Sorry streak hits 16 straight

The streak is still alive, and that’s not good news for DePaul.

Facing one of the weaker teams in the power-packed Big East Wednesday night at the Allstate Arena, the Blue Demons felt pretty good about ending their stretch of 16 straight conference losses.

Even when DePaul shot just 35 percent from the floor in the first half against Seton Hall, coach Oliver Purnell saw the bright side.

“I thought we hung in there pretty good in the first half, even though we once again struggled out of the gate making some makeable shots,” Purnell said. “We just didn’t get them to go down, but it was a one-point game (32-31). We had to feel like, ‘OK, we’re going to make some shots in the second half.’”

The Blue Demons (0-4 in the Big East, 6-10 overall) did score 36 after intermission, but the Pirates really perked up their offensive attack with 46 points on 69 percent (20-for-29) shooting and headed back to New Jersey with a 78-67 win.

“We just weren’t playing hard on defense,” freshman guard Brandon Young said. “We weren’t communicating and getting back in transition.”

Seton Hall (1-3, 7-9) continually drove to the basket in the second half, with senior guard Jeremy Hazell doing the most damage.

Playing his first game since breaking his wrist on Nov. 19 and then being shot near the right armpit on Christmas night during a robbery attempt at his home in Harlem, Hazell led all scorers with 23 points, and the All-Big East first team preseason pick scored 15 in the second half.

“(Hazell) is just one of those natural athletes,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “It was just a matter of catching the basketball. Once he was able to do that, we had a feeling he would be a huge factor. Not only does he have tremendous confidence, he gives the team tremendous confidence.”

Purnell thought his Blue Demons should have had similar confidence after cutting the Pirates’ lead to 49-46 on Jeremiah Kelly’s 3-pointer with 11:53 to play.

But Seton Hall broke open the game from there as the Blue Demons played tentative on both ends of the floor.

“We played like we were down 15 and we weren’t,” Purnell said. “I don’t think it was so much of their zone rattling us as us having the poise to say, ‘Hey, let’s take this thing down the stretch.’ Every shot we missed, it seemed like we pressed a little bit more.”

Freshman Cleveland Melvin, who missed 11 of 14 shots in the first half, led DePaul with 21 points.