DePaul takes 5th place in eight team Old Spice Classic with win over ASU

LAKE BUENA VISTA—Cleveland Melvin had 18 points and Brandon Young added 13 to help DePaul hold off a late charge by Arizona State and secure a 68-64 win on Sunday in the fifth-place game of the Old Spice Classic.Arizona State trailed by four points at halftime and throughout the second half before getting it down to a basket in the waning seconds. But Jordan Bachynski came up empty on a pair of free-throw attempts that would have tied it at 66. Two free throws by Melvin on the other end to provide the final margin.ASU was led by Keala King’s 22 points, followed by Trent Lockett with 19. But the Sun Devils were hamstrung by 19 turnovers, a throwback to their tournament-opening loss to Fairfield in which they turned it over 22 times. DePaul kept about an eight-point cushion most of the second half until a flurry of action under the three- minute mark opened the door.A three-point play by Lockett cut DePaul’s lead to 62-60 with 1:59 to play and he trimmed it to a basket again a few possessions later at 66-64.Bachynski rebounded a missed Carrick Felix 3-pointer in the corner with 4.3 seconds left. But he missed his first ensuing free-throw attempt. A lane violation then negated his second and Melvin was able to ice the game at the line.Arizona State held a 44-30 rebounding edge, but struggled to transform the extra opportunities into points as struggled to get clean looks at the basket. The Sun Devils played great half-court defense at times, though often surrendered baskets late in the shot clock.The Blue Demons won despite shooting just 38.2 percent for the game (26 of 68) and 8 of 22 from the 3-point line.DePaul led by as many as 12 in the first half, but up 29-19 following back-to-back 3’s by Moses Morgan the Blue Demons allowed Arizona to outscore them 8-2 over the final three minutes.The Blue Demons also shot just 36.4 percent from the field in the half (12 of 33) and were outrebounded 27-13.Arizona State didn’t get much out of the edge on the glass, though, thanks to 11 turnovers.