Demons put only loss in past, rout UIC

Moore’s 26 guide victory — but Leitao has grander plans

Illinois-Chicago coach Steve McClain watched video of DePaul’s first loss of the season and deduced a few things.

Besides the Blue Demons’ athleticism and strong defense, McClain said he knew coach Dave Leitao would “get their attention.” DePaul was going to be ready to get back on track.

He was right.

The Blue Demons rolled to an 86-65 victory Saturday against their crosstown rival at Wintrust Arena, marking the first time since 1999-2000 DePaul has won 10 games before January. It also helped erase the sting of their lone loss Sunday to Buffalo after upsetting Texas Tech on Dec. 5.

“The energy wasn’t there,” guard Charlie Moore said of the Demons’ effort against Buffalo. “Coach let us know about it. We wanted to come out and show improvement.”

Moore, a Morgan Park graduate and Kansas transfer, certainly did.

He led the way with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting after struggling the last two games with a combined 5-of-29 effort. Moore added five assists and two steals with only two turnovers in 37½ minutes.

“We talked about fatigue,” Leitao said. “Because of our situation, (Moore is) forced to play a lot of minutes. I challenged him. ‘Don’t let that define you. If you’re trying to be great, there’s no excuse.’ If I offered to any player, ‘Do you want to play 40 minutes?’ What are they going to tell me? No? So now that you have this opportunity, seize the moment.”

Leitao has grander plans for DePaul, so his response to the victory was tempered.

“I’m probably more pleased than happy,” he said. “Happy is the end of the night at a Christmas party, whether it’s libations or good company. I’m not ecstatic because we still have a lot of room to grow.

“We played good today, but good is not good enough. Great is where I want to be. We have a unique opportunity to do something. I don’t want that to slip away from us.”

Even after entering the game with renewed energy, DePaul missed eight of its first nine shots. The Blue Demons then clamped down on defense, causing three straight turnovers to fuel an 8-0 run. They never trailed again.

DePaul scored 23 points off 25 UIC turnovers. Forward Paul Reed had 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

“There’s no question in my mind, in the years I’ve (coached against) DePaul, this is the most talented group and toughest group he’s had,” McClain said.

Forward Braelen Bridges’ 14 points led the Flames (4-7), while Marcus Ottey scored 12 in his season debut after missing the first 10 games because of injury.

McClain said injuries have affected his team’s start but he was encouraged by their effort Saturday. The Flames outrebounded DePaul 41-31 and held Jaylen Butz to 3-of-9 shooting.

“I put the schedule together thinking I’d have five seniors,” McClain said. “Today the third one (Ottey) finally plays his first game. Hopefully I get the fourth one (Jordan Blount) back in two weeks.

“I’m disappointed in our record, but if you took most teams in the country and said, ‘You don’t get to play our first 10 games and you have to take three of your starters out,’ they’d probably struggle.”