Marquette 66, DePaul 56: Davante Gardner scored a career-high 28 points as the Golden Eagles rallied for a Big East win over the visiting Blue Demons.

Gardner, who went over 1,000 career points in the opening minutes of the second half, was 9-of-14 from the field and 10-of-11 from the foul line for the Golden Eagles (9-6, 1-1 Big East). Jamil Wilson had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Todd Mayo added 10 points.

Cleveland Melvin finished with 22 points after scoring 15 in the first half for the Blue Demons (8-7, 0-2), who led by 10 with 15 minutes remaining. Billy Garrett Jr. provided 10 points and Durrell McDonald chipped in with nine.

The Golden Eagles kept their fans, who don't sit until the team scores its first field goal, on their feet for nearly seven minutes as the Blue Demons built at 14-3 advantage. Melvin buried four 3-pointers and McDonald hit a pair as DePaul took a 30-26 lead into halftime despite foul trouble for three of its big men.

The Blue Demons opened the second half with a 10-4 run behind five points each from Garrett and Melvin, but Jake Thomas hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Gardner scored 10 straight points as the Golden Eagles seized their first lead with less than eight minutes remaining. Mayo hit a 3-pointer to help push the lead to six and Gardner tacked on seven more points to secure the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Melvin went 5-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point territory, but the rest of the Blue Demons were a combined 6-of-23 in the first half. ... The Golden Eagles had seven blocks, including three from C Chris Otule, and six steals in the first half. ... Marquette was 23-of-31 from the foul line compared to 2-of-4 for DePaul.