Mac Koshwal had 19 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday night as DePaul snapped an 18-game regular-season losing streak with a season-opening 59-53 victory over Columbia. Will Walker added 15 points for DePaul, which won despite going 9 of 24 from the free-throw line. Noruwa Agho and Brian Grimes scored 13 points apiece for the Lions, who last beat a Big East team in 1985. Patrick Foley had a chance to tie the game with 35 seconds left but missed a 3-pointer. Walker then hit three free throws and Eric Wallace had a fast-break dunk to help hold off Columbia. DePaul started 4-0 and was 8-5 in non-conference games last season before going 0-18 in the Big East, getting outscored by an average of 16.4 points. The Blue Demons defeated Cincinnati in the first round of the conference tournament before losing to Providence to finish 9-24.
