DETROIT-- Behind a season-high 26 points from sophomore point guard Ray McCallum, host Detroit downed UIC, 70-66 at Calihan Hall Friday night in Horizon League play. The win put the Titans above the .500 mark and gave them their fifth win in their last six contests.

Detroit (12-11, 6-5 HL) finished the first half on a 35-15 run to take a 15-point lead into the break. The lead was as many as 17 until a feisty UIC (6-15, 2-9) squad trimmed the deficit to just three in the final minutes but Detroit hung on for the win.

UDM exacted a bit of revenge after a loss at the UIC Pavilion back on Dec. 29.  Since that defeat, Detroit has ripped-off six wins in eight tries and has resurrected a conference mark that started at 1-4.

It was UIC that had the upper hand early, scoring seven of the game's first nine points.  But, it would be short-lived as the Titans held the Flames without a field goal for 6:38 and found themselves on top, 14-7.  After a Gary Talton triple to tie the score at 19, UDM again held the visitors scoreless for over six minutes and closed the half on a 16-3 spurt for a 37-22 advantage heading into the locker room.

An offensive rebound and a putback by Evan Bruinsma as the first-half buzzer sounded gave the Titans momentum and an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points in the first twenty minutes.

An Eli Holman dunk early in the second stanza put the lead at 17 and it looked like a comfortable margin.  But, UIC's grit coupled with cold shooting from the perimeter by the Titans helped the Flames chip away at the deficit.  A 12-2 run got it under double digits and later a three from Sammy Sutter got it within a possession at 46-43.  McCallum would score six of eight Titan points in that stretch and set-up another with a dime to Holman, who flushed it home.  After Bruinsma stole a pass and fed to Jason Calliste for a fastbreak bucket, the cushion was back to 13 points and UIC needed a timeout.

With 3:36 left, UDM appeared to have things under control leading by 13, but three triples in less than two minutes by Daniel Barnes made it 66-61 Titans with 1:26 showing. Detroit kept UIC in it by missing the front end of four straight trips to the line, however all four freebies on the back end went down, keeping just enough distance to fend off the rally.

Trailing 69-66 and less than 30 seconds left on the clock, UIC had the ball and a chance for the tie, but Barnes missed from three when LaMarcus Lowe got a piece of it and later secured the defensive rebound.  He made the second of two free throws and Detroit came out victorious, 70-66.

McCallum led all scorers with his sixth 20-point effort of the season. He added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, going 9-of-11 from the floor. Holman added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Detroit.

Talton led the Flames with 17 points, followed by 13 from Darrin Williams.  Sutter added a dozen and Barnes finished with 11 for UIC, who suffered its 24th-straight regular season road loss in league play.

UDM heads to Valparaiso Thursday to battle the Crusaders. The tip is set for 7:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Detroit.