DePaul 98, Austin Peay 67: Cleveland Melvin finished with 26 points and eight rebounds as the host Blue Demons pounded the Governors in the final of two off-site games in conjunction with the Cancun Challenge.

Brandon Young added 17 points for DePaul (2-1), which rebounded from Thursday’s shocking home loss to Gardner-Webb with its biggest win since a 33-point rout of Chicago State to open the 2010-11 season.

The Blue Demons, who never trailed, scored the first eight points of the game and began to pull away at 13:12 of the first half when Moses Morgan drilled a 3-pointer. Melvin followed with layup and Young a three-point play to spark a 25-5 run over the next 7:26 to leave DePaul with 39-16 advantage.

Melvin and Young combined for 12 points during that stretch for the Blue Demons, who expanded the margin to as many as 35 points midway through the second half.

Anthony Campbell finished with 17 points for Austin Peay (1-2), which will face Western Carolina in Cancun on Nov. 20 while DePaul will square off with Wichita State.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The 58 points DePaul scored in the first half was one shy of its entire output in Thursday’s loss. … The Blue Demons recorded 16 steals en route to scoring 42 points off 26 Austin Peay turnovers. … DePaul has hit a 3-pointer in 582 consecutive games.