Chicago State Falls In OT At DePaul 77-70

Corey Gray goes to the hoop on Sunday at DePaul.

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ROSEMONT, Ill. - Chicago State limited DePaul to just one field goal over the final 10 minutes of regulation to help force overtime on Sunday (Dec. 15) at Allstate Arena. But in extra time DePaul outscored Chicago State 15-8 to win 77-70. The Blue Demons benefited from a 29-of-40 to 8-of-13 free throw advantage in the contest.

It was all Cougars early, with a three-quarters court trap forcing DePaul into early mistakes. The Cougars turned Blue Demon turnovers into a lead as large as nine at 15-6. However DePaul followed by turning up the defensive backcourt pressure themselves. DePaul switched a 19-11 CSU lead to a 27-21 DePaul advantage thanks to a 16-2 run. The Blue Demons took a 38-32 advantage to the break.

DePaul controlled the first 10 minutes of the second half, taking a lead as large as 12. Chicago State grabbed their first lead of the second with 5:10 to play following an 11-0 run. The stretch started with a 3-pointer by senior Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) and concluded on a trey by senior Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon).

DePaul's Brandon Young hit a jumper at the 1:48 mark to put the Blue Demons up 61-59. It was DePaul's first field goal since 10:42. Chicago State took exactly 20 seconds to respond to Young's jumper when senior Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower) hit a 3-pointer to put the Cougars up by one. Young was then fouled by Ross with 48 seconds on the clock. Ross fouled out on the play and Young made the second of two free throws to knot the game at 62. Pippen missed a 3-pointer on the other end to give DePaul a chance to win at the buzzer. The Blue Demons were without a timeout but earned two attempts in the lane in the final seconds. First it was Young missing a layup. Cleveland Melvin grabbed the round but was blocked by CSU freshman Johnny Griffin (Ford Heights, Ill./Bloom Trail ) going up for the game winning hoop. It was Griffin's second impressive block on Melvin in the game.

Overtime was all DePaul. The Blue Demons scored the first six points and never looked back.

"There isn't a column for moral victories but going on the road and playing a Big East team to overtime is a sign of the direction of the program," Chicago State head coach Tracy Dildy said. "I'm proud of our effort to fight back however we had chances to win it before overtime. Our goal is to be at our best when the WAC Tournament comes around and games like this help us prepare for that."

The Cougars scored 25 points off 23 DePaul turnovers.

Senior Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton) scored 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting off the bench. Pippen also added 18 points with three assists and two steals. Junior Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) finished with 17 points. Melvin led the Blue Demons with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Sunday's game was the Cougars' first overtime contest since falling 66-63 to Loyola on Jan. 20, 2013.

DePaul improves to 6-4. Chicago State falls to 4-6. The Cougars are back on the court tomorrow as they host SIUE on Monday at 7:05 p.m. CT.

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