Xavier holds DePaul scoreless in stretches in 14-point win

Zach Freemantle had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Ryan Conwell scored 19 points to lift visiting Xavier to a 77-63 victory against DePaul on Saturday in Chicago.

Jerome Hunter added 10 points and six boards for the Musketeers, who shot 48.1 percent compared to 39.6 percent for the Blue Demons.

DePaul's losing streak in Big East regular-season games swelled to 38 dating to Jan. 18, 2023, despite a trio of double-figure scorers. CJ Gunn had 11 of his 16 points after halftime, Jacob Meyer scored 14 points and NJ Benson followed with 13.

The Musketeers (10-7, 2-4 Big East) led by 22 early in the second half while capitalizing on a Blue Demons scoring drought of 6:37 that bridged halftime.

DePaul (9-8, 0-6) took advantage of a series of Musketeers misses and turnovers to pull within 11 points on a trey by Troy D'Amico with 13:56 remaining.

The Musketeers answered emphatically, scoring 15 of the next 20 points. Dailyn Swain contributed six straight points off the fast break over one stretch.

The Blue Demons couldn't sustain a rhythm as point guard Conor Enright (six assists) battled second-half foul trouble.

Xavier seized control with a 21-3 run late in the first half to take a 38-23 lead into intermission.

Hunter hit a trey with 5:54 to go in the half to give the Musketeers the lead for good. He closed the half with a tip-in just ahead of the buzzer after Dayvion McKnight's driving layup was off the mark.

Freemantle, who opened the game on the bench, had nine points and seven boards in the first half. Xavier shot 48 percent in the half.

A 5-for-10 start from the floor carried the Blue Demons to an early cushion before their accuracy strayed. DePaul finished the first half in a 4-for-18 funk and went scoreless over the final 4:15 after Meyer's 3-pointer. DePaul also had a scoring drought of 5:15 earlier in the half.

Benson has scored in double figures in four of the past five games. Gunn led the team with seven rebounds.

--Field Level Media