DePaul seals opener with key free throws

Dar Tucker's 360-degree dunk near the end of the first half defined cool.

Mac Koshwal's thunderous jam on DePaul's next possession - courtesy of a clever Jabari Currie pass on the break - kicked the students' enjoyment into overdrive Monday night in a rare on-campus affair at McGrath Arena.

But everyone already knew the Blue Demons boast athletes who can make the rim shake.

It was when Albany sliced a 17-point deficit to 6 with 2:13 to go that everyone learned something new about these Blue Demons.

Tucker, Koshwal and freshman point guard Jeremiah Kelly stepped up and hit 2 free throws apiece to preserve DePaul's season-opening 75-64 win before approximately 2,500 in Lincoln Park.

Last year, for those who've put that 11-19 campaign out of mind, the Demons might well have missed those key free ones and squandered the game.

"I think really the turning point in our season was missing free throws to beat Vanderbilt," said DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright, referring to what should have been a Dec. 12 victory over the undefeated Commodores.

"Well, not the whole season, but it really hurt our psyche at that point in time."

This time, DePaul maintained its fun-loving frame of mind with its first 1-0 start in Wainwright's four years.

Tucker led everyone with 23 points, but Koshwal and junior guard Will Walker stuffed the stat sheet.

Koshwal produced 8 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals while taking 3 charges.

The 6-foot Walker delivered 19 points, 3 steals and 2 blocks - the second and third swats of his career.

Walker was also the one who, when DePaul needed to settle down and take a good second-half shot to slow Albany (0-2), drove the ball on the baseline for layups.

"Some of their guards were a little slower," Walker said. "Me and Dar were quicker than them and we were able to get past them a little better, so Coach wanted to isolate them a little bit."

Of course, everything wasn't perfect in DePaul's 86th opener.

While the Demons forced 20 turnovers while committing just 6, they also lost the rebounding battle by 10.