Walker leads No. 10 UConn to 82-62 win over DePaul

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Kemba Walker scored 22 of his 31 points in the first half, Jeremy Lamb added 13 and No. 10 Connecticut won 82-62 on Saturday to hand DePaul its 18th straight loss in Big East play.

The 31 points matched Walker's career high in conference play, and he also had five assists and three steals. Alex Oriakhi had 11 points for the Huskies (14-2, 3-2), who never trailed in winning their fourth straight against DePaul.

Cleveland Melvin, who verbally committed to UConn before changing his mind, had a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Demons (6-11, 0-5). It was the fifth straight loss for DePaul, which has gone almost a year since its last Big East win. The Blue Demons beat Marquette 51-50 on Jan. 20, 2010.

Melvin's layup to open the second half pulled the Blue Demons within single digits, 45-36, but it was the closest they'd get the rest of the afternoon. Melvin fouled Walker, and he made both free throws to spark a 13-4 run that gave UConn a 58-40 lead and put the game out of reach.

Moses Morgan had 11 points and Tony Freeland added seven boards for the Blue Demons, who managed to outrebound UConn 39-36. But the Huskies shot almost 51 percent while holding the Blue Demons to 32 percent.

Back-to-back baskets by Melvin and Freeland pulled DePaul within eight with 5:19 left in the first half. But Walker and Lamb were simply too much for the Blue Demons to handle, disrupting several DePaul possessions and scoring UConn's last 12 points of the half.

After Freeland's basket, the Blue Demons thought they had forced a turnover. But Walker coolly snagged the ball back and took it in for a layup. At the other end of the court, freshman Shabazz Napier — the Big East rookie of the week — stole the ball from Freeland and raced up the left side of the court, feeding Lamb on a thunderous alley-oop.

Fouled by Michael Bizoukas, Lamb converted the three-point play to give UConn a 38-25 lead, its largest of the game to that point. After a 3 by Morgan, Lamb scored on a jumper and Walker made a 3 to push UConn's lead to 15.

DePaul looked as if it might take some momentum into the second half, with Kelly making a 3 and Melvin converting a three-point play to cut UConn's lead to 43-34 with 5 seconds left. But Walker darted underneath the basket and scored on a reverse as the buzzer sounded.