Dunham Leads No. 23 Butler Past DePaul
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Kellen Dunham scored 24 points, and No. 23 Butler beat DePaul 67-53 on Saturday to move into sole possession of second in the Big East.
Roosevelt Jones had 16 points and Kameron Woods finished with 14 for the Bulldogs (21-8, 11-5), who have won five of seven. Butler connected on 22 of 27 foul shots, compared to 6 for 10 for DePaul.
Coupled with Georgetown's 81-70 loss at St. John's, the Bulldogs moved one game ahead of the Hoyas for second in the conference. They host Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Jamee Crockett scored 20 points for DePaul (12-18, 6-11), which has dropped six in a row.
DePaul scored the first nine points of the second half to move in front for the first time. The Blue Demons then grabbed a 38-32 lead on Billy Garrett's layup with 14:35 remaining, but a costly technical foul charged to their bench sparked a 30-5 run for the Bulldogs that put the game away.
Dunham and Jones started the decisive stretch with two free throws apiece. Dunham made a tying 3-pointer with 12:18 remaining, and had another 3 to make it 56-43 with 7:59 to go. Jones then scored four straight points and Woods capped the surge with a jumper.
The Blue Demons shot 40.8 percent (20 for 49) and were hurt by a 36-19 rebounding deficit.
Dunham helped Butler get off to another fast start against DePaul. The junior guard had consecutive layups to lift the Bulldogs to a 24-14 lead with 5:42 left in the first half.
Butler jumped to a 21-9 lead and went on to an 83-73 victory over the Blue Demons on Feb. 7. The Bulldogs also scored 18 of the first 22 points in their last trip to DePaul, a 79-46 victory last March.
But the Blue Demons put together a strong response this time, ripping off a 10-0 run to tie it at 24. Dunham then scored the last five points of the period on a jumper and three foul shots after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt for the second time in the half.
TIP-INS
Butler: The Bulldogs have won their last three games against the Blue Demons, but trail 6-4 in the overall series.
DePaul: The Blue Demons honored seniors Crockett, Greg Sequele and Forrest Robinson before their final home game, and then recognized former star Quentin Richardson at halftime. Richardson is part of the 2015 class for the school's athletic hall of fame. ... DePaul went 7 for 18 from beyond the arc while breaking the school record for 3-pointers in a season. This year's team was tied with the 2007-08 squad with 231 3s coming into the day.
UP NEXT
Butler hosts Georgetown on Tuesday night.
DePaul visits Marquette next Saturday.
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