Max Strus, DePaul

CHICAGO - For two teams that first played one another in 1941, it was “save the best for last” for DePaul on Wednesday night. And as team efforts go, this one was first class.

Max Strus continued his hot shooting, DePaul placed four players in double-figure scoring, and the Blue Demons beat Georgetown 101-69 at Wintrust Arena in their last home game of this season.

DePaul’s (15-13, 7-10 Big East) win gave it 12 home victories, the most since the 2006 team went 14-2 at home and the most in the Big East since the 2006 team went 9-7.

Games are split in half, but this one seemed like, for DePaul, a continuation of their 92-83 win against St. John’s on Sunday’s Senior Day.

Strus, who scored 43 points against St. John’s, did not take his first shot attempt tonight until 16:30, but what that attempt was, and how it ended, portended what DePaul would do the rest of the game. His 3-pointer made it 12-5 DePaul, and another Strus 3-pointer was followed by three free throws by Paul Reed to cap an 11-0 DePaul run and a 36-15 lead at 7:45. The Blue Demons never trailed in the game.

“They hit us on the chin, and we staggered and never came back,” Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing said.

And that hit on the chin was sparked in large part by DePaul’s defense as the Blue Demons held Jessie Govan, a unanimous Preseason All-Big East First Team selection to six points on 1-6 shooting from the field.

“Govan really hurt us in the first game,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. “We pressed him a little more so he did not get open looks. We decided to go after him with a little bit more energy with a second defender when he got the ball in the post.”

DePaul had 24 assists on 32 baskets, led by a career-high 10 assists and just one turnover from point guard Devin Gage.

“Devin Gage was fantastic tonight,” Leitao said. “He managed the game as well as he has all season.”

DePaul’s Eli Cain struggled on Senior Day due to foul trouble, but he was senior in a lot of ways tonight, scoring 24 points and adding five assists and three steals. His numbers tonight move him farther up the DePaul record books: No. 3 in three-pointers, No. 17 in field goals, and No. 9 in assists.

Cain’s 3-pointer followed Strus’s 3-pointer to cap a 17-0 DePaul run in the first half, propelling DePaul to a 42-15 lead.

Georgetown (18-12, 8-9) leads the Big East in scoring offense at 79.6 ppg and in 3-point field goal defense at 33.4 percent. DePaul’s 100 points is the most given up by the Hoyas this season.

The Hoyas hold a 31-20 advantage in the series, with three of the past five games decided by three points or less. Tonight’s winning margin was the largest by either team in the last five meetings.

DePaul’s Paul Reed, who in the St. John’s game surpassed 400 points and 300 boards in his career, added 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Hoyas came into this game No. 17 in the nation in rebounds per game with 39.9, and they secured 38, but were still out-rebounded by one board.

DePaul’s largest halftime deficit of the season is 15 points, versus Georgetown on February 27th. The Blue Demons’ 23-point advantage at halftime tonight is the Hoyas largest halftime deficit this season, and DePaul’s 54 first-half points are the most given up by Georgetown this season.

Strus ended with 30 points on 9-20 shooting, including 8-15 from behind the arc. Back to back 3-pointers by Strus and Cain stretched the lead to 64-41 at 14:31, but the Hoyas responded with a 3-pointer by Jahvon Blair to cut it to 69-55 two minutes later.

But DePaul then showed its multifaceted game, with Jaylen Butz tip-toeing to save a ball in the defensive corner and passing to Cain for a 3-pointer. Butz then slammed home a feed from Strus before Strus’s 3-pointer from the right wing was part of a 22-0 run, and DePaul led 95-57 DePaul with 5:30 to play. Strus moved into 48th place in scoring all-time at DePaul.

The Blue Demons forced 15 turnovers, a key to what happened on the other end and assisted with their 24 assists.

“Our ball movement started on the defensive end,” Cain said. “We are a special team in transition, and [Coach Leitao] kind of harped on that. We knew we had an advantage with [Paul Reed] running down the wings. [Devin Gage] was the head of our horse tonight and we just followed his lead.”

The Big East is the only conference in the nation where every team has a winning record, and DePaul got what it needed tonight when it needed it.

“I think start to finish we played our most complete game of the season on both ends of the floor,” Leitao said.

DePaul finishes the regular season at Creighton this Saturday. And the goals between now and then?

“Keep going,” Strus said. “Stay undefeated in March and keep doing what we’re doing. This is the perfect time to get hot and we just want to keep on going.”

But even after that game and the Big East tournament, the road for DePaul will go on. And from Strus’s viewpoint, that includes looking only forward.





“We are trying to leave our legacy in building the DePaul program and I think we are headed in the right direction.”



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