DePaul University Athletics
Friday, January 16
7:30 p.m.
DePaul University
11-7,3-4Big East
80
vs
75
Marquette
6-13,1-7Big East
1
2
F
Marquette
44
31
75
DePaul
36
44
80
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: DePaul Athletics
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Photo by: Michael Glasgow
Blue Demons Win Third-Straight at Home
1/17/2026 12:23:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dominant second half leads DePaul to win
CHICAGO – A second-half surge lifted DePaul men's basketball past Marquette, 80-75, for its third straight home win Friday night at Wintrust Arena. The Blue Demons opened the second half with 14 unanswered points, taking a lead they would not relinquish.
CJ Gunn had a career night, knocking down seven three-pointers to finish with 31 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists. Gunn's performance marked the highest single-game scoring total by a DePaul player since 2022. NJ Benson was dominant in the paint, scoring 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting while adding seven rebounds. Brandon Maclin and Layden Blocker rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Blocker also dished out a career-high eight assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul (11-7, 3-4 BIG EAST) struck first with a dunk from Benson and a three-pointer by Gunn, but Marquette (6-13, 1-7 BIG EAST) answered with an 11-0 run. Gunn kept the Blue Demons within striking distance by knocking down five first-half three-pointers, though Marquette's hot shooting carried the Golden Eagles into halftime with a lead.
The Blue Demons dominated coming out of the break, opening the second half on a 21-3 run. After a brief Marquette response, Théo Pierre-Justin buried a deep three-pointer to give DePaul a 62-54 advantage. Benson sparked another run with an alley-oop finish, as DePaul held Marquette scoreless for more than four minutes to build its largest lead of the night 77-62. The Golden Eagles made one final push across the last four minutes, but DePaul closed out the game to secure the win.
OF NOTE
UP NEXT
DePaul heads on the road for a midweek matchup against Butler, Tuesday, Jan. 20. The game tips at 6:30 p.m. on truTV from Hinkle Fieldhouse.
CJ Gunn had a career night, knocking down seven three-pointers to finish with 31 points, along with seven rebounds and three assists. Gunn's performance marked the highest single-game scoring total by a DePaul player since 2022. NJ Benson was dominant in the paint, scoring 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting while adding seven rebounds. Brandon Maclin and Layden Blocker rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Blocker also dished out a career-high eight assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul (11-7, 3-4 BIG EAST) struck first with a dunk from Benson and a three-pointer by Gunn, but Marquette (6-13, 1-7 BIG EAST) answered with an 11-0 run. Gunn kept the Blue Demons within striking distance by knocking down five first-half three-pointers, though Marquette's hot shooting carried the Golden Eagles into halftime with a lead.
The Blue Demons dominated coming out of the break, opening the second half on a 21-3 run. After a brief Marquette response, Théo Pierre-Justin buried a deep three-pointer to give DePaul a 62-54 advantage. Benson sparked another run with an alley-oop finish, as DePaul held Marquette scoreless for more than four minutes to build its largest lead of the night 77-62. The Golden Eagles made one final push across the last four minutes, but DePaul closed out the game to secure the win.
OF NOTE
- Friday marked DePaul's largest halftime comeback at home in conference play since March 3, 2019 against St. John's.
- Gunn's seven made three-pointers tie for the fourth-most in a single game at DePaul.
- Maclin tied his personal-best stretch of four-straight games in double-digits.
- DePaul had a season high in conference play with 11 made three-pointers.
- Friday was DePaul's first win in the series against Marquette since March 2, 2022 and tied the all-time series 35-35 on games played in Chicago.
UP NEXT
DePaul heads on the road for a midweek matchup against Butler, Tuesday, Jan. 20. The game tips at 6:30 p.m. on truTV from Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Team Stats
Marq
DePaul
FG%
.483
.477
3FG%
.414
.458
FT%
.385
.538
RB
30
42
TO
7
8
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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