DePaul vs. Fairfield final score: Blue Demons hold off Stags, 85-78

Able to avoid a three-game losing streak, the DePaul Blue Demons held on for an 85-78 win over the Fairfield Stags on Tuesday night at Allstate Arena.

The Stags shot an impressive 51.8% from the field and made 7-of-17 attempts from the perimeter on the evening, but could not slow down the offensive momentum of red-hot DePaul junior forward Cleveland Melvin. Along with tying a career-high with 30 points in 34 minutes on the floor, the 6'8, 208-pound Melvin chipped in six rebounds and three assists and was not even whistled once for committing a foul.

Melvin's strong performance narrowly edged that of Fairfield senior Derek Needham, who chipped in a career-high 29 points of his own with four three-pointers to keep the Stags afloat. Needham also recorded a game-high eight assists and did not come off the floor a single time. Now back to an even 3-3 on the young season, head coach Oliver Purnell's Blue Demons will next square off with the Auburn Tigers on Friday evening in the SEC/Big East Challenge.