National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
DePaul 80, Auburn 76
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, November 30, 2012
Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
Officials: # Roger Ayers, # Ed Corbett, # Joe Lindsay
Attendance: 5827

DePaul 80, Auburn 76:
Cleveland Melvin scored 21 points and had a big steal in the closing moments to help the visiting Blue Demons secure a win over the Tigers in the SEC/Big East Challenge.

Melvin, who also had 10 rebounds, intercepted a pass at the top of the key with less than 20 seconds left and DePaul (4-3) leading 78-76. He was fouled going the other way and buried both free throws to seal it.

Brandon Young added 19 points and Worrel Clahar 11 off the bench for the Blue Demons. Frankie Sullivan had a career-high 28 for the Tigers (2-5), who also got 17 points and 13 rebounds from Rob Chubb.

Behind 20 points from Sullivan, Auburn built a 46-42 lead going into halftime but DePaul had a 16-6 run to begin the second half. Noel Johnson hit two straight 3-pointers to pull the Tigers into a 72-72 tie with 3:32 remaining, but Melvin made a free throw and Clahar hit a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game with 2:18 left.

Chubb and Sullivan had layups to bring Auburn within 78-76, but Chubb's weak pass on a critical possession seconds later was stolen by Melvin at midcourt.

GAME NOTEBOOK: DePaul snapped an eight-game losing streak against SEC opponents. ... Auburn is 0-4 in the SEC-Big East Challenge. ... The Blue Demons were just 19-for-34 (55.9 percent) from the line.
Top Game Performances
 
DePaul   Auburn
Cleveland Melvin 21 Scoring Frankie Sullivan 28
Brandon Young 5 Assists Frankie Sullivan 5
Cleveland Melvin 10 Rebounds Rob Chubb 13
Cleveland Melvin 9 Free Throws Made Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 7
Charles McKinney 3 Steals Allen Payne 4
Donnavan Kirk 1 Blocks Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
DePaul 80 48.1 9-17 19-34 18 30 4 10 13
Auburn 76 43.8 6-16 14-21 15 35 4 8 14