Cleveland Melvin scored 20 points and Brandon Young added 18 as the seniors led DePaul’s men’s basketball team Tuesday to pull out an 80-71 win over Milwaukee on the road.

“You have to have (senior leadership) to win these games,” Head Coach Oliver Purnell said. “For them to have the correct body language and to say the right things gives reassurance to their team.

“Of course they performed and knocked shots down, which helps as well,” Purnell added.

The teams went into halftime tied at 32 and with the Blue Demons shooting just 39 percent.   The Blue Demons (3-1) were more efficient after halftime and shot 60 percent from the field.

DePaul went on an 11-2 run with 11:42 to give them a 63-49 lead. Milwaukee (4-2) bounced back with a 10-2 run of their own.

Milwaukee’s Matt Tiby finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but the Panthers never led in the second half.

“I thought in the second half we played through any frustration whether we thought it was a bad call or they went on a run,” Purnell said. “No matter what we just kind of played through it and that’s why I’m very satisfied with the road win.”

The Blue Demons sealed the game away coming up with crucial rebounds late, including a highlight worthy slam-dunk from Charles McKinney. DePaul out-rebounded Milwaukee 38 to 28.

DePaul’s bench was also a factor and contributed 29 points with 10 of them from Jaime Crockett. Durrell McDonald was productive with eight points in nine minutes of play.

The Blue Demons shot 50 percent (9-18) from three-point range in their first road win of the season.