DePaul takes down Georgetown in defensive battle

Reserve Brandon Maclin had 13 points and 11 rebounds and DePaul took advantage of Georgetown's 1-of-23 second-half shooting performance to win 56-50 on Tuesday night in Big East play at Chicago.

NJ Benson pulled down 16 rebounds to go along with nine points for the Blue Demons (10-6, 2-3), who shot 35.3% overall, but erased a three-point halftime deficit by holding Georgetown (9-6, 1-3) to just 15 second-half points.

KJ Lewis had 18 points for the Hoyas, who went 12 of 53 (22.6%) from the field, including 1-of-12 from 3-point range, but 25 of 31 from the free-throw line. Lewis made Georgetown's only second-half field goal off a rebound that resulted in a three-point play that put the visitors ahead 45-43 with 10:07 left.

The Hoyas managed just five points the rest of the way and missed their final 13 field-goal attempts. DePaul went ahead for good as Maclin scored the next five points of the game.

RJ Smith's 3-pointer with 3:37 remaining gave DePaul breathing room with a 51-46 edge. Benson, meanwhile, recorded a pair of key blocks down the stretch to help the Blue Demons win their fourth straight in the series.

The teams combined for just 39 points and nine made field goals in the second half and totaled 17 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.

Three-pointers from Maclin and Kaleb Banks keyed a 9-0 run that gave DePaul a 14-4 lead. However, the Hoyas used a 17-6 surge to go ahead.

The contest was tight the rest of the first half, but while the Blue Demons went 6 of 16 from 3-point range, Georgetown went 12 of 13 from the free-throw line and held a 14-6 advantage on second-chance points to lead 35-32 at the break.

The teams went the last 9:43 of the first half without a field goal.

Georgetown's 7-foot-1 post force Vince Iwuchukwu played 20 minutes and recorded four blocks with three steals in his return from missing the last 10 games due to a medical issue.