UConn takes DePaul to school

One day, maybe, DePaul will be as good as the Big East opponent it hosted Saturday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

Led by freshman forward Cleveland Melvin, the Blue Demons showed some brief glimpses of promise against No. 10 Connecticut before 9,581.

But all in all, they were overwhelmed in every phase of the game by junior scoring machine Kemba Walker and the 10th-ranked Huskies, 82-62.

“No question (DePaul coach) Oliver Purnell is going to get it going here,” said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. “He's got good young players ... they're going to be just fine. But if you're young, the Big East is known to eat its young. And that's what happened.”

Led by Walker, who came in as the nation's second-leading scorer, the Huskies built a 45-34 halftime lead and really chomped down in the second half.

“I think UConn showed us and everybody else why they're an outstanding team,” Purnell said. “They have an outstanding player (Walker) and we got off to another tough start. We were paddling uphill most of the first half.”

The Huskies (3-2 in the Big East, 14-2 overall) raced out to a 10-2 lead and never were challenged by the Blue Demons (0-5, 6-11), who dropped their fifth straight.

Walker was most responsible for sticking DePaul with its 18th straight loss in the Big East, scoring 31 points.

But UConn easily handled the Demons' fullcourt press, exploited its superior size and blew the game wide open with a 21-7 run to open the second half.

The final outcome would have been even worse if not for Melvin, who recorded his the first career double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Another DePaul freshman, Moses Morgan, hit 3 of 5 3-pointers off the bench and finished with 11 points.

Playing at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., as a high school senior least year, Melvin seriously weighed offers from Connecticut and Syracuse before committing to DePaul.

Along with fellow freshmen Morgan and Brandon Young, sophomore forward Tony Freeland and a strong recruiting class for next year, the Blue Demons can at least look forward to the future.

“When he shoots, he seems to get his own rebound quicker than anybody else,” Calhoun said of Melvin. “He's got a motor on him that just runs and runs. He's been given the green light to a do a lot of things (at DePaul) and that's going to play off greatly in the future.”