Young helps DePaul rally past Chicago State 74-64 - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

CHICAGO (AP) -- Overlooking its crosstown foe nearly resulted in disaster for DePaul.
 
   The Blue Demons expected to roll on Wednesday but found themselves in battle to avoid an upset. Led by junior guard Brandon Young's 21 points and a renewed defensive effort in the second half, DePaul overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Chicago State 74-64.
 
   "We kind of looked down on them and didn't pay them no mind," Young said. "We just thought we were going to come out here and get an easy win, which it wasn't. It was a very tough one. We know we can't do that in the long run, especially as the season goes on. We can't look at teams, what they've got on their jerseys. We have to play hard."
 
   On the day Chicago State announced it will join the Western Athletic Conference in 2013, the Cougars nearly delivered a huge win against their crosstown foe. Chicago State (2-8) shot 53 percent in the first half, including 4 of 8 on 3-point attempts, to help build a 44-30 halftime lead.
 
   DePaul (5-3) couldn't have played much worse in the first half. The Blue Demons committed 12 turnovers -- finishing with 21 for the game -- and shot only 30 percent from the field.
 
   "We challenged our guys (at halftime) just to listen and to understand that it was going to be hard, to dig in," DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said. "The theme of it was pressure, push, share the ball but also do what we know, that we have an advantage inside."
 
   Chicago State went cold and put up an ugly shooting performance in the second half. The Cougars went 5 of 26 from the field and did not make a shot until Matt Ross' layup with 11:39 remaining.
 
   A 9-0 DePaul run gave the Blue Demons an 18-10 lead, but they failed to capitalize and extend their lead to double digits. The Cougars took advantage. During the final 8:49 of the first half, Chicago State went on a 30-6 run and at one point outscored DePaul 17-2. Chicago State switched into and out of a 2-3 zone, slowing down DePaul and frustrating the guards.
 
   "I thought Chicago State came out and executed its game plan very well in the first half," Purnell said. "Obviously I didn't feel we played as well as we could. We got off to a quick start and I thought we just relaxed a little bit."
 
   But DePaul's defensive pressure disrupted Chicago State in the second half. The Blue Demons extended their man-to-man defense to beyond the 3-point line, cutting down the Cougars guards' penetration and drive-and-dish plays. Turnovers followed for Chicago State. Mistakes and forced passes resulted in 13 second-half turnovers, which quickly erased the Cougars' lead.
 
   "One thing this team can really do is shoot the ball," Cougars coach Tracy Dildy said. "We can score the ball. . We had some shots we could make. We had a few bad shots, but for the most part those are shots we can make."
 
   Although the Blue Demons finished with only seven second-chance points, they dominated the boards and outrebounded Chicago State 48-30, including 20 offensive rebounds. Hitting the glass aggressively extended possessions and gave ample looks to DePaul scorers Young and Cleveland Melvin (12 points), though the Blue Demons struggled behind the arc all game, making only 4 of 15 attempts.
 
   Ross scored 20 points to lead Chicago State, which proved it's capable of competing with teams in elite conferences. That didn't eliminate the sting of losing a winnable game to a Big East foe.