DePaul University Athletics
Men's Basketball Falls In BIG EAST Debut
1/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Box Score
Jerry Wainwright Post Game Audio
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Cincinnati had four players in double figures, two of whom had double-doubles, as the Bearcats beat DePaul 82-60 in the BIG EAST Conference debut for both teams on Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena.
DePaul falls to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play while Cincinnati, which has won nine straight, improved to 12-2 and 1-0.
The Bearcats out-rebounded DePaul 53-35 and Cincinnati’s Cedric McGowan (20 rebounds) and Eric Hicks (15) equaled DePaul’s entire rebounding total. Hicks and Jihad Mohammed led the winners with 20 points each while James White added 17 and McGowan 13.
DePaul was led by Sammy Mejia’s 20 points while Wilson Chandler equaled his career-high with 17. Draelon Burns recorded the first double-double of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Blue Demons got off to a good start in this one, building a five-point lead at 12-7 with nearly seven minutes gone and were leading 14-9 with 12:02 to play in the first half before the Bearcats went on a 13-3 run over the next six-plus minutes to take a 22-17 lead.
After a jumper by Burns cut the gap to three at 24-21 with 4:59 to play, Cincinnati responded by outscoring DePaul 9-2 for the rest of the half to take a 35-23 advantage into the break.
The second half was all Cincinnati as the Bearcats came roaring out of the intermission and grew the lead to 51-28 with nearly five minutes gone. DePaul was able to get as close as 13 points on two occasions but the Bearcats were just too much and extended the lead to 25 before closing out the 82-60 victory.
DePaul is back in action again on Saturday when Notre Dame comes to the Allstate Arena for the Blue Demons’ BIG EAST home opener and their second home game in a month. The 1 p.m. contest will be televised by ESPN+ (WCIU Ch. 26 in Chicago) and broadcast on WSCR (670 AM) in the Windy City.
