hall. ... Musketeers sophomore G Trevon Bluiett averaged 21.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in three previous games against DePaul. ... Xavier returns to the Cintas Center next Wednesday against St. John's and hosts Marquette next Saturday. ... DePaul continues a home run against ranked teams next Tuesday by facing No. 10 Providence, and then plays No. 6 Villanova on Feb. 9. ... F Myke Henry earned Big East weekly recognition after scoring a team-high 17 points in a 57-56 victory at Marquette. ... The Blue Demons' last victory over a Top 10 team came on Dec. 2, 2006, a 64-57 triumph over No. 5 Kansas at Allstate Arena. ... Blue Demons associate head coach Rick Carter spent the last two years on Musketeers coach Chris Mack's staff.