Junior guard Max Strus scored 20 points and had four steals to help DePaul cruise to an 89-73 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday in nonconference action in Chicago.

Senior forward Tre'Darius McCallum and senior center Marin Maric added 17 points apiece for the Blue Demons (3-4). Junior guard Eli Cain contributed 15 points and seven rebounds for DePaul.

Sophomore guard Braun Hartfield scored 23 points and was 5 of 5 from 3-point range for the Penguins, who lost their fifth consecutive game. Senior guard Cameron Morse tallied 11 points for Youngstown State (2-7), which committed 20 turnovers in the opener of a six-game road trip.

DePaul opened the second half with an 8-2 burst, capped by a 3-pointer by Cain to give the Blue Demons a 55-34 edge.

Youngstown State moved within 14 on Hartfield's 3-pointer with 15:14 left. But DePaul answered with a 16-7 run to move ahead 71-48 on McCallum's jumper with 9:32 left.

The lead topped out at 24 points on a jumper by Strus with 5:24 left.

The Blue Demons shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 15-point lead at the break.

DePaul first led by double digits on a 3-pointer by Strus to make it 28-18 with 9:19 left in the first half. Strus knocked down another 3 to push the advantage to 35-21 with 6:35 to go.

Cain's layup made it a 17-point margin with 1:52 remaining before the Blue Demons settled for a 47-32 halftime lead.