DePaul snaps Big East losing streak with buzzer-beater over Marquette

When DePaul dreamed and schemed of ways to snap its 24-game Big East regular-season losing streak - a dark cloud that lingered over Lincoln Park for 22 months and 11 days - clearly any method would have sufficed.

But the Blue Demons went above and beyond against archrival Marquette on Wednesday night at the Allstate Arena.

With seven-tenths of a second to go, junior guard Mike Stovall rose above two Golden Eagles and drilled a 20-footer to lift the Blue Demons to a 51-50 upset in Rosemont.

"We just needed to walk out of here with a 'W,' " said Stovall, who also hit a crucial 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds left. "I just shot the ball and it was lucky that it went in."

Stovall's last basket provided DePaul's only lead of the game - and the program's first regular-season Big East win since March 6, 2008.

"It feels good. It gets the monkey off our back," said DePaul senior guard Will Walker, who played the whole game and led everyone with 17 points. "A lot of people have been doubting us for years. People say we're not going to get any Big East wins. They can't say that anymore."

Walker could say that in a monotone 30 minutes after the game, but he and his teammates lived it up before meeting the media.

After the Blue Demons (8-10, 1-5) broke up Marquette's last-ditch, full-court pass, the players and coaches hugged and chest-bumped halfway to heaven. Interim coach Tracy Webster was engulfed by his assistants as well as injured center Mac Koshwal in front of the DePaul bench.

Then everyone rushed to the expanded student section and immersed themselves in backslaps and high-fives.

Moments later, finally in the privacy of their locker room, the Demons really cut loose.

"I haven't seen it like that in a long, long time," Walker said. "Maybe since I've been here. I just love to see the smiles and the energy coming out of the guys. And I know the confidence it's going to bring out of the guys.

"And even the guys that didn't play that much, they were going probably the craziest out of everybody in the locker room. I love to see that, to know that people aren't just thinking about themselves."

DePaul got it done with just eight scholarship players as Koshwal (right foot), Mike Bizoukas (knee) and Mario Stula (nose surgery) sat in sweats.

With such limited options, Walker played the entire way. Sophomore guard Jeremiah Kelly (11 points) sucked it up for the first 31 minutes before begging for a quick break, while sophomore center Krys Faber (4 points, 10 rebounds) played a career-high 35 minutes.

Marquette (11-7, 2-4), who lured perhaps 1,000 gold-clad fans to Allstate Arena, watched in dismay as seniors Lazar Hayward and David Cubillan missed the front end of 1-and-1s in the final 20 seconds.

"One thousand percent credit to DePaul's staff, DePaul's players," said Marquette coach Buzz Williams. "They did an unbelievable job. They played with great passion, played with great energy. They were more deserving of the victory than we were."