Tony Freeland had a career night to help DePaul hold off Northern Illinois, 86-84, Thursday in Rosemont, Illinois.

Freeland exploded for a career-high 25 points, as the Blue Demons snapped a four-game losing streak. The sophomore forward entered the game averaging just over nine points per game, but hit 6-of-10 field goals and made a living at the foul line, connecting on 13-of-16 free-throw attempts.

DePaul (2-4) would need every one his Freeland's points to survive a 34-point barrage from Northern Illinois star Xavier Silas.

The Blue Demons built a 10-point halftime lead, but failed to pull away from the Huskies in the second half. Tony Nixon's 3-pointer with 1:41 cut the DePaul lead to 79-76. Silas had a look at a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left that would have cut the deficit to one, but it was off, and DePaul survived.

Brandon Young added 17, and Mike Stovall finished with 16 for DePaul.

Jermey Landers and Nate Rucker joined Silas in double-figures with 14 and 13 points respectively.

The Blue Demons have dates with six straight mid-major opponents, before opening Big East play at Cincinnati on Dec. 28. DePaul would like to improve its rebounding during the upcoming stretch of winnable games. In their first season under coach Oliver Purnell, the Blue Demons have been outrebounded by 12 per game. They did grab three more rebounds than the Huskies in Thursday's win.

Things don't get any easier for the Huskies (2-4), who are in the middle of a difficult stretch of games that includes matchups against No. 8 Missouri, Temple and Iowa State.