DePaul 72, UIC 71: Tommy Hamilton IV scored 19 points and Billy Garrett Jr. added 12 – including the game-winning 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds remaining - as the host Blue Demons survived a furious second-half rally to hold off the Flames.

Myke Henry and Forrest Robinson each contributed 11 points as DePaul (1-0) survived despite blowing a 21-point first half lead. The Blue Demons also shot 6-of-27 beyond the arc and hit only 11-of-23 free throws.

Marc Brown finished with 19 points for UIC (0-1), which coming off a 6-25 season – the program’s worst in 33 years as a Division I institution. Jake Wiegand and Paris Burns tallied 15 apiece for the Flames, who shot 24-of-29 from the foul line.

After UIC pulled within 11-10 on a layup by Wiegand less than six minutes into the contest, DePaul scored 12 of the next 13 points as the Flames went over five minutes without a field goal until Burns ended the drought. Robinson drilled two 3-pointers near the end of a 17-6 surge that pushed the lead to 40-19 with less than five minutes to go before intermission.

UIC used the entire second half to set the stage for an exciting finish, twice trimming its 16-point halftime deficit to two before pulling even at 69 on a jumper from Tai Odiase with 1:12 left and taking its first lead on another jumper by Markese McGuire on the next possession. Garrett's 3-pointer followed a timeout and put DePaul back in front, while D’Juan Miller’s long-range shot as time expired came up short.

GAME NOTEBOOK: DePaul has won seven of the previous eight meetings. … The Blue Demons extended their streak of hitting at least one 3-pointer to 645 games. … DePaul had won each of their four previous season openers under coach Oliver Purnell by an average of 30.5 points.