For a long time Saturday, DePaul played like the New Year’s Eve party had been the night before. The Blue Demons were sluggish and ragged long enough to permit Florida International the momentary illusion it could win the non-conference basketball game at Allstate Arena.
DePaul (7-4) clung to a two-point lead with 7 1/2 minutes remaining when sophomore point guard Cliff Clinkscales arrived from the bench with shooting guard Draelon Burns to provide reinforcements for Sammy Mejia. Within minutes, the Blue Demons had a double-digit lead on their way to a 72-60 victory.
In addition to making slick passes to open teammates, Clinkscales scored 10 of his 11 points in a five-minutes-plus span and Burns, who has turned into a dagger-to-the heart jump shooter, contributed 15 points. They complemented junior guard Mejia’s 23-point performance.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and attack,” Clinkscales said.
Clinkscales’ quickness and Burns’ accuracy came at a pivotal point. The Golden Panthers had rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to a 42-42 tie. Florida International (3-9), which was missing three injured players, benefited from the alternating offensive outbursts of 6-foot-4-inch Johwen Villegas, who made eight three-pointers for a career-high 24 points and Elvis Lora (17 points).
The victory completed DePaul’s non-conference schedule. The Demons make their Big East debut Wednesday at Cincinnati.
DePaul had a No. 10 RPI ranking and stood fifth in strength of schedule through Friday. The Blue Demons, who shot 50 percent from the field Saturday, also received 12 points and 12 rebounds from freshman forward Wilson Chandler.
“I really thought Cliff gave us a shot in the arm,” DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. “Our thought was, `Let’s make it our 17th conference game.’ That sounds great, but kids are smarter than that.”
Florida International, living up to its name with players from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Ivory Coast as well as New York and Texas, was no pushover.
“I thought DePaul took us lightly, as they should,” said Florida International coach Sergio Rouco, who ran his team through a demanding practice at 6 a.m. at Allstate Arena. “They probably had dates and dinner arrangements before they came in.”
Maybe so, but Burns thought the players still were recovering from all of the food they ate over Christmas.
“We worked that all out,” he said. “It was just like another Thanksgiving.”
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lfreedman@tribune.com
