CHICAGO – Cleveland Melvin matched a career high with 30 points and Brandon Young added 20 as DePaul held off a late Fairfield rally to secure an 85-78 victory Tuesday night.
Melvin scored 24 first-half points — including 13 points in the opening 4 minutes — as DePaul (3-3) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Derek Needham paced Fairfield (3-4) with a career-high 29 points.
The Blue Demons quickly pushed their lead to 16 points early in the second half, then held off a late Stags rally capped by a Needham 3-pointer that cut the lead to 78-73 with 2:03 left in regulation.
Charles McKinney and Donnavan Kirk had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Blue Demons. Amadou Sidibe had 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Fairfield.
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