NJ Benson recorded a first-half double-double, and finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds, as host DePaul rolled to an 84-65 victory over Loyola Maryland on Saturday in Chicago.
With David Skogman out due to a lower-body injury, the 6-foot-8, Missouri State-transfer Benson made the most of his first start this season. Benson posted 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half, as DePaul (9-4) focused on its inside game and outscored Loyola Maryland 28-12 in the paint en route to a 44-26 halftime lead.
Benson, who averaged 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds entering the game, matched a career high in scoring Saturday, while those boards are a personal best.
Jacob Meyer added 12 points for the Blue Demons, one of the nation’s top 3-point shooting teams that went just 5 of 24 from distance, but scored 52 points in the paint. DePaul bounced back following consecutive losses to St. John’s and Northwestern by a combined 48 points.
Jacob Theodosiou had 22 points and Milos Ilic scored 13 for the Greyhounds (5-6), who shot 38.5 percent in the first half and committed 15 overall turnovers while falling to 1-67 against major-conference opponents since February 1982.
DePaul scored the game’s first eight points, beginning with a Benson dunk. Loyola didn’t record its first field goal until Ilic’s bucket with 14:11 remaining in the opening half, but used a 9-0 run to get within 13-12.
However, Benson and DePaul’s dominance in the paint never allowed the Greyhounds to go ahead. The Blue Demons led 18-16, then scored the next seven points, highlighted by dunks from Benson and CJ Gunn (11 points).
DePaul was ahead 32-23 with 3:20 left in the first half when it took control by scoring 12 straight points before Jordan Stiemke’s 3 made it an 18-point game at the break. The Blue Demons were 1-of-11 from 3 through the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, another Benson dunk and two free throws were featured during a 12-2 run that put the Blue Demons up 66-37 with roughly 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
