DePaul 81, Florida Atlantic 70: Sandi Marcius established career highs with 19 points and 11 rebounds to help the Blue Demons slip past the visiting Owls.

Cleveland Melvin scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half and Billy Garrett Jr. added 14 points for DePaul (5-4). Brandon Young returned from a one-game absence due to an ankle injury to score 12 points.

Pablo Bertone scored 30 points to pace Florida Atlantic (3-7). Jackson Trapp added 17 points and Justin Raffington grabbed 12 rebounds for the Owls.

Florida Atlantic was within 62-58 after Trapp connected on a 3-pointer with 7 1/2 minutes remaining. Melvin scored DePaul’s next seven points as the Blue Demons took a nine-point advantage and expanded the lead down the stretch.

Bertone had 17 first-half points as Florida Atlantic led most of the half. DePaul closed with a 12-4 surge and Melvin’s basket at the buzzer gave the Blue Demons a 38-37 lead at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blue Demons collected 18 offensive rebounds while recording a 38-29 edge on the boards. … Bertone is averaging 27.8 points over the last four games, including a career-best 31 against Central Florida on Dec. 3. … Young had six assists to move into fifth place in school history with 445 and he also passed Sammy Mejia (1,494 from 2003-07) for 10th on DePaul’s career scoring list by raising his output to 1,504.