Cleveland Melvin simply took what the defense gave him. And they gave him a lot.
ξ
The junior forward finished with 30 points in DePaul’s 85-78 home win over Fairfield
Tuesday night.
ξ
Melvin scored 24 points in the first half on 11-for-17 shooting, and he wasn’t pulling up
for jumpers. Other than two three-point attempts, every shot was at the rim, and many of
those were wide open looks either in transition or in the half court.
ξ
“That’s how we need Cleve to play every game,” said Brandon Young. “Running the
floor well, scoring, rebounding. Good defender. That’s what you’re going to get out of
Cleve.”
ξ
Though he was scorching hot in the first half, Melvin cooled down over the final 20
minutes. He shot the ball only six times in the second half, scoring six points. Fairfield
threw in some zone defenses and some double teams in an attempt to contain Melvin, but
the tactics’ successes were moderate.
ξ
“He shoots them seven-foot hook shots,” head coach Oliver Purnell said about the team’s
leading scorer. “He made them in the first half for the most part, he didn’t make them in
the second half… he’s a 55 percent shooter, he’ll miss some of those.”
ξ
Melvin’s biggest bucket came with 45 seconds remaining, when he tipped in a Young
missed layup. It made the score 81-73, and essentially iced the game.
ξ
The fact that the score got so close was fairly mystifying. DePaul pressed from the onset,
and forced seven turnovers in the first seven minutes to jump to a 21-11 lead. The Blue
Demons led by as many as 16, scored easy baskets close to the rim (57 points in the paint)
and constantly pushed the ball upcourt.
ξ
DePaul also got Fairfield’s offense out of whack. The Stags stayed in the game early on
only by sinking last-resort threes (5-for-10 in the first half, 7-for-17 in the game) and
scoring rare baskets when they broke the Blue Demons’ press.
ξ
Sitting on a double-digit lead, DePaul slowed the game down in the last six minutes,
however. Fairfield went on an 11-2 run late, bringing the score to 78-73 with two minutes
left. On offense, DePaul milked the shot clock and settled for contested looks, and on
defense, the intensity waned as the Stags converted multiple layups and dunks. Fairfield
guard Derek Needham sank a jumper and a three-pointer to bring the game within five.
ξ
“Towards the end we started not communicating, being lackadaisical,” Young said.
ξ
Fairfield ran out of both steam and time, as the Demons not only got Melvin’s tip-in, but
Young also made 5-of-6 free throws to put the game out of reach. Young finished with
ξ
20 points and five assists.
ξ
Donnavan Kirk chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds, and Charles McKinney scored
11 with four assists and three steals. Needham led Fairfield with 29 points and eight
assists.
ξ
DePaul moves to 3-3 with the win, ending their disappointing Cancun Challenge. The
Demons lost to Wichita State and Western Kentucky at the tournament in Cancun,
Mexico.
ξ
“I’m very pleased with the win tonight,” Purnell said. “I thought we played good
basketball for longer stretches than we have the last couple games. I’m very encouraged
that we can play a lot better more consistently.”
ξ
“We didn’t want to have that losing taste in our mouth anymore,” Young said. “We know
how to win, and we know how to play DePaul basketball for 40 minutes.”
ξ
The Blue Demons next game will be in Auburn on Friday night.
ξ
BLUE DEMON NOTES: Brandon Young pulled the old trick of throwing an inbound
pass off the defender’s back and catching it himself for an easy layup. Fairfield’s Colin
Nickerson was his victim… Ozzie Guillen was in the building, and he was spotted
wearing a DePaul coat and Kangol cap… Jamee Crockett did not play. He injured his
right knee two weekends ago against Austin Peay. Purnell said the forward is doubtful
for Friday’s game, but could return next week against Chicago State… Freshman guard
Durrell McDonald got his first collegiate start. “He gave us tempo, he gave us quickness
out there,” Purnell said. “I’ve been pleased with him in the early season.” McDonald
scored six points… Kirk was impressive early in the second half, with a tip-slam and a
twisting layup. During the timeout after the layup, one of the refs came over to DePaul’s
Dave Corzine and asked “Have you been working with that Kirk kid?” and then made
a “wow” look on his face…