DePaul slams door on Bethune-Cookman with late run, 80-58

CHICAGO (AP) — Max Struss and Paul Reed threw down back-to-back dunks late in the second half as DePaul emphatically slammed the door shut in a 80-58 win over Bethune-Cookman in a season opener Wednesday night.

Struss finished with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, and Reed scored 11 with eight rebounds for the Blue Demons, who shot 44 percent from the floor (25-57) and converted 22 of 30 at the foul line.

Struss swooped in from the wing and leaped for a pretty alley-oop pass from Eli Cain for a two-handed dunk with 7:57 remaining, and Cain flicked a pass to Reed on the baseline for a reverse one-handed dunk a minute later, the pair of exclamation points sparking an 11-2 run over the next 3:18.

Cain had eight assists to go with eight points.

Isaiah Bailey led Bethune-Cookman with 12 points while Malik Maitland and Cletrell Pope added 11 each.