A strong defensive effort led the men’s basketball team against the University of Illinois-Chicago in a 67-48 victory Wednesday in Rose Arena.

CMU (2-1) held the Flames to just 26.9 shooting and outrebounded UIC 47-29.

“We really had the focus and intensity level that we talked about, particularly defensively, that we need to have,” said coach Ernie Zeigler.

Senior guard Robbie Harman scored 20 points, leading the Chippewas. Junior forward Jalin Thomas finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Senior forward Chris Kellermann, who didn’t start for the second straight game, led CMU with 12 rebounds.

CMU came out strong in the game, starting on an 11-0 run. However, UIC followed with an 11-0 run itself, tying the game with 13:10 remaining in the first half.

The team plays its first road game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Check Friday’s edition for a look into the team’s next game and expanded coverage on the team’s win against UIC.

E-mail the author: Tim Ottusch