Femi Olujobi and Max Strus scored 22 points apiece and Paul Reed added 21 to spark a balanced attack and lead visiting DePaul past Seton Hall 97-93 on Saturday night.
Reed grabbed 14 rebounds and Olujubi snagged 10 to finish with double-doubles for DePaul (11-6 overall, 3-3 Big East). Eli Cain chipped in 13 points as the Blue Demons won for the third time in their past four games.
Myles Powell hit a 3 as time expired, but it wasn't enough for Seton Hall (12-7, 3-4) in a back-and-forth contest. Seton Hall has now lost three in a row and four of its past five.
Quincy McKnight paced the Pirates with 25 points, while Powell (24), Myles Cale (19) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (12) followed. Seton Hall shot 54.2 percent compared to 52.5 percent for DePaul.
The teams exchanged big shots for much of the second half, but neither could earn significant separation for much of that stretch. A McKnight jumper gave Seton Hall a 67-66 lead with 8:56 remaining before DePaul answered with a 7-0 run over the next 1:28.
The Pirates responded to that spurt moments later, however, when Powell converted a four-point play.
A deep 3 from DePaul's Lyrik Shreiner, his first trey of the season, gave the Blue Demons an 81-74 lead with 5:26 to go. DePaul led by eight with 3:33 to go, but a 5-0 Pirates run, punctuated by a Mamukelashvili trey, brought Seton Hall to within 87-84 with 2:28 to go.
Seton Hall took a 49-48 lead into the break, as the Mamukelashvili swished a 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining in the first half. Seton Hall went 6-for-11 from long range in the first 20 minutes, including a 4-for-5 effort from Cale, who had 16 points at the half.
While the Pirates shot 56.7 percent in the first half, the Blue Demons remained close behind, thanks to 92.9 percent free throw shooting and a 21-11 edge on the glass. Seton Hall led by as many as seven points in the first 20 minutes, while DePaul's biggest advantage was six points.
DePaul edged Seton Hall 75-74 in the teams' first meeting this season, on Jan. 6 in Chicago.
--Field Level Media
DePaul | Seton Hall | |
Femi Olujobi 22 | Scoring | Quincy McKnight 25 |
Eli Cain 3 | Assists | Quincy McKnight 9 |
Paul Reed 14 | Rebounds | Sandro Mamukelashvili 10 |
Femi Olujobi 10 | Free Throws Made | Myles Powell 6 |
Max Strus 3 | Steals | Myles Powell 3 |
Paul Reed 3 | Blocks | Sandro Mamukelashvili 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
DePaul | 97 | 52.5 | 6-11 | 29-32 | 14 | 38 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
Seton Hall | 93 | 54.2 | 13-24 | 16-24 | 17 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 11 |