Dillon Mitchell helps Cincinnati rout DePaul in Crown

Dillon Mitchell had 10 of his 15 points in the first half and Cincinnati used a 14-2 second half spurt to pull away and beat DePaul 83-61 on Tuesday in a first-round game of The Crown Tournament at Las Vegas.

Mitchell had seven rebounds and three assists while the backcourt duo of Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James each had 13 points for the Bearcats (19-15), who had six players in double figures and advance to the quarterfinals Wednesday night.

CJ Gunn had 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half while N.J. Benson had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead DePaul. Isaiah Rivera added 14 for DePaul (14-20), which opened the game 1-for-11 from 3-point range and could never get closer than 10 points in the second half.

The Bearcats shot 49.3 percent from the field and were 9 of 21 from 3-point range.

The Blue Demons made 42 percent of their attempts and were 5 of 19 from behind the arc.

Cincinnati used a pair of 7-0 runs in the first half to build a 33-23 halftime lead over DePaul. Leading 44-32, the Bearcats went on an 8-0 run to build a 20-point lead. Dan Skillings Jr., who had just two points in the first half, scored six straight points to help Cincinnati build the lead. He finished with 12 points.

DePaul pulled within 60-45, on Benson's three-point play with nine minutes remaining. But Cincinnati answered with a 14-2 run, building their biggest lead at 74-47 with 6:23 remaining.

Cincinnati was able to pull away in the second half thanks to its dominance in the paint, outscoring DePaul, 42-24, and out rebounding the Blue Demons, 38-30.

Aziz Bandaogo and Simas Lukosius each had 11 points for Cincinnati. David Thomas scored 11 for DePaul.

The Bearcats have lost in the NIT quarterfinals in each of the last two postseasons and will try to reach the semifinals of The Crown with a win against either Central Florida or Oregon State on Wednesday night.

--Field Level Media