Romeo Weems scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as DePaul built a big early lead and earned a 77-58 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday in Chicago.

Charlie Moore collected 14 points and five assists, and Pauly Paulicap had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Demons (2-4), who won for the first time in five outings.

Javon Freeman-Liberty, who averaged 19 points per game last season for Valparaiso, produced seven points and three assists against his former school. He transferred in the offseason and received a waiver to play for the Blue Demons.

DePaul finished 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) from 3-point range.

Eron Gordon had 12 points and seven rebounds, but leading scorer Ben Krikke had just six points for the Crusaders (3-8) as they dropped their fourth straight contest.

Valparaiso was just 18 of 53 (34 percent) from the field.

Both schools -- which have had eight postponements or cancellations due to COVID -- were able to play after the virus interrupted their respective plans to begin the week.

The host Blue Demons started fast against the Indiana school, leading 19-7 out of the gate behind a 4-for-5 stretch beyond the arc on shots by Freeman-Liberty, Weems, Moore and Darious Hall (game-best 10 rebounds) in the first 5:18.

DePaul went on a 13-0 run behind eight points from Weems over a four-minute span to increase its lead to 32-9. The Crusaders shot just 19 percent from the field at the time.

After leading by 22 points at one point, DePaul cooled off with its shooting late in the first half, but 15 points by Weems on 6 of 8 shooting (2 of 3 from 3-point range) led the way as the Blue Demons trotted to the locker room with a 41-26 halftime lead.

Valparaiso failed to make much of a push in the second half. It trimmed the deficit to 55-44 on Gordon's layup at 10:37, but the Blue Demons kept a double-digit lead throughout on the way to the win.

--Field Level Media