ROSEMONT, Ill. — Billy Garrett Jr. scored 20 points and Eli Cain added 16 to lead DePaul to a 82-61 victory over No. 20 George Washington on Tuesday night.
Aaron Simpson added 15 points for the Blue Demons (6-6), who broke a four-game losing streak and scored their first home victory over a ranked opponent in eight seasons.
George Washington (10-2) was led by Kevin Larsen’s 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Colonials, unranked for a decade until last week following victories over Penn State and Rutgers, saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Tyler Cavanaugh added 14 points for George Washington.
DePaul jumped to leads of 10-0 and 33-15 with a combination of 3-pointers by Simpson and Cain and dominance under the basket by Garrett and Myke Henry. The Blue Demons held a 41-22 advantage on Cain’s 3-pointer before the Colonials scored the last seven points of the half and built the lead to as many as 23 points after halftime.
The Blue Demons built on a 41-29 halftime lead, using their speed to find openings in George Washington’s defense. A 10-4 run by DePaul to start the second half, combined with Cavanaugh leaving the game with a left ankle sprain, helped seal the Colonials’ fate.
DePaul shot 55.4 percent to George Washington’s season-low 34.0 percent.
The Blue Demons had an answer for every offensive thrust of their opponent, often answering from long range. DePaul hit eight 3-pointers and outrebounded the Colonials, 36-26.
DePaul built a 10-0 lead in the first 2:15, sandwiching baskets by Garrett around 3-pointers by Cain and Simpson.
George Washington managed only four field goals in the first 10 minutes, and only eight in the half. Until their flurry at the end of the half, the Colonials were carried by their free-throw shooting, going 12-for-14 in the first 20 minutes.
Cavanaugh twisted his ankle at the end of the first half, and returned for about five minutes in the second half, but reinjured it when he was stripped of the ball and committed a foul under the Colonials’ basket with 13:51 left in the second half.
The Blue Demons beat ranked Seton Hall on the road last season, but hadn’t beaten a ranked team at home since a 84-76 victory over Villanova on Jan. 3, 2008.
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