DePaul 57, Northwestern 56: Billy Garrett Jr. hit a layup at the buzzer to give the visiting Blue Demons a thrilling victory over the Wildcats.

Garrett had nine points while Sandi Marcius led DePaul (8-5) with 12. Cleveland Melvin chipped in 11 for the Blue Demons, which escaped with the victory despite shooting 36.8 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Tre Demps set a career high with 23 points for Northwestern (7-6) and Drew Crawford joined him in double figures with 15. Nathan Taphorn was the only other Wildcat with more than one made field goal as Northwestern shot 32.1 percent from the floor.

Despite the poor offensive performance, the Wildcats looked like they had captured a dramatic win when Dave Sobolewski, who had made only one of his prior 32 long-range attempts, hit a 3-pointer with less than five seconds left. But DePaul was able to rush the ball up the floor and find Garrett, who took a pass under the basket and made a tough layup as time expired.

The Blue Demons took a 28-23 lead to the break after a sloppy first half that saw neither team crack 30 percent from the field. The Wildcats were especially bad with 10 turnovers, allowing the Blue Demons to take the advantage despite shooting 11-for-21 from the free-throw line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: G JerShon Cobb returned for Northwestern after missing the Wildcats’ previous two contests. … DePaul won in Evanston for the first time since 1995. … Northwestern C Alex Olah had a game-high nine rebounds but did not score.