DePaul comeback bid falls short
In one sense, the beat went on Tuesday night as DePaul lost for the 39th time in its last 40 Big East regular-season games.
But if the Blue Demons continue to bring it like they did against West Virginia, soon their depressing record that stretches back to March 2008 won't look as lopsided.
DePaul trailed by 14 with 10 minutes to go, but rallied to the point where the Demons had the last shot to win.
They whipped the ball around West Virginia's 1-3-1 zone and found freshman guard Brendan Young open.
He pump-faked to escape a defender, stepped inside the arc and lofted a 19-footer that rimmed short with three seconds left.
“Thought it looked good,” Young said. “Felt good. Just didn't go in.”
West Virginia added a free throw in the final second to sneak out of Allstate Arena with a 67-65 Big East win.
The Mountaineers got 18 points from Casey Mitchell. Freshman Cleveland Melvin paced DePaul (6-9, 0-3) with 17, while Young added 12.
“We're fine,” said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. “We're fine with that execution. Unfortunately, the ball didn't go in. That happens in a game like this. And it's going to happen in a lot of games. One team's going to win and one's going to lose on a shot.”
This game didn't look like it would be one of them with 10 minutes to go. West Virginia (9-4, 1-2) reeled off 8 points in a row to take a 58-44 lead.
Then, depending on which coach you believe, Purnell's full-court pressure either took its toll on the visitors or one of Bob Huggins' childhood lessons came home to roost.
“A guy told me when I was growing up, I was out hooping and went down to get a pop at Roan's,” Huggins said. “A guy stopped in, he was covered with coal dust and he said, ‘Bob, there's two things in life that are eternal. Always remember that: Death and dumbness.' He said you can't do anything about either one.
“We just made dumb plays. Dumb plays, ill-advised plays, however you want to put it.”
Either way, West Virginia committed 6 of its 16 turnovers during the final nine minutes as the Demons crawled back.
Senior Jimmy Drew drilled a 3-pointer and junior Jeremiah Kelly added back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 63-63 with 1:32 to go.
That's when West Virginia junior point guard Darryl Bryant made two smart plays.
He raced downcourt after Kelly's latter 3-pointer for a layup and a free throw.
Then, when Young drove baseline on DePaul's next possession, Bryant came over on help side and drew a charge.
Drew ripped the ball from Bryant to give the Demons new life and Young attacked the basket again for 2 free throws to make it 66-65.
While Young's last shot didn't drop, they believe one that does is coming soon.
“The next one,” Kelly said with a smile. “I think we just believe in our system. We trust our system more. We know that if we keep putting pressure on them, they're going to let us back in the game at one point.”