DePaul Drops Nailbiter in Big East Opener

DePaul was in a position to win their Big East opener when Jamee Crockett’s three point attempt left his hands with four seconds to play, but that wasn’t in the cards tonight.

Crockett, who scored a season-high 16 points, was disheartened after missing that shot.

“Sometimes the ball rolls your way, sometime it doesn’t, I guess it didn’t roll my way this time,” said Crockett.

“We got the exact shot we wanted,” said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. “It was going to be either Brandon (Young) or Jamee.”

DePaul (9-5, 0-1) shot 60% from the charity stripe and was outrebounded by a 40-32 margin.

“I thought a couple things hurt us in the second half,” said Purnell. “Not hitting from the free throw line and the inability to clear the defensive board, particularly at the end of the game.”

Seton Hall (12-2, 1-0) had four players finish in double figures. Aaron Cosby led all scorers with 24 points. Brandon Mobley added 16 points while Fuquan Edwin and Eugene Teague chipped in with 11 apiece.

DePaul junior point guard Brandon Young scored 15 points in the losing effort. Charles McKinney added 10 after starting in place of Durrell McDonald tonight. McDonald contributed 12 points off the bench and was five of six from the field.

“We needed (McDonald’s) pressure defensively,” Purnell said of the freshman guard. “He’s probably our best guy on the ball with pressuring people.”

The Blue Demons next head out on the road where they will face the Providence Friars in Rhode Island on Saturday night.

Box Score

Notes:

Postgame Notes:

• Tonight's game marked the 13th meeting all-time between the two schools. Seton Hall now holds the advantage in the series, 9-3.

• DePaul is 1-7 in BIG EAST season openers since joining the conference.

• DePaul extended its streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 593... Durrell McDonald extended the run with a three at the 17:52 mark in the second half... the last time the Blue Demons failed to hit from beyond the arc was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena.

• Freshman guard Durrell McDonald finished with a career-high 12 points. He also hit a career-high two three-pointers.

• Sophomore forward Jamee Crockett finished with a career-high five steals and scored in double figures for the fourth time in his past six games, finishing with a season-high 16 points.

• Junior guard Brandon Young reached double figures for the 13th time in 14 games this season, finishing with 15 points.