Strus hits 6 3s, scores 21; DePaul beats Portland 82-69

Nov 27, 2017, 02:48 am

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Max Strus hit six 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, both career highs, and Marin Maric had 19 points and 13 rebounds to help DePaul beat Portland 82-69 on Sunday night at the PK80 Invitational.

Strus, who sat out last season after transferring from Division II Lewis, has scored in double figures each of his six games with DePaul (2-4). Maric, a graduate transfer who had 13 double-doubles last season for Northern Illinois, had his first for the Blue Demons.

Tre'Darius McCallum, who finished with 15 points, hit two 3-pointers to make it 6-0, Strus' third 3 in a 180-second span pushed the lead to 27-9 midway through the first half and DePaul led by double figures until Franklin Porter's 3-pointer pulled Portland within eight points with 10 minutes to go. Maric answered with a 3 and added a jumper about two minutes later before capping a 16-3 run with another trey that made it 80-60 with four minutes left.

Porter hit all of his four 3-point shots and led Portland (2-4) with 16 points. Marcus Shaver Jr. scored 15 and Josh McSwiggan added 14. The trio combined to make 11 of the Pilots 14 3-pointers.

DePaul, which came in with 20 made 3s this season, hit a season-high 12 against Portland. The Blue Demons scored 19 points off 14 Portland turnovers and scored 10 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.