Men's basketball goes 2-1, finishes 5th in Old Spice Classic

For their Thanksgiving weekend, the DePaul men's basketball team spent time away from Chicago's cold weather in sunny Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where they competed in the annual Old Spice Classic. On Sunday, the Blue Demons capped their weekend with a 68-64 win over Arizona State in the fifth-place game, finishing 2-1 over the three-game tournament.

The Blue Demons, now with a 4-1 overall record early in their 2011-12 campaign, have already shown vast improvements over last year's team. Even though seniors Jeremiah Kelly and Krys Faber are the team's only upperclassmen, the Blue Demons make up for their relative lack of experience with an effective combination of athleticism, a balanced scoring attack, and strong team defense.

Sophomores and Baltimore natives Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young have been the team's undisputed most valuable players, their scoring and playmaking anchoring a solid inside-outside offense that stresses ball movement and finding the open shot. This was most evident in DePaul's second game of the Old Spice Classic, in which Melvin and Young combined for 49 points in a 76-70 win over Texas Tech.

One glaring weakness is rebounding. Head coach Oliver Purnell had his hands full all weekend balancing a rotation of three big men in Faber, Derrell Robertson and Donnavan Kirk, who all struggled to secure defensive rebounds and box out opposing frontcourt players.

The DePaul centers faced their biggest challenge in the opening round of the tournament, losing to Trevor Mbakwe and Minnesota on Thanksgiving Day. Mbakwe, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, spearheaded the Golden Gopher offense that outscored the Blue Demons 60-40 in the paint.

The Blue Demons had a chance to possibly go for the win in the waning seconds of the game, but a crucial offensive rebound and putback by Rodney Williams made the score 86-83, putting the game out of reach.

DePaul bounced back from this tough first round loss with their six-point victory over Texas Tech, in which every available player scored.

Young scored 23 points and had four assists, while Melvin added 20 points and five rebounds. Faber contributed an impressive double-double effort, with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the consolation game.

DePaul's win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, while not a glowing representation of productive shooting, making just 38.2 percent of their shots, was an excellent display of ball control. The Blue Demons had just seven turnovers all game, while on the other end forced the Sun Devils to 19 giveaways. The Demons capitalized on these opportunities, scoring 24 points off turnovers, compared to ASU's nine points.

At the conclusion of the Old Spice Classic, Melvin was named to the five-player All-Tournament Team. Melvin finished with per game averages of 21.0 points and 6.3 rebounds, to go along with shooting a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line.

In just their first regular season tournament, the Blue Demons men's basketball team has made great leaps over their performance last year, and could prove to be a surprise competitor in the Big East this season. Their next test comes back in Chicago on Dec. 1, when the Blue Demons take on Ole Miss at Allstate Arena for the Big East/SEC Challenge.