Monmouth Gives DePaul a Rough Ride

After nearly beating Duke two days earlier, DePaul was expecting an easier game against Monmouth (N.J.).

But the 20th-ranked Blue Demons got all they could handle Monday night before rallying to beat the Hawks, 69-62, at Chicago. Bobby Simmons scored 17 points, and Quentin Richardson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for DePaul (5-2).

“It was like playing Princeton tonight,” DePaul Coach Pat Kennedy said. “Their game plan was terrific. They wanted to spread out our zone, hit shots from the outside and make us play man-to-man. We were really ripe for an upset.”

Rahsaan Johnson scored 22 points for Monmouth (1-5), and Quin Hayes had 20.

Monmouth made nine of 15 three-point shots in the first half to take a 44-39 lead at the break. Hayes made four of seven from long range in the first half, while Johnson made three of six.

Kennedy warned the Blue Demons to be wary of Monmouth’s outside shooting, but they didn’t take it to heart until it was almost too late.

“He saw how they were shooting in warmups,” Richardson said. “It was the first thing he told us in the huddle.”

At halftime, Kennedy could see that his players lacked the intensity they had in Saturday’s 84-83 overtime loss at Duke.

“I was mostly getting blank stares,” Kennedy said. “I’ve never had a team come out that flat.”

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In a women’s game, Tatum Brown scored a career-high 30 points and Julie Brase scored all 17 of her points in the second half to lead No. 19 Arizona (6-0) to an 89-75 victory over Colorado State (5-2) at Tucson.

Notes

Luke Recker, whose transfer from Indiana to Arizona was followed by an automobile accident last summer, said he will leave the Wildcats to play for Iowa. In a statement released through the Arizona athletic department, Recker confirmed reports that he will leave Arizona after this semester for Iowa to be closer to his girlfriend, Kelly Craig, who is hospitalized in Chicago. Said Recker: “This decision is based solely on personal reasons. I have been nothing but extremely impressed with Coach [Lute] Olson and the Arizona program and will miss them greatly. But being close to my loved ones has become a priority at this time.” Craig was partially paralyzed by a spinal cord injury when a truck crossed the center line of a highway near Durango, Colo., on July 10 and rammed the car in which she and Recker were passengers. The driver of the car they were in was killed. Clair Recker said his son’s anticipation of a career at Arizona was tainted by memories of the accident. “Luke was just having a hard time being away,” he said. “Things were not the same for him any more. Things changed too dramatically. If the accident had not happened, this would not be an event.” Recker is sitting out this season because of his first transfer, and under NCAA rules will have to sit out the fall semester at Iowa. But the 6-foot-6 swingman should be able to play for the Hawkeyes in January 2001, plus a full senior season in 2001-2002. . . . Utah Coach Rick Majerus said reserve point guard Trent Whiting will take a redshirt season to recover from a painful bone condition in his legs.