National Basketball Association
DePaul 78, Robert Morris 72
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 13, 2016
Where: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Officials:
# Brian O'Connell, # Alfred Smith, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
2330
By The Sports Xchange
Sophomore guard Eli Cain produced 21 points as DePaul held on for a 78-72 victory over Robert Morris on Sunday night at McGrath-Phillips Arena in Chicago.
Junior forward Tre'Darius McCallum contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his DePaul debut while senior guard Darrick Wood added 13 points off the bench as the Blue Demons (1-0) won their ninth consecutive season-opener.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Still delivered a game-high 26 points to guide Robert Morris (0-2). Still's back-to-back 3-pointers pulled the Colonials within 74-72 with 9.3 seconds to go, but DePaul senior guard Chris Harrison-Docks nailed two free throws and McCallum turned a steal into a buzzer-beating dunk for the final margin.
DePaul never trailed, but the game was never out of Robert Morris' reach. The Blue Demons opened up a 21-11 lead on Cain's 3-pointer with 12:48 left in the first half, but then they managed just nine points over the next nine minutes as Robert Morris closed to within 34-31 at halftime.
DePaul, picked to finish in the Big East's basement, clung to a 49-43 lead when senior guard Billy Garrett Jr. -- a preseason second-team All-Big East selection and the team's leader -- picked up his fourth foul and hit the bench with 11:12 to play.
Instead of faltering, the Blue Demons expanded their lead. Harrison-Docks, a Western Kentucky transfer, and junior-college transfer McCallum each hit a pair of free throws, Wood turned a McCallum steal into a dunk and McCallum added two more free throws to give DePaul a 57-46 margin with 8:19 to go.
Cain added a 3-pointer and a layup to push the lead to 63-50, but he left with four fouls at the 6:02 mark. Cain and Garrett returned with 3:13 to go, but Cain fouled out just 16 seconds later to set the stage for a nail-biting finish.
Top Game Performances
| Robert Morris |
|
DePaul |
|
Isaiah Still 26 |
Scoring |
Eli Cain 21 |
|
Kavon Stewart 5 |
Assists |
Tre'Darius McCallum 6 |
|
Billy Giles 8 |
Rebounds |
Tre'Darius McCallum 8 |
|
Kavon Stewart 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Eli Cain 7 |
|
Dachon Burke 4 |
Steals |
Brandon Cyrus 2 |
|
Dachon Burke 1 |
Blocks |
Eli Cain 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Robert Morris
|
72 |
41.0 |
7-20 |
15-21 |
11 |
33 |
1 |
10 |
16 |
| DePaul
|
78 |
46.2 |
3-11 |
27-34 |
15 |
31 |
5 |
5 |
16 |
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