DePaul’s Max Strus scores career-high 43 in senior day win over St. John’s

DePaul guard Max Strus delivered arguably the greatest performance of his college career in the Blue Demons’ 92-83 win over St. John’s on Sunday afternoon. The Hickory Hills native scored a career-high 43 points as DePaul rallied from a nine-point deficit at halftime to surge to its first victory in five games.

Strus, who’s on track to be the Blue Demons’ leading scorer for the second straight year, put on a show for senior day by hitting 14 of 22 attempts from the field. He also went 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, with several of those free throws coming inside the final minute to close out the game.

It was a remarkable performance made all the more special by the fact that it came as part of a big milestone in the team’s second-to-last home game of the season.

The game started off in much different fashion. DePaul trailed 10-0 nearly four minutes into the action after Strus missed his first two shots and committed a turnover. The Red Storm led throughout the first half, eventually taking a 42-33 lead into halftime.

In the second half, DePaul caught fire early with a 26-13 run that put them ahead. The Red Storm battled back to keep the game close, but Strus scored 11 of his 43 points in the final four minutes of the game to help his team pull away. Femi Olujoni also had a big senior day with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds.

Shamorie Ponds led St. John’s with 29 points.

The Blue Demons have a chance to finish the season with an winning percentage over .500 for the first time since 2006-07. They have two regular-season games remaining on the schedule: a home matchup against Georgetown on Wednesday and a road matchup against Creighton on Saturday. The Big East Tournament is set to be played March 13-16 at Madison Square Garden.