Max Strus overcame a poor long-range shooting afternoon to lead DePaul to a 65-55 win over Illinois-Chicago on Saturday at UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Strus scored 24 points for the Blue Demons despite going 3 of 12 from behind the 3-point line.

Eli Cain had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Blue Demons (5-4), who have won four straight games.

DePaul opened the second half with a 12-2 run and led 41-28 four minutes in. The Blue Demons maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

Illinois-Chicago scored eight straight points to cut the DePaul lead to 57-51 with 4:28 to go, but the Blue Demons quickly pushed the margin back to 11.

DePaul led by as many as 14 in the second half.

DePaul was just 4 of 20 from behind the arc.

Dominique Matthews scored 13 points, and forward Jordan Blount had eight rebounds for the Flames (3-6), who shot 30.6 percent from the field.

The Blue Demons had to travel just three miles to beat their crosstown rival.

The Flames outscored DePaul 15-0 from the 3-point line in the opening 20 minutes as the Blue Demons were 0 of 8 from long range.

Illinois-Chicago held a 23-14 rebounding advantage at the half, but committed 15 turnovers while forcing just five.

DePaul had an early 10-2 run to take a 16-10 lead midway through the first half.

The Blue Demons host Alabama A&M on Monday. Illinois-Chicago welcomes Dartmouth on Friday.