DePaul Rallies Past No. 5 Kansas
12/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Box Score
Post Game Audio
ROSEMONT,
Mejia scored eight straight points in the final 3 minutes to spark a 14-0 run -- hitting the tying and go-ahead 3-pointers -- and DePaul rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to stun the fifth-ranked Jayhawks 64-57 Saturday.
DePaul was behind 53-45 with 4:39 left before Mejia brought the Blue Demons all the way back before a frenetic crowd of 16,922 at All-State Arena.
"It was an opportunity to prove yourself and that's what today's game was," Mejia said. "Even when we were down nine at the half, we were confident we would win the game no matter how much down."
His 3-pointer tied it at 53 with 3:02 left and after a missed free throw by Brandon Rush, he hit another 3 to give DePaul a 56-53 lead with 2:10 to go.
After a Jayhawks miss, the Blue Demons (3-4) ran the shot clock down and Mejia hit a jumper from the baseline with 1:18 left.
"I just decided to be more aggressive. I don't want to say I was laid back, but things were not going my way," said Mejia, who fought off leg cramps during the game. "I just stuck with it."
Russell Robinson of
Mejia finished with 23 points to lead DePaul. Mario Chalmers had 15 for
"We didn't play good defense without fouling," he said. "If we had taken advantage of our opportunities when had the ball early in the second half, we could have kept them at arm's length."
Cheered by a large and noisy contingent of fans that made the trip to the
Darrell Arthur, who earlier took a hard spill on his back after a scramble under the basket, grabbed an alley-oop pass for a dunk and hit a jumper from the baseline as the Jayhawks went up 23-17.
After Sasha Kaun grabbed an offensive rebound and fed it back out, Chalmers sank a 3-pointer with 35 seconds for the nine-point lead.
DePaul didn't score in the final 7:12 of the half.
Early in the second half, Chalmers made another 3-pointer after a basket by Wright and then Robinson drove for a hoop as the Jayhawks took a 33-21 lead.
Wright scored from inside to push the lead to 14 before DePaul ran off eight straight points as Wilson Chandler and Draelon Burns made 3-pointers.
After
Wright sailed through the lane for a dunk and then Arthur grabbed a missed shot and slammed it in, restoring
"It hurts, we know we have to get better," Wright said. "We had the lead and were in control of the game. ... They were able to make some good plays and some hustle plays and get the win."
DePaul saluted legendary coach Ray Meyer, who died at age 92 in March, with halftime and pregame ceremonies involving his family and former players. Meyer coached 42 years at DePaul and had 724 victories with the Blue Demons.
Current DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright called Meyer "the real coach at DePaul, the only coach at DePaul. Anybody who followed coach Meyer is a caretaker of the program. What coach Meyer did was make these kind of games possible."
Game Notes
DePaul (3-4)
- First win over a top-five team since February 6, 1999, a 61-60 overtime win over third-ranked
- First win over
- Held Kansas to a season-low 57 points. Previous low for
- First win of the season after trailing at halftime. Now 1-3 this season when trailing at halftime.
- DePaul is now 2-0 this season when telecast on ESPNU.
- Sammy Mejia scored a season-high 23 points. His previous season-high was 19 vs. Chaminade on November 21. He also tied a season-high eight rebounds, matching his November 17 effort vs.
- DePaul is now 2-3 this season when shooting less than 50%.
- First win of the season when trailing at halftime.
- DePaul trailed 45-51 with 5:00 remaining. First win of the season when trailing with 5:00 remaining.
- Nine-point halftime deficit was the largest overcome this season, surpassing five-point halftime deficit overcome against
- Jerry Wainwright coaching record improves to 201-130 and is 2-0 against the Jayhawks.
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- Mario Chalmers tied a season-high 15 points, matching his effort on November 19 vs.
* Sherron Collins grabbed a season-high five rebounds, eclipsing his four-rebound performance vs.
* Broke a five-game winning streak that began November 19 with an 87-61 win over
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* First game of the season being outrebounded by opponent. Had 30 rebounds to DePaul's 35.
* First loss of the season after leading at halftime.
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* First Saturday loss of the season.
* First loss of the season when opponent commits more turnovers.