Milwaukee, WI – Vander Blue led five Marquette players in double figures with 18 points, as the 24th-ranked Golden Eagles earned an 89-78 victory over DePaul on Saturday at Bradley Center.
Junior Cadougan chipped in 17 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Davante Gardner donated 13 points off the bench to help Marquette (17-5, 8-2 Big East) extend its home winning streak to 22 games.
Jamil Wilson added 11 points and Chris Otule finished with 10 in Marquette's fourth win in its last five games.
"I think any time you can win in February it's really important heading into March," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said of his team's strong play of late.
Brandon Young poured in a game-high 21 points to go with six assists for the Blue Demons (10-13, 1-9), who have dropped eight straight and 10 of their last 11 games, while Donnavan Kirk and Worrel Clahar each netted 16 points.
"Everyone has to look in the mirror and do a little more," DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said. "It's that simple. We have to come back and prepare and fight."
Marquette led by five, 43-38, at the break before a Young 3-pointer just under five minutes in brought DePaul within 54-52.
Cadougan answered with a three-point play at the other end to spark a 7-0 surge that found Marquette holding a nine-point edge with under 14 minutes to play.
The margin was still nine at 71-62 with just over seven minutes left before DePaul caught fire from long range, knocking down three straight 3-pointers as part of a 9-4 spurt that brought the Blue Demons within 75-71.
DePaul would get no closer, however, as Gardner netted the first five points of a 10-2 Marquette surge that Wilson capped with a triple to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable 85-73 cushion with just over 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
Marquette led by six, 18-12, early on before DePaul used a 7-2 spurt to trim the deficit to one on a Kirk jumper just past the midpoint of the first half.
The teams exchanged buckets from there until the Golden Eagles closed the stanza on an 11-6 swing to take a five-point lead into the locker room.
Game Notes
Marquette improved to 13-0 at home this season ... The Golden Eagles own a 68-44 advantage in the all-time series ... The Blue Demons, who entered the game shooting a league-worst 29.4 percent from long range, shot 45.0 percent (9-for-20) from beyond the arc ... Marquette's bench outscored DePaul's reserves, 36-7.
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