DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Georgetown
Cain's Bucket Lifts Blue Demons Over Hoyas
1/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Eli Cain's baseline jumper on DePaul's final possession lifted the Blue Demons to a thrilling 74-73 win at Georgetown on Wednesday night. Cain finished the evening with a season-high 27 points while Max Strus scored 19 and Paul Reed added 11 with nine rebounds.
The game opened even before the Blue Demons put together a 15-2 run to take a 35-23 lead with four minutes left in the first half. Reed provided a spark off the bench with eight first-half points. Georgetown (13-7, 3-6 BIG EAST) trimmed the lead to just four at halftime with the Blue Demons holding a 37-33 lead at intermission.
DePaul (9-11, 2-6 BIG EAST) opened the second half by outscoring Georgetown, 15-7, to take a 52-40 lead less than five minutes into the action. The advantage extended to 14 before the Hoyas hit three straight three-pointers forcing a Blue Demon time out with just over 12 minutes left and the score at 56-51.
Georgetown continued its run behind Marcus Derrickson. After going without a field goal for the first 26-plus minutes, he scored 11 points during the Georgetown run and gave the Hoyas their first advantage of the second half on a three-pointer with just under 11 minutes on the clock. Derrickson finished the game with 23 points to lead the Hoyas.
The final 10 minutes saw six lead changes and the score tied three times with neither team leading by more than two points.
With the score tied at 70-70, Tre'Darius McCallum tipped in a missed three-point attempt by Strus to give the Blue Demons a two-point lead with 1:12 left in the game. On Georgetown's next possession, Derrickson made his fourth three of the game to give the Hoyas a one-point advantage before Cain's heroics on DePaul's final possession.
Following Cain's bucket with eight seconds left, Jagan Moseley's attempt missed and Marin Maric grabbed the final rebound of the game to secure the win for DePaul.
Cain added three rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal to his game-high 27 points while Strus grabbed four boards with four assists to go along with his 19 points. Reed continued his recent sold play with career highs of 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Up next for the Blue Demons is a Sunday afternoon game against Seton Hall. The Blue Demons and Pirates are scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at Wintrust Arena on CBS Sports Network and 670 The Score.
Postgame Notes
- DePaul has won back-to-back games at Georgetown... a year ago, Billy Garrett Jr. made two free throws in the final seconds for a two-point victory... prior to the last two wins in Washington, D.C., the Blue Demons hadn't won at Georgetown since a 72-63 victory on Feb. 3, 1991.
- Eli Cain's 27 points are a season high... he has scored at least 20 points in 15 career games.
- Paul Reed's 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals are all career highs... over the last three games, he is averaging 8.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
- The game was the 39th meeting between the two programs... Georgetown leads the series, 30-9... the road team has won each of the last four meetings... the two sides split the season series.
