ROSEMONT, Ill. – DePaul's Cleveland Melvin posted a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds as the Blue Demons used a second-half surge to down HBU, 78-58, Wednesday night at Allstate Arena.
 
Sophomore forward Cody Joyce scored a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field for the Huskies (3-8), while sophomore guard Rob Lewis had 11 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Junior center Ricmonds Vilde also grabbed seven boards for HBU, and junior guard Marcel Smith had five assists.
 
Melvin shot 11-of-20 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Tommy Hamilton added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Brandon Young had 11 points and four boards for the Blue Demons (7-4).
 
HBU shot 38 percent from the game, including 6-of-14 from long distance, but only went 6-for-12 from the free throw line. DePaul shot 40 percent from the field, only 3-for-11 from beyond the arc, but went 21-for-28 at the foul line. The Blue Demons outrebounded the Huskies, 42-41.
 
HBU led 8-6 after Joyce's second bucket from close range, but Melvin hit a three, Hamilton powered inside for short jump hook and Sandi Marcius made a free throw to put the Blue Demons up by four with 15:42 left. A Joyce putback and a layup by Lewis tied it, but Young's fadeaway jumper put DePaul back on top. Smith buried a three to put the Huskies ahead, 15-14, with 11:43 to go, but the Blue Demons scored seven straight to lead by six.
 
Sophomore forward Dauson Womack ended the spurt with a layup, but Melvin answered with a three-point play and a layup by Young gave DePaul a nine-point advantage. The Blue Demons led by as many as 10, but junior guard Tyler Russell drilled a three with a minute left to cut the Huskies' deficit to four. A pair of free throws by Melvin sent DePaul to halftime with a 33-27 lead.
 
HBU shot 38 percent in the first half, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range, while DePaul shot 36 percent, including 2-of-7 from behind the arc. The Blue Demons made 7-of-11 from the free-throw line, and the Huskies were 3-for-6. HBU outrebounded DePaul, 25-18. Joyce led the Huskies with eight points at the break, and Melvin had 15 for the Blue Demons.
 
DePaul upped its lead to 11 early in the second, but back-to-back layups by Joyce made the score 40-33 with 16:54 to go. The Blue Demons scored the next four, then sophomore guard Caleb Crayton knocked down a three to keep the Huskies within eight. During a three-minute stretch when the Huskies were held without a field goal, DePaul outscored HBU, 11-2, to take a 65-45 lead with 7:09 left.
 
The Blue Demons led by as many as 28, but the Huskies finished the game with a 9-0 run, getting threes from sophomore guard Mike Turner, freshman guard Jimmy Barton and freshman forward Colter Lasher.
 
The Huskies play their final game before the Christmas break when they travel to face Pepperdine Saturday at 3 p.m. CST in Malibu, Calif. After the holidays, HBU will begin its first season in the Southland Conference with a road trip to Oral Roberts Jan. 2, followed by Central Arkansas Jan. 4.