CHICAGO -- Steve McWhorter scored 21 points and Akeem Springs added 17 on 7-of-10 shooting to help Milwaukee beat Illinois-Chicago 71-60 on Thursday night.

J.J. Panoske scored 14 and Matt Tiby had 11 points and nine rebounds for Milwaukee (11-16, 6-7 Horizon League).

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jay Harris gave Illinois-Chicago (7-21, 3-10) a 26-24 lead with three minutes left in the first half, but Milwaukee scored the final seven to take a 31-26 lead into halftime and never again trailed.

The Flames trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before Harris hit a 3 to make it 61-55 with 2:40 remaining.

McWhorter answered with a layup and, after Harris missed a 3 on the other end, a three-point play to spark an 8-0 run which gave Milwaukee a 69-55 lead with 46 seconds to play.

Harris led Illinois-Chicago with 27 points and Paris Burns added 12 and six assists.