DePaul’s plans for two straight Big East wins foiled by St. John’s

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DePaul guard Edwind McGhee (left) tries to slow St. John’s guard D’Angelo Harrison at Allstate Arena. | Nam Y. Huh~AP

Updated: March 3, 2012 11:42AM

St. John’s started five freshmen against DePaul on Wednesday, but the Red Storm’s energy overcame its inexperience in a second-half shooting frenzy that sent the Blue Demons to an 87-81 defeat at Allstate Arena.

DePaul (11-10, 2-7 Big East) led by 12 points in the first half, buoying hopes for its first back-to-back Big East victories since the 2007-08 season. But missed shots and turnovers helped St. John’s (10-12, 4-6) go on an 11-0 run to close the halftime gap to 31-30. Then the Red Storm turned up the pressure, shooting a sizzling 73 percent (22-for-30) in the second half after a 28 percent (9-for-32) first half.

The Demons led again by nine, but St.  John’s took back the lead after a 64-64 tie with 7:16 left.

‘‘We were just grinding it out the whole game,’’ said freshman D’Angelo Harrison, who scored a career-high 29 points and finished 8-for-19 after a 2-for-10 first half.

‘‘He was clearly their answer to getting back in the game,’’ DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said.

DePaul was hoping to build on its 69-64 victory Saturday at Rutgers, but a solid first 17 minutes dissolved when St.  John’s turned up its pressure defense. The Demons committed 18 turnovers that contributed to 25 points for the opposition.

‘‘They were pressing us, and we didn’t take care of the ball like we should,’’ said sophomore Cleveland Melvin (22 points, 11 rebounds), one of three Demons sophomores in double figures. Moses Morgan had a career-high 19 points off the bench.

DePaul played without senior point guard Jeremiah Kelly, who injured the muscles in his left hip in the pregame shootaround. His status is day-to-day, with the Demons next playing Saturday at Cincinnati.

Kelly’s absence left DePaul with Brandon Young (13 points, 11 assists) and Worrel Clahar to play the point. Clahar had six points and five assists but seven turnovers.

The Red Storm’s freshman-dominated roster includes scoring leader Moe Harkless (16.6 ppg), who was limited to 2-for-15 shooting and nine points but had eight rebounds. Three others scored in double figures.