DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Western Carolina
DePaul Comeback Effort Falls Short
11/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Nov. 16, 2010
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ROSEMONT, Ill. - Following up an eye-opening performance is never easy.
After a rousing season-opening triumph over Chicago State on Sunday, DePaul came up short in a 69-64 loss to Western Carolina Tuesday night in its season debut at the Allstate Arena.
The Blue Demons fell behind by 21 points early in the second half, but battled back to come within 60-55 on Brandon Young's pair of free throws with three minutes to go.
"I was trying to force some things in the first half," said Young, who led DePaul with 16 points, five assists and three steals. "In the second half, I settled myself down, made the right plays and did not go for the home run every time."
Western Carolina (1-1) made six-of-eight free throws in the final 45 seconds to hold off DePaul (1-1). Jimmy Drew's three-pointer with :19 left brought the Blue Demons within 67-62.
"Obviously, we're disappointed in our first loss of the season," said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. "An area that has plagued us is defensive rebounding. We gave them too many second opportunities and struggled early from the free-throw line.
"That gave them their working margin."
Western Carolina outrebounded DePaul 48-34 and had 17 offensive rebounds. The Blue Demons made just six of 15 from the foul line in the first half, but hit 14-of-17 during their second-half comeback.
"We are out of focus when we're blocking out," Purnell said. "Five guys have to rebound every time. There were one or two guys drifting a little down the floor."
The Catamounts opened the second half with an 11-2 run in building a 46-25 lead behind Harouna Mutombo (17 points), the nephew of former finger-waving, NBA shot-blocker Dikembe Mutombo.
DePaul responded with its first extended run of the night. A 13-2 outburst led by Young and Jeremiah Kelly cut the deficit to 48-38.
"We weren't running our offense right in the first half," Kelly said. "We'd make one pass and shoot. In the second half, we made them play more defense and started making our free throws."
After opening the game with an 11-2 run, Western Carolina never trailed and went into its halftime locker room with a 35-23 lead.
The Catamounts controlled the tempo early, making enough shots to forestall the Blue Demon fast break.
Conversely, the home team missed five of its first seven shots, not allowing DePaul to set up the full-court press that had forced 30 turnovers in last Sunday's 114-81 victory over Chicago State.
Purnell said the 17 turnovers his team forced on Tuesday were enough to jump-start the Blue Demon transition game.
"We didn't take advantage of those and convert at the other end," Purnell said.
The Blue Demon coach was pleased with Young's aggressive moves to the basket and his clutch free-throw shooting as the freshman point guard scored 10 points in a five-minute stretch near the end of the game.
"He really relaxed in the second half," Purnell said. "He was going to the basket, scoring and also getting points on free throws with the clock stopped. He was in an attacking mode, but relaxed and poised when he went to the line.
"The lesson to be learned tonight is that a 20-point deficit is not insurmountable in our style of play. Keep playing, stick to the game plan and go at them hard."
This was the opening of DePaul's 31st season in Rosemont, dating back to Dec. 1, 1980 when the Blue Demons defeated Gonzaga and point guard John Stockton 74-56.
The Blue Demons will be off until Nov. 25 when they face Oklahoma State in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif. That game will be televised on ESPN2.
