Notre Dame 79, DePaul 71 (OT): Jack Cooley recorded a season-high 26 points and Eric Atkins scored the first five of overtime as the visiting Fighting Irish survived against the struggling Blue Demons.

Cooley added 16 rebounds for Notre Dame (18-4, 6-3 Big East), which won for the fourth time in its last five games. Atkins, who set the tone in overtime with a 3-pointer and two free throws in the first two minutes, finished with 16 points.

Brandon Young led DePaul (10-11, 1-7) with 15 points. The Blue Demons suffered their second consecutive overtime loss as their losing streak grew to six games.

Cleveland Melvin scored on consecutive possessions to give DePaul a 70-68 lead with 1:24 left in regulation. Two Jerian Grant free throws 15 seconds later tied the score at 70, and Grant’s 3-pointer missed with five seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Notre Dame led by nine at halftime and held a 52-44 advantage on Cooley’s dunk with 12:01 left. DePaul scored 14 of the next 19 points, capped by Charles McKinney’s layup with 7:54 to go that put the Blue Demons ahead 58-57.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blue Demons started quickly, taking a 12-6 lead before the Irish outscored DePaul 19-4 to move ahead 25-16 with 7:13 remaining in the first half. … DePaul did not shoot its first free throw until 14:28 left in the second half. The Blue Demons finished 13-for-20 at the line. … DePaul missed all four of its field-goal attempts in overtime.