DePaul 69, Maryland-Baltimore County 61: Cleveland Melvin finished with 24 points and eight rebounds as the host Blue Demons downed the Retrievers.

Jamee Crockett added 11 points for DePaul (9-3), which is on a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

Although the Blue Demons led for the final 26:23 of the contest, they were unable to gain much separation from UMBC (2-10) due to a poor effort at the foul line and nearly matching the Retrievers in turnovers 20-18.

Melvin hit a pair of free throws to key a 9-2 run late in the first half as DePaul managed to take a 38-30 advantage into intermission. The Blue Demons stretched the lead to double digits on a number of occasions but UMBC never let the margin get past 11, forcing DePaul to hit eight of its last 10 free throws to pull out the victory.

Freshman Aaron Morgan poured in a career-high 15 points for the Retrievers, who have lost five straight.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Brandon Young, DePaul’s second-leading scorer, was held to nine points – his first single-digit performance of the season. … UMBC fell to 0-4 in the state of Illinois since it began competing at the Division I level in 1986. … The Blue Demons shot 25-of-37 from the foul line, while the Retrievers went 8-for-17.