CHICAGO -- Max Strus scored a career-best 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds as DePaul beat Illinois-Chicago 65-55 on Saturday afternoon.

Strus scored 12 of his team's 29 first-half points and the Blue Demons (5-4) were up by three at the break.

Tre'Darius McCallum sank a 3-pointer to start the second half, sparking a 12-2 run capped by a Strus 3 and DePaul led 41-28 with 16:05 to go. UIC cut it to 57-51 with 4:28 remaining but couldn't get closer.

Eli Cain added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Blue Demons and McCallum chipped in 11 points.

The team averaged 42 percent shooting from the field compared to 31 percent for UIC. DePaul also had a 42-34 rebounding edge.

Dominique Matthews led the scoring for the Flames (3-6) with 13 points. Tai Odiase added nine points with five rebounds and six blocked shots.