DePaul played its first home game Saturday and everything went according to new coach Dave Leitao’s game plan. Central Michigan couldn’t cope and got clobbered 92-56.
“They were focused,” Leitao said of his Blue Demons after the wipeout at Allstate Arena. “They came out very hungry and took care of the business that we had prepared them to do. We did a very good job of neutralizing what I thought were their two biggest strengths.”
In winning their two previous games, the Chippewas’ two biggest strengths were the play of 7-foot center Chris Kaman, who came into the contest averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds, and their full-court pressure defense.
The Blue Demons (2-0) punctured the press and put the clamps on Kaman. He was held to six points and three rebounds and gave away the ball five times on turnovers as CMU fell to 2-1.
“We played together on both ends of the court,” Leitao said. “On offense we were getting good, open shots.”
The Blue Demons broke open the game in the first half when they sank 68 percent of their shots in surging out front 48-22.
Junior forward Delonte Holland played an exceptional game, making 7-of-8 shots and all five of his free throws for a game-high 20 points. Senior center Sam Hoskin scored 17 and sophomore point guard Drake Diener sank four three-pointers in collecting 16 points. Diener, whose natural position is off guard, had a game-high six assists and turned the ball over only once in the face of the full-court pressure.
Senior Andre Brown, last year’s leading scorer and rebounder who missed last weekend’s season-opening victory over Northern Illinois and has had his practice time curtailed because of knee problems, came off the DePaul bench and contributed eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
“Everybody wants to win, and everybody is playing for each other,” Hoskin said. “Having Andre back made it even better. Anytime your best player comes back, it’s always a great thing.”
