Javan Johnson scored 23 points as DePaul took control early in the second half and pulled away for a 91-70 victory over visiting UTEP on Saturday night in Chicago.
The Blue Demons (6-4) won for the third time in four games and rebounded nicely from their 19-point loss at St. John’s on Wednesday.
Johnson made 8 of 15 shots, including five 3-pointers, after being held to 11 at St. John’s. He finished with at least 20 points for the third time in four games.
Umoja Gibson added 22 for the Blue Demons, who outscored UTEP 52-37 after halftime. Jalen Terry, Philmon Gebrewhit and Eral Penn added 11 apiece as DePaul shot 58.1 percent in the second half and 49.2 percent overall while also hitting 14 threes.
UTEP’s first visit to Chicago since 1968 resulted in its second double-digit loss in three games.
Tae Hardy paced the Miners (6-3) with 16 points and Mario McKinney Jr. added all 12 of his points in the opening 20 minutes. Kevin Kalu and Calvin Solomon added eight apiece for UTEP, which shot 48.1 percent but also missed nine free throws.
The Miners started quickly, using a 16-4 run to open a 20-9 lead on a reverse layup by Hardy with 11:25 remaining.
DePaul countered with a 12-2 spurt to get within 22-21 on a 3 by Gebrewhit with 6:37 left. After the Miners opened a 29-21 lead, DePaul ended the half with a 18-4 run when Terry banked in a deep 3 and finished off a four-point play at the horn for a 39-33 lead.
Johnson dunked and hit a 3-pointer as DePaul scored the first 14 points of the second half and took a 53-35 lead on Gebrewhit’s 3-pointer with 16:35 remaining.
The lead reached 74-53 on Gibson’s nifty layup with 9:39 remaining and Johnson’s final points were a 3-pointer that extended the lead to 80-57 with 6:23 left.
–Field Level Media
