Crockett leads men's basketball over Rutgers to 69-64 win

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Freshman Jamee Crockett scored 17 of his career-high 20 points in the second half to help DePaul rally for a 69-64 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday night.

Cleveland Melvin had 14 points and hit a late go-ahead layup for the Blue Demons (11-9, 2-6 Big East), who snapped a five-game-losing streak overall and a four-game skid to Rutgers.

Tied at 62-62, Brandon Young drove and dished to Melvin, who converted with 1:46 remaining to start DePaulon a 7-0 run. Young had 11 points and seven assists.

The Scarlet Knights (11-10, 3-5), who have dropped three of their last four, got 22 points from Myles Mack and 14 from Jerome Seagears.

Rutgers took the game's biggest lead at 50-39 with 10:21 remaining before Crockett hit the first of four straight 3-point attempts to start the comeback. He was 5 of 5 on 3-pointers in the second half.

After Melvin put DePaul ahead, the Blue Demons made 5 of 6 from the foul line to put the game away with 13 seconds remaining.

With Rutgers leading 52-42, DePaul held the Scarlet Knights scoreless for nearly four minutes to get back in it. There were three lead changes and two ties in the final 4:49 and 12 lead changes and nine ties in the game.

In a low-scoring first half, which is routine for both teams, Rutgers used a 7-0 run in the final 3 minutes to take a 29-24 lead.

It was the lowest scoring first half of the year for the Blue Demons and the seventh time they were held under 30 before halftime. It marked the ninth time this season Rutgers failed to score 30 by intermission.

Trailing 24-22, the Scarlet Knights got a 3-pointer from Mack to provide the sixth lead change of the half, going along with nine ties. Eli Carter followed with a layup from Austin Johnson, and Johnson's blocked shot led to Derrick Randall's layup to give Rutgers a five-point halftime edge.

It was the biggest lead for either team in the half, which saw DePaul shoot 37 percent (10 for 27) and commit 10 turnovers.