DePaul University
Loyola-Chicago
Team DePaul Too Much for Loyola-Chicago
12/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 18, 2010
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ROSEMONT, Ill. - What mattered foremost to DePaul coach Oliver Purnell on Saturday was the tempo of the game.
By speeding everything up with their trademark pressure defense, the Blue Demons earned North Side bragging rights with an 81-74 victory over Loyola-Chicago at Allstate Arena.
"Tempo was more important than even taking care of the ball," Purnell said. "I thought the tempo of the game all the way through was in our favor.
"Late in the game, they were missing jump shots they normally make. Our pressure really wore them down."
After Loyola (8-4) had pulled within 43-42 with 13 minutes, 44 seconds left in the second half, DePaul went on a game-defining 25-12 surge.
Tony Freeland had 10 points, Krys Faber six and Jimmy Drew five during a run that was highlighted by the 6-foot, 10-inch Faber's first three-pointer of the season.
"The ball was in my hands, they yelled `shoot,' and I sent it up," Faber said about barely beating the shot clock.
After Freeland's dunk on a nice feed from Mike Stovall gave the Blue Demons a 68-54 lead with 4:52 left, Loyola couldn't come any closer than six the rest of the way.
On a day when former Conant star Geoff McCammon scored a career-high 31 points, DePaul (5-6) fell just three points shy of finishing with a rare seven players in double figures.
Jimmy Drew (nine points, four assists) and Brandon Young (eight points, season-high nine assists, three steals) came so close to joining Freeland (16 points), Stovall (13 points), Cleveland Melvin (13 points), Jeremiah Kelly (12 points, five assists) and Faber (10 points, eight rebounds, career-high four steals) in double digits.
"When we get six, seven, eight guys playing well offensively, we can play with anyone," Purnell said about a collaborative effort that saw his team dish out 24 assists on 30 baskets. "We don't have a guy who can go out and get 20 points a night."
What Purnell does have is a gradually developing, defense-first, spread-the-wealth ballclub that is becoming a little more adept each game with his in-your-face style of pressure.
"It's their trademark, and their press certainly did bother us," said Loyola coach Jim Whitesell, who watched his Ramblers commit 20 turnovers. "We were not able to run some of the things we wanted to run.
"I think that type of press is going to surprise a lot of people in the BIG EAST. When you have games (so close together), it's tough to prepare for it."
Kelly's three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Blue Demons a 32-30 lead. Kelly had nine points in one of his best first-half performances of the season.
DePaul struck the first blow in the renewal of this rivalry that began in 1922. The Blue Demons were also victorious in the last meeting of these Catholic universities by a score of 73-61 in 2003.
"Anytime you play a rivalry game, you want those bragging rights," said Purnell, who needs one more win to reach 400 in his career.
"When you go to work or to the water cooler whether it's Downtown, South Side, North Side or wherever, we can say we got them."
DePaul gets Florida Atlantic next in a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday that wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule.
