Behind the sharpshooting of sophomore guard-forward Jeremy Lamb, the defending Big East and National Champion Connecticut Huskies have a 46-33 halftime lead over DePaul in the opening game of the 2012 Big East tournament.
Lamb finished with 17 first half points on 7-11 shooting, and the Huskies (the ninth seed) hit seven of their nine three point attempts.
DePaul, who finished last in the Big East during regular season play, hung tough for much of the first half by keeping Connecticut largely off the offensive glass, holding the Huskies to just three offensive rebounds. Sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin, the Blue Demon's leading scorer, had seven points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
DePaul shot just 28.6 percent from the field.
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