Surprising DePaul hopes hot shooting continues vs. Mercer

An early fancy for the 3-point shot has DePaul on the verge of matching its win total from last season.Mercer, meanwhile, looks to pull off an upset and keep the Blue Demons from opening the campaign 3-0 on Monday night in Chicago.First-year coach Chris Holtmann wanted a fast-paced style that looks for the open 3 to be the hallmark of DePaul’s offense. Through two games, the Blue Demons are 25-for-70 from beyond the arc. They made 14 threes during an 80-78 overtime victory against Southern Indiana in their season opener last Monday, then hit 11 in a 92-59 rout of Prairie View A&M on Thursday.DePaul made 10 or more 3-pointers only twice during its brutal 3-29 campaign last season.”We have a lot of shooters,” said DePaul forward JJ Traynor, who knocked down a 3 and had 11 points on Thursday. “I want to say everybody on our team can shoot the ball. We want to play fast and take the best shot. Sometimes that’s the 3.”Shoot the ball with confidence.”