Burns' 32 lift Blue Demons

Draelon Burns recorded a career high for points Saturday, but he couldn't enjoy it.

DePaul had lost to North Carolina A&T, and Burns' defense was a big reason why. But rather than mope about his muted milestone, Burns gutted through two punishing practices.

Then, he matched his mark.

Burns scored 32 points for the second straight game and set a school record with eight 3-pointers as DePaul beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 85-70 on Wednesday at the Allstate Arena.

The senior guard shot 11 of 13 from the field and 8 of 8 from beyond the arc, breaking Drake Diener's mark of seven 3s. He became the fifth player in team history to record consecutive 30-point games and the first since Tom Kleinschmidt in 1994.

"The first couple went down for me, so I just kept shooting," Burns said. "I hit a couple lucky ones, but I'll take it."

One of those lucky ones came after DePaul fell behind 56-55 with 11:14 left. Burns beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer, then hit 2 more triples.

A pull-up jumper completed the stretch of 11 consecutive points and put DePaul up 66-60. The Blue Demons (2-2) went on an 18-6 run to put away the Islanders (1-3).

"That one got me going," Burns said of the shot-clock beater. "Then, all my teammates were hyping me up, 'Keep shooting,' and all that."

Added Corpus Christi coach Perry Clark: "Burns really just dominated the basketball game."

Burns provided the scoring spark, but classmate Karron Clarke brought the grit DePaul needed. Clarke received 13 stitches in his mouth after colliding with teammate Cliff Clinkscales in Tuesday's practice but responded with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting.

"We killed each other in practice, so we were ready for today," Clarke said. "You see my mouth, right?"

Clarke had added incentive facing Clark, who coached him at Miami in 2003-04.

"Back then, he said I had a problem with my jump shot," Clarke said. "I had to show him I could shoot it."

Clarke helped Mac Koshwal (17 points, 8 rebounds) limit Corpus Christi center Chris Daniels to 9 points. Ten NBA scouts came to watch Daniels, but the 7-footer went scoreless in the first half.

• Freshman center Kene Obi has been declared an academic qualifier and can begin practicing with DePaul. The 7-foot-2 Obi, who grew up in Nigeria, must get clearance on his amateur status from the NCAA to begin playing in games.

DePaul is also awaiting word on the amateur status of freshman wing Mario Stula. Athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto expects to get decisions on both Obi and Stula in the next 7-10 days.