Javon Freeman-Liberty produced 20 points and 12 rebounds to steer DePaul to a 77-68 victory over Northern Kentucky in a Blue Demon Classic contest Friday afternoon in Chicago.
Freeman-Liberty entered the game as the nation’s No. 2 scorer with 24.8 points per game. He launched his bid for a third consecutive Big East Player of the Week award with his third double-double of the season before halftime.
Nick Ongenda added a career-high 17 points along with four blocks, while David Jones posted 15 points as DePaul (5-0) led by as much as 19 in the second half.
First-year head coach Tony Stubblefield’s squad can sweep the Blue Demon Classic’s four-team round-robin with a win Sunday against Eastern Michigan.
Marques Warrick, the Horizon League’s 2021 Freshman of the Year, came off the bench to pace Northern Kentucky (2-3) with 23 points, but he needed 22 shot attempts to do it.
Trevon Faulkner added 14 points and six rebounds and Sam Vinson contributed 10 points as the Norge shot just 33.3 percent from the field in their first road game of the season.
DePaul and Northern Kentucky traded the lead seven times in the first 12 minutes before the Blue Demons clamped down defensively. Freeman-Liberty triggered the surge by banking home a 3-pointer with 8:10 left in the first half, then DePaul’s aggressive man-to-man defense forced the Norse to miss 16 of their final 17 shots of the half.
Meanwhile, DePaul’s Philmon Gebrewhit canned both of his 3-pointers to spark a 14-7 run down the stretch to give the Blue Demons a 39-30 lead at the break.
Oregon transfer Jalen Terry, who was declared eligible by the NCAA earlier in the week, made his DePaul debut with 14:14 left in the first half. He picked up two fouls in his first four minutes and took a seat, but returned in the second half and contributed five points and four assists.
–Field Level Media
