Two plays within a few moments of each other came to define DePaul’s 71-59 loss to Gardner-Webb in a nutshell.

With eight minutes left and the Blue Demons trailing 60-44, Gardner-Webb forward Kevin Hartley launched a long jumper, missed, got his own rebound, and was fouled by a Demon. After the inbound, the same sequence happened again.

DePaul got outhustled and outworked in Thursday night’s Allstate Arena opener, which was also its first game of the Cancun Challenge.

“We didn’t show up tonight,” said head coach Oliver Purnell. “We never sustained any level of consistency offensively, defensively in the half court, or defensively in the pressure.”

The Running Bulldogs, who flew into Chicago after playing a game in North Carolina the night before, were sharp from the onset. They led by as many as 19 points, and outrebounded DePaul 44-31 (18-9 on the offensive glass). Gardner-Webb never trailed, and the score was only tied once, at 6-6.

“We played poorly as a team from the start,” forward Cleveland Melvin said. “We just didn’t have that energy. They beat us on the boards. They were driving past us when we were playing D.”

Gardner-Webb came into the season ranked No. 217 amongst Division I teams according to ESPN The Magazine, but played like a top-25 team against DePaul. GW picked apart DePaul’s greatest strength, its full-court press, all night. Guards Tyler Strange and Max Landis dribbled out of trouble and regularly found open teammates to advance the ball past the time line.

Blue Demon backcourt defenders attempted to corner Bulldog ballhandlers in the full court, but they allowed enough space to dribble or pass out of. “You don’t have a tough trap, they do outnumber you,” Purnell said. “We weren’t a quick, fast team tonight.”

When getting into a half court set, Gardner Webb ran an offense filled with dribble-drives, pick-and-rolls, slash-and-kicks, backdoor cuts and dishes to open men for three-pointers. Landis had a game-high 20 points, shot 8-of-13 from the field, and 4-of-7 for three. He also recorded four assists and three steals.

“He was just doing what he’s doing, just scoring out there,” Melvin said of Landis. “We weren’t guarding him. We weren’t pressuring the ball.”

DePaul’s offense was stagnant. Many of their sets consisted of aimlessly swinging the ball around the perimeter or taking reckless drives to the basket. DePaul made only 11 of 18 free throws, and sank just two of 13 three pointers. Their first bucket from outside the key came with 11 minutes left in the second half, when Moses Morgan hit a three.

Their inside game was one of the only bright spots in the loss, as the Demons scored 40 points in the paint. Melvin had a fine game down low, scoring 18 points with eight rebounds.

Defensively, DePaul used its length for six blocks; Derrell Robertson had three and Melvin had two. But though they had this size advantage, GW scored 30 points in the paint, and Melvin was the only Blue Demon big with more than eight points and three shots.

“We were the dominant team in terms of size and strength,” Purnell said. “We didn’t take advantage of it.”

Elsewhere on DePaul, Brandon Young had 10 points, Donnavan Kirk put in eight, and Morgan scored seven. Worrel Clahar did not score, but had five assists and six rebounds.

The team got an energy boost after a timeout with about three and a half minutes left, trailing 65-49. DePaul ratcheted up the defensive pressure and caused a few Gardner-Webb misses, but it was too late for a comeback.

DePaul lost its first game of the year, and dropped to 1-1. The Blue Demons’ next game is Saturday afternoon at home versus Austin Peay. The team hopes to set Thursday’s game behind them.

“We just had a poor game,” Melvin said. “We can’t have this ever again.”