Elijah Fisher had 16 points and seven rebounds and K.T. Raimey added a career-high 15 points to lift host DePaul to a 70-58 win against Chicago State on Saturday in Chicago.
DePaul scored the first 11 points of the second half to take control. The surge went a long way toward helping the Blue Demons (3-9) snap a two-game skid and bookend a season-high four-game homestand with victories.
Jeremiah Oden had five points during the run, while Da’Sean Nelson chipped in four. The Cougars’ Brent Davis broke up the surge with a layup at the 15:47 mark following a string of seven successive Chicago State misses from the field.
Wesley Cardet (18 points), Davis (15) and Jahsean Corbett (11) scored in double figures for the Cougars. Chicago State (7-12) stayed afloat until the final minutes despite shooting 34.4 percent compared with 56.5 percent for DePaul.
Nelson and Chico Carter Jr. both scored 11 points for the Blue Demons, with Nelson matching Corbett and Fisher with a game-best seven boards.
After A.J. Neal cut the DePaul lead to 58-51 with 5:47 left, Oden connected on a 3 on the ensuing possession to stretch the Blue Demons’ advantage back to double digits.
The Blue Demons led by as many as 14 points.
DePaul appeared on the verge of distancing itself from Chicago State down the stretch of the first half, taking a 30-23 lead with 1:21 to go before intermission.
That’s when the Cougars, who cooled considerably after a 5-for-6 start from the floor, found their touch again.
After enduring a field-goal drought of 3:14, Chicago State rallied. Davis scored five points in the final 12 seconds of the half, including a long, buzzer-beating trey.
Chicago State trailed just 32-30 at the break despite shooting 36.4 percent — and 1-for-9 from long range.
Davis led all scorers with 12 points in the first half. Raimey paced the Blue Demons with 11.
DePaul improved to 17-0 against Chicago State all-time.
–Field Level Media