Kruz McClure scored 18 points off the bench and Noah Meussen contributed 13 points and seven assists as DePaul held on for an 82-80 nonconference victory over South Florida on Thursday night in Chicago.
Ade Popoola posted 12 points and Kahmare Holmes added 11 for the Blue Demons (2-0), who never trailed but saw their 19-point second-half lead trimmed to two in the final minutes.
Garrett Johnson scored 23 of his career-high-tying 26 points in the second half for USF (1-1), as the junior guard sank a career-high eight 3-pointers on 13 attempts. Sonny Wilson delivered 16 points and 10 assists, while Chris Davis Jr. added 17 points. However, Davis missed a contested left-handed scoop that would have tied the game with two seconds remaining.
DePaul jumped to an 8-0 lead when Magoon Gwath banked in a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, Layden Blocker raced coast-to-coast for a layup and Fabian Flores used his footwork to convert a jump hook.
Popoola and Meussen sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push DePaul’s lead to 18-6 at the 13:06 mark. The Blue Demons made five of their first six 3-point attempts to take a 26-12 advantage.
South Florida went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Zayden High 3-pointer, to cut DePaul’s lead to 32-26 with 5:35 remaining in the half.
However, High picked up his third foul on the possession following his 3-pointer and sat out the remainder of the half.
The Blue Demons took advantage, building a 50-35 lead by halftime.
DePaul pushed its advantage to 56-37, but the Bulls made seven consecutive shots to pull within 59-51.
Johnson nailed another 3-pointer at the 11:57 mark to make it 64-59. The Blue Demons answered with a pair of 3-pointers while High picked up his fourth foul and returned to the USF bench.
DePaul rebuilt its lead to 12, but USF got as close as 80-78 on Sonny Wilson’s free throw with 1:40 remaining.
Blocker followed with a jumper to give DePaul an 82-78 lead with 53 seconds remaining. Wilson drove for a layup with six seconds left to cut the deficit to 82-80. Josh Omojafo then stole a pass by McClure, but Davis came up short on a potential game-tying layup.