Benson and Gunn Help Lift DePaul to Road Win Against Seton Hall

Wednesday, February 18

South Orange, NJ

7 p.m.

DePaul University

14-12,6-9Big East

Seton Hall

18-9,8-8Big East

DePaul

Seton Hall

Benson and Gunn Help Lift DePaul to Road Win Against Seton Hall

2/18/2026 10:26:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

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

NEWARK, N.J. – A pair of standout performances from NJ Benson and CJ Gunn powered DePaul men's basketball to a 69-57 road victory over Seton Hall Wednesday evening at Prudential Center. The win marks DePaul's first BIG EAST road victory of the season and sixth conference win of 2025-26.

Benson recorded his second-straight 20-point performance, finishing with 21 points on an efficient 8-of-9 shooting night. He added eight rebounds and knocked down a personal-best five free throws. Gunn provided a spark off the bench with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Layden Blocker and Brandon Maclin also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Blocker added four assists to help pace the Blue Demon offense.

HOW IT HAPPENED
DePaul (14-12, 6-9 BIG EAST) jumped out to a 7-5 lead at the first media timeout before Seton Hall (18-9, 8-8 BIG EAST) responded with eight consecutive points. The Blue Demons quickly answered to tie the game at 13.

An alley-oop out of a timeout to Benson, followed by a pair of free throws from Gunn, gave DePaul a 25-21 advantage midway through the first half. The Pirates closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-33 lead into the break.

Seton Hall extended its lead to 39-33 early in the second half — its largest of the night — before Gunn knocked down a pair of three-pointers to pull DePaul within three. The Blue Demons seized control with a 13-2 run over a five-minute stretch to build a 51-46 edge.

From there, DePaul's defense took over. The Blue Demons held the Pirates to just 5-of-15 shooting over the final eight minutes and closed the game on an 18-3 run to secure the victory.

OF NOTE

DePaul has now won three-straight meetings against Seton Hall, tying a program best in the all-time series.
The Blue Demons are 4-0 on the season when holding an opponent under 60 points and 8-1 in the Chris Holtmann era.
Benson is the first DePaul player to record back-to-back 20-point games in BIG EAST play since Umoja Gibson in Feb. 2023. He is the first forward to do so since Paul Reed in 2020.

UP NEXT
DePaul returns home Saturday, Feb. 21 to host Providence at Wintrust Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on FS1.