By Craig Lynch –
After a loss to St. John’s University in the men’s college basketball Big East tournament, DePaul University took its 15-15 record to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament. The Demons defeated Central Michigan, Longwood, and Costal Carolina to qualify for the best of three finals. They dropped two of three games to University of South Florida to end their season at with a 19-17 record, the first above .500 final record since the 2006-2007 season.
“I think this tournament was a reward for our seniors and some positive work to prepare the under classmen,” said DePaul head coach Dave Leitao.
Monday April 1 South Florida defeated DePaul, 63-61, on a basket by Dave Colins with 1.5 seconds left in the opener. Wednesday DePaul thrilled the home fans at Phillips McGrath Arena by edging South Florida, 100-96, in overtime. Senior Max Strus scored 32 points and sophomore Paul Redd posted a double double with 28 points and 16 rebounds.
“Paul has been growing up before us,” said Leitao. “He has been great during the second half of the season.”
Friday, in game three, the Demons were missing senior guard Eli Cain who was injured Wednesday, April 3. They fell, 77-65, and only converted four of 20 treys. Strus scored 16 points. DePaul fell behind by 14 points.
DePaul pulled to within one point, 41-40, but could not climb over the hump. With three seniors ending their careers, Reed, Jalen Butts, and Devin Gage will be counted on to pick up the scoring. Talented recruits should help to make DePaul basketball more relevant next season than in recent years.