Long-distance calls by A&T answered

North Carolina A&T isn't shy about shooting the basketball.

"We want to score 90 points a game," said Aggies coach Jerry Eaves. "I tell our kids that if we score 90, win or lose, I'm good with it."

Eaves came away happy on both counts Saturday afternoon in Rosemont as A&T recorded a 96-93 win over DePaul at the Allstate Arena.

A&T senior guard Steven Rush, who came into the game in a self-described "shooting slump," was unstoppable with 40 points, including 10 3's on 13-of-23 shooting. As a team, AT&T was 17 of 33 from 3-point land.

"My coach and teammates tell me, 'Just keep shooting'," said Rush.

"I told him he was going to come out of it," added Eaves, "but I wasn't sure it was going to happen today."

DePaul senior guard Draelon Burns led DePaul with a career-high 32 points as the Blue Demons scored in the 90s in a regular season game for the first time in 15 years.

"This was a pickup game -- a wide-open pickup game," said DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright. "I guarantee you that if we had won 96-93, people would have been excited about the way we played."

The Blue Demons had 30 on the scoreboard midway through the first half and led by as many as 16, but Rush and teammate Austin Ewing (21 points, six 3's) shot the Aggies into a 48-45 halftime lead.

"Creighton and Northwestern (DePaul's first two opponents) take their time and like to set up their offense," said Burns. "These guys get it up the court and jack 3s."

A&T (4-2) opened a double-digit lead and held it for most of the second half. DePaul (1-2) made a late run, and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Dar Tucker (20 points, 7 rebounds) with 9.6 seconds left brought the Demons within 3.

DePaul had a final chance when Aggies forward Jason Wills was fouled and missed 2 free throws, but a game-tying 3 attempt by Tucker at the buzzer rimmed out.

Jabari Currie finished with 15 points for DePaul while Karron Clarke scored 11 to go along with 6 rebounds.

"We respected this team," Wainwright said of A&T, who play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"The bottom line is, we didn't defend, and when we did, somebody on their team did a great job of shooting the ball."