DePaul 80, Milwaukee 71
MILWAUKEE -- Guards Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young combined for 39 points as DePaul beat Milwaukee 80-71 Tuesday night in a non-conference game at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
Melvin hit four 3-pointers to finish with 20 points. He also pulled down nine rebounds. Young scored 19 to go along with six rebounds and seven assists for the Blue Demons (3-1), who also got 10 points from forward Jamee Crockett.
Coming into the game shooting 48 percent from the field this season, DePaul stayed hot, going 30-for-61 from the field and making nine of 18 3-pointers.
The Blue Demons were especially lethal in the second half, hitting their first six shots and shooting at a 60.7 percent clip, turning a tie game into a 14-point lead with 7:26 left.
Milwaukee responded with a 12-4 run that cut the lead to six with 3:15 to play, but the Blue Demons held on for their second consecutive victory.
Forward Matt Tiby led the Panthers with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while forward Kyle Kelm had 16 off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting.
Forward Austin Arians had 10 and forward J.J. Panoske finished with nine for the Panthers (4-2).
Milwaukee's four-game winning streak ended, but the Panthers stayed close with a strong showing from behind the arc in the first half. The score was 32-32 at halftime.
The Blue Demons made their first six shots of the second half and extended the lead to seven on Melvin's dunk off a Young pass with 10:40 remaining. Milwaukee couldn't keep up and fell behind by as many as 12 in the second half before an 8-2 run gave Milwaukee some late life.
The Panthers cut the lead to eight when Kelm converted a pair of free throws with 5:02 left. Kelm found guard Malcolm Moore for an easy lauyup on Milwaukee's next possession to make it a 65-59 contest with 4:24 left. After both sides missed 3-pointers on their next possessions, a short jumper by guard Billy Garrett put the Blue Demons back ahead by eight.
Milwaukee would get no closer than six the rest of the way.
NOTES: Five Panthers entered the game with double-digit scoring averages. ... DePaul has won 12 of the 13 meetings between the two teams, including an 84-50 victory last season. ... Milwaukee was playing its first game at the U.S. Cellular Arena after playing the 2012-13 season off-campus. ... DePaul is averaging 81.25 points in its first four games of the season. ... The Panthers' four-game winning streak was their longest since the 2011-12 season, which included a 87-76 victory at DePaul.
