Blue Demons Take Wire-to-Wire Victory Over South Florida

Thursday, November 5

Chicago, Ill.

7:30 p.m.

DePaul University

2-0,0-0Big East

USF

1-1,0-0American

Team	1	2	F
South Fla.	35	45	80
DePaul	50	32	82

Noah Meeusen squares up for a three-pointer.

11/5/2026 11:40:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

Box Score Final Box (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Photo Gallery

CHICAGO — DePaul men's basketball led from start to finish, but it took until the final seconds for the Blue Demons to secure an 82-80 victory over South Florida on Thursday evening at Wintrust Arena. Layden Blocker hit the game-winning shot for DePaul (2-0), a pull-up jumper with 53 seconds left.

Kruz McClure had a team-best 18 points with three three-pointers and a career-high nine made free throws. The sophomore was joined in double-figure scoring by Noah Meeusen (13), Ade Popoola (12) and Kahmare Holmes (11). Meeusen continued to be a steady force for the Blue Demons with seven assists and no turnovers, along with three rebounds, a steal and a block. Fabián Flores had a team-best six rebounds.

USF (1-1) was led by Garrett Johnson, who scored 26 points on 8-of-13 three-point shooting.

HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul's defense was stifling early, holding USF to 1-of-9 shooting from the field for a 10-2 advantage. The Blue Demons then got hot from deep, hitting 5 of their first 6 three-point attempts with makes from four different players for a 26-12 lead. USF made four straight field goals, including a 7-0 run, to pull within 34-28 before Meeusen drained his third three-pointer of the half. Holmes had a pair of strong finishes inside late in the half, the last with two seconds left, to give DePaul its largest lead of the half at 50-35.

Popoola opened the second half with his third three-pointer of the night, and Koree Cotton's three at 18:09 gave DePaul its biggest lead of the game, 56-37. South Florida answered with seven straight made field goals, starting with a 7-0 run, to cut into the lead. A three-pointer by Johnson with 12 minutes to play brought the Bulls within 64-59. McClure responded with back-to-back triples for a 70-59 DePaul advantage. DePaul then went more than six minutes without a field goal, and South Florida used an 11-2 run to make it 80-78 with 1:40 left. Blocker drained a pull-up jumper with 53 seconds remaining. South Florida scored again on the other end, but Popoola grabbed the rebound on the Bulls' final miss at the buzzer to seal the win.

OF NOTE

The Blue Demons registered 14 three-pointers, tying for the seventh most in a single-game at DePaul.
Thursday was the Blue Demons 75th all-time victory in Wintrust Arena.
Meeusen is the first Blue Demon to have back-to-back games with seven or more assists and one or fewer turnovers since Javon Freeman-Liberty in Nov. 2021.
DePaul's bench outscored USF 36-8.

UP NEXT
DePaul closes out its three-game home stretch to open the season Monday, Nov. 9 as it hosts Alabama A&M. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. tip on truTV and serves as DePaul's annual Salute to Service game, with special ticket offers available at DePaulBlueDemons.com/Offers.

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TICKET INFORMATION
Join Blue Demon Nation for BIG EAST hoops at Wintrust Arena! Full season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now, starting at just $275 per seat for men's basketball. Full season tickets include the same seat for every home game, plus special discounts for DePaul faculty, staff, retirees and recent graduates. Visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets to lock in your seats today.