DePaul Goes Ice Cold in Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Despite an impressive return to the floor by Mac Koshwal, cold shooting from in and outside the arc hampered DePaul in a 64-61 loss at Florida Gulf Coast. Koshwal came off the bench for a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double, but the Blue Demons dug themselves a first-half hole by shooting just .281 from the field.

Trailing by 12 with just over 12 minutes left in the game, Koshwal and Tony Freeland sparked DePaul as the Blue Demons cut the deficit to three in less than four minutes. Koshwal started the run with a free throw and scored five points during the 11-2 run while Freeland scored the other six points.

After a basket in the lane by Freeland, Florida Gulf Coast's Reggie Chambers drilled back-to-back three-pointers to push the advantage for the home team back to nine at 54-45 with 7:17 remaining.

The run didn't stop for the Eagles as Anthony Banks scored on a putback and Chambers got a steal and lay-up for a 13-point advantage for Florida Gulf Coast (4-6).

DePaul (7-5) used three-pointers by Ryan Siggins, Will Walker and Jeremiah Kelly and the inside presence of Koshwal to pull to within a point at 62-61 with a minute left in the second half. After shooting just .281 from the field in the first half, the Blue Demons hit 11-of-26 (.423) in the second period.

That would be as close as the Blue Demons would get as Derrick O'Neil scored on a putback on the Eagles' final possession for the 64-61 final. Walker's deep three-point attempt for DePaul missed and Florida Gulf Coast ran out the clock.

Chambers led all scorers with 20 points while Banks recorded a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for Florida Gulf Coast.

Kelly finished the night with 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals while Walker totaled 11 points and four assists. Siggins hit three three-pointers for nine points, but the Blue Demons struggled all night from behind the arc by combining to hit 9-of-32 (.281) attempts.

DePaul opens BIG EAST play on Monday at Pittsburgh. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard in the Chicagoland area on WIND (560 AM).