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  • DePaul Blue Demons Deal Xavier the Musketeers' First Big East Loss of the Season

DePaul Blue Demons Deal Xavier the Musketeers' First Big East Loss of the Season

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Basketball

The DePaul men's basketball team snapped an 11-game win streak by No. 8 Xavier in a thrilling 73-72 win inside Wintrust Arena Wednesday night.

Umoja Gibson willed the Blue Demons to victory with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting that included five three-pointers and five assists.
 
Javan Johnson and Da'Sean Nelson tallied double-digit scoring with 16 points by Johnson and 10 from Nelson. Eral Penn contributed nine points and ten rebounds, including two crucial ones down the stretch to clinch the victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Xavier jumped out to an 13-5 lead but DePaul surged back with seven-straight points pulling within one, 13-12. DePaul tied the game at 17 on a three-pointer by Gibson before taking their first lead on a fast break layup from Penn. The teams entered a back-and-forth battle before Javan Johnson ended the half on a three-pointer as DePaul went into the locker room with a halftime lead.
 
Both teams came out firing in the second half going 6-of-7 in the opening two minutes. The game was a battle as the teams remained even at 68 with less than two minutes to play. Xavier went up 70-68 before a three-point play by Penn put the Blue Demons back in front. After the Musketeers made a pair of free throws for a one-point lead, Nelson drove to the basket for what would be the game-winning basket.
 
OF NOTE

  • Caleb Murphy made his long-awaited DePaul debut with eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
  • 17 of Gibson's points came in the first half on 66.7 percent shooting.
  • DePaul's last top-ten win came three years ago to the day against #5 Butler on Jan. 18, 2020.
  • The win marked the first for the Blue Demons all-time against Xavier inside Wintrust Arena and first at home since 2015.
  • DePaul has won back-to-back games in the series against Xavier for the first time since 1973-74.
  • DePaul moves to 7-0 this season when leading at halftime.
  • DePaul led for nearly 30 minutes in the game as Xavier's largest lead was at 16:54 in the first half.
  • Nelson has scored in double-digits for five-consecutive games.

UP NEXT
DePaul faces its second-straight ranked opponent as they travel to #22 Providence Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. CT tip on FS1. The Blue Demons next home game is against #20 Marquette on Jan. 25.