CJ Gunn scored a career-best 28 points while N.J. Benson posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds as host DePaul edged upset-minded Stonehill 72-64 on Friday in Chicago.
Playing their first season in NCAA Division I, the Skyhawks (1-1) trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half. They outscored the Blue Demons 40-35 after halftime, but DePaul (2-0) recovered to prevail down the stretch.
Stonehill’s Hermann Koffi scored a career-high 27 points while shooting 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Chas Stinson followed with 14 points and Raymond Espinal-Guzman contributed nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Trailing by a basket with 5:47 to go, the Blue Demons answered with a personal 7-0 run from Gunn to take a 60-55 lead with 4:07 left.
Stonehill scored 26 of 38 points coming out of halftime, hounding the Blue Demons into 21.1% shooting while connecting on 52.6% of its shots over that span. The Skyhawks grabbed their first lead of the night when Stinson split a pair of free throws with 8:14 to play.
The Blue Demons shot 37.1% compared to 40.4% for the Skyhawks. DePaul was just 21-for-35 shooting from the free-throw line but won the rebounding battle 39-38, with Brandon Maclin chipping in nine boards.
DePaul seized control from the outset with a 9-0 run. Benson punctuated the early spurt with a baseline dunk moments after blocking RJ Smith’s layup attempt at the other end.
Benson contributed four of his six blocks before halftime.
The Blue Demons scored 30 of the game’s first 35 points, capping the run with a four-point play from Ilija Milijasevic.
Stonehill responded with a 14-0 run in just under three minutes to pull within 11 points. Koffi hit a pair of 3s during that span while Will Batchelder started the run by draining three free throws after being fouled on an attempt from long range.
DePaul led 37-24 at halftime behind 15 points from Gunn. The Blue Demons shot 40.6% percent in the first half while limiting the Skyhawks to 25.9%.
