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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- DePaul was threatened, but the Blue Demons (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) were never worried.
Bobby Simmons scored 19 points despite foul troubles and freshman Andre Brown had 18 as DePaul outlasted Lewis 87-80 in the opener for both Friday night.
The Flyers led 49-39 at halftime and were ahead 70-69 with 5:47
left before the Blue Demons took control.
"I think they knew we had confidence," Lewis coach Jim Whitesell said.
DePaul felt Lewis' pressure, but was confident.
"We were never worried," DePaul's Rashon Burno said. "We knew
we had another 20 minutes to play our kind of basketball."
Sammy Bacino, who scored 20 points for Lewis, was effective from
the outside, and 6-foot-7 freshman Austin Real scored 13 and
blocked shots by 7-0 Steve Hunter and 6-9 Andre Brown.
Lewis used a zone defense to limit DePaul's effectiveness
inside, and 3-pointers from Bacino and Virostko opened up 40-32
lead with 3:41 left in the first half. A layup by Bacino with 1:30
left gave Lewis its biggest lead at 47-35.
"We were in a 2-3 zone early and they shot us out of it," said
DePaul coach Pat Kennedy. "We have to do a much better job of
getting the ball into our big people.
"Lewis did a good job setting up a gameplan for an upset. Our
guys are so much bigger, and they got beat on some plays inside."
Simmons, playing with four fouls, opened the second half with a
3-pointer, and Lewis failed to score on its first six possessions.
Burno stuck close to Josh Virostko in the second half and helped
limit him to 1-of-6 shooting after the break.
"I did everything I could to get up in his face," Burno said.
"I didn't think those guys going to be able to hit those shots in
the first half. But I could see them getting tired. Shots they made
in the first half went in and out in the second."
Simmons scored again inside to bring DePaul even at 52 with 15
minutes left, and the two teams wrestled for the lead until a pair
of free throws by Simmons put the Blue Demons up for good 72-70.
Hunter scored 16 points and freshman point guard Imari Sawyer
had 10 with 11 assists and eight turnovers.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
DePaul Clubhouse
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