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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) -- After nearly beating Duke two days earlier,
DePaul was expecting a much easier game against Monmouth.
|  | | Monmouth's Kevin Owens tries to contain DePaul's Bobby Simmons, front, in the second half Monday. |
But the No. 20 Blue Demons got all they could handle before
rallying to beat Monmouth 69-62 Monday night. Bobby Simmons scored
17 points, and Quentin Richardson added 16 points and 11 rebounds
for DePaul (5-2).
"It was like playing Princeton tonight," DePaul coach Pat
Kennedy said. "Their game plan was terrific. They wanted to spread
out our zone, hit shots from the outside and make us play
man-to-man. We were really ripe for an upset."
Rahsaan Johnson scored 22 points for Monmouth (1-5), and Quin
Hayes added 20.
Monmouth made nine of 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half
to take a 44-39 lead at the break. Hayes went 4-for-7 from long
range in the first half, while Johnson was 3-for-6.
Kennedy warned the Blue Demons to be wary of Monmouth's outside
shooting, but they didn't take it to heart until it was almost too
late.
"He saw how they were shooting in warmups," Richardson said.
"It was the first thing he told us in the huddle."
At halftime, Kennedy could see that his players lacked the
intensity they had in Saturday's 84-83 overtime loss at Duke.
"I was mostly getting blank stares," Kennedy said. "I've
never had a team come out that flat."
DePaul scrapped its zone in the second half and played
man-to-man, a defensive change that limited Monmouth to 26 percent
shooting after the break.
"They were a little flat in the first half, but their coach
must have gotten on them, because in the second half, they got a
lot of offense out of their defense," Hayes said. "I had some
looks, but I didn't make them after halftime."
After trailing most of the second half, DePaul took the lead for
good, 57-56, on Kerry Hartfield's only basket of the game, a
3-pointer with 7:50 left.
Rashon Burno's 3-pointer from the top of the key increased the
lead to to 62-57.
Monmouth closed to 65-60 with 1:05 left when Kevin Owens threw
in a desperation shot over the backboard as he was falling out of
bounds. Despite missing several free throws down the stretch,
DePaul held on for the victory.
That was about the only good thing Kennedy took out of the game.
"I told them to forget it, to shake it off and get ready for
Nicholls State on Thursday," Kennedy said.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Monmouth (N.J.) Clubhouse
DePaul Clubhouse
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