It was a tale of two halves Tuesday night, as DePaul lost to Villanova 94-71 at the All State Arena. DePaul (10-12, 1-8) went toe-to-toe with Villanova (14-9, 5-5) in the first half, ending the first half tied 40-40. But Villanova made 21 of its first 26 shots to start the second half, propelling them to a convincing victory. Cleveland Melvin led DePaul with 19 points, while Jamee Crockett chipped in 16 points.

DePaul has now lost seven games in a row, including nine of their last ten.

Pivotal Moment: Villanova's Scintillating Second Half

The first half was a tight bout, as both teams traded baskets and were tied seven different times. The second half, however, was all Villanova. Villanova shot out the gate to start the second half, making 11 of their first 13 shots en route to a 68-53 lead with 10:41 left in the game. The deficit proved to be too large for DePaul to overcome.

Key Stats: Villanova's Second Half Shooting

Overall, Villanova made 68.8% of their field goals in the second half, including 6 of 7 three pointers. Villanova outscored DePaul 54-31 in the second half.

Next For DePaul: DePaul's next game will be on Saturday against Marquette (15-5, 6-2) in Milwaukee.

Notes: Even though DePaul struggled mightily defensively, the Blue Demons had a strong showing offensively. For the game, DePaul made 44.8% of their field goals, 42.9% of their three's and 76.9% of their free throws. Those three figures are higher than their season averages in those three categories.

Senior reserve Worrel Clahar was one of the few bright spots in losing effort for DePaul. He had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench in 31 minutes of play. Clahar also made 3 of 4 three pointers. He'd been struggling from beyond the arc in Big East play. In DePaul's previous eight Big East games, Clahar had only made 2 of 15 three pointers.