DePaul 78, Houston Baptist 58: Cleveland Melvin scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Blue Demons cruised past the visiting Huskies.

Tommy Hamilton IV added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for DePaul (7-4), which improved to 8-0 all-time against current members of the Southland Conference. Brandon Young chipped in with 11 points for the Blue Demons, who finished 21-of-28 from the free thrown line.

Cody Joyce led the way with 14 points for Houston Baptist (3-8), which shot just 37.7 percent from the field. Rob Lewis recorded 11 points and seven rebounds while Marcel Smith dished out five assists for the Huskies.

Joyce hit his first three shots as Houston Baptist stayed close at 12-12 before Melvin keyed a 16-6 run that put DePaul on top by 10 with 4:54 left in the first half. Melvin led all scorers with 15 points in the opening period as the Blue Demons took a 33-27 edge into the break.

Melvin continued to have the hot hand as his jumper gave DePaul an 11-point advantage with 11:20 remaining. Melvin sank a free throw to give the Blue Demons a 65-45 lead and they never looked back en route to their third consecutive victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: DePaul has hit a 3-pointer in 622 consecutive games. … Houston Baptist is 1-8 when shooting less that 45 percent from the floor. … The Blue Demons committed nine turnovers while forcing 18 giveaways.