Rosemont, IL - The DePaul Blue Demons came out of the gate swinging and hung with the Syracuse Orangemen like prize fighters finding a way to stay in the game early. The Big East has been quite a big jump for the Blue Demons, but it’s obvious to see that this young team has a future.

The DePaul Blue Demons started out the game with a 3 pointer from Karron Clark, but the three point attack quickly fell off from there for both teams. Syracuse was just 1-13 behind the 3 point line and DePaul was just 3-18.

Syracuse came out in their zone defense; however DePaul was able to score points in the paint. But the key stat here is that DePaul was 4-4 from the charity strip on the night! What this tells us is that DePaul was not going to the hoop strong. Coach Wainwright said after the game, “We were not strong in the lane. We need to go through people to get to the rim, and we didn’t do that. To compete in the Big East, that’s what it takes.”

That was certainly the story. DePaul went into half time down by only one point, 31-32. The Blue Demons are 3-6 when trailing at the half. After the break DePaul came out strong and captured the lead with 15:50 left to play when Koshwal scored on a layup.

DePaul held the lead until 7:28 left to play in the game. DePaul looked timid to attack the Syracuse zone defense in the second half and suffered by falling behind and ultimately surrendering the game. DePaul loses this heartbreaker 55-60.

DePaul falls to 9-11 overall and 4-4 in the Big East, while Syracuse is 15-7 overall, and 5-4 in the Big East. The Big East is a volatile conference right now. With a DePaul win in this game, the conference race would have been even tighter. There are currently 5 teams tied at 5-3. The Big East is still up for grabs for the Blue Demons, but they’ll have to finish strong and they’ll need stronger play from their big men.

DePaul VS Syracuse Photogallery

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