Will Sullivan’s spot in Miami’s starting lineup could become a permanent arrangement.

On Saturday, Sullivan, a sophomore guard, made his second straight start, made all six of his shots and scored 16 points to lead the RedHawks to an 82-70 victory over Illinois-Chicago and the end of a four-game losing streak.

Sullivan scored 13 points in the second half and was the RedHawk who most often answered the runs UIC (9-3) made when several double-digit Miami (4-6) leads were trimmed to six or seven points.

“I was feeling good,” Sullivan said. “My role’s not really to go in there and put up 20 points a game. It’s more to find my spots, try not to force anything.”

Sullivan made all six of his shots, including three from 3-point range. He also had two assists and two steals. His only lowlight was 1-of-4 at the free-throw line.

“I’m extremely proud of Will Sullivan,” said first-year Miami coach John Cooper. “He has done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s persevered, and, of course, he’s taken advantage of his opportunity.”

That opportunity began in the RedHawks’ last game, a loss at Wright State, when leading scorer Allen Roberts came off the bench after missing a practice because of injury.

“Watching him on film his effort it was unbelievable,” Cooper said of Sullivan. “He did it the old-fashioned way — he earned it. I’ll stay with it, but that’s not to say we won’t make changes. We haven’t been the kind of team that has five guys and we know who they are.”

Roberts was back in the lineup Saturday, but Cooper’s choice of a four-guard attack kept Sullivan a starter in place of forward Jon Harris. However, Harris came off the bench to score 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a four-point play for a 75-62 lead with 2:32 to play.

The four-guard approach made the game faster, which UIC coach Howard Moore said was not good for his grind-it-out team.

“They did a good job of speeding us up and getting us out of rhythm,” Moore said. “They did a lot of things that really disrupted us.”

Miami spread the Flames out with its offense and took advantage to shoot 56.6 percent, including 66.7 percent in the second half. The RedHawks made a season-high 10 3-pointers.

“A lot of the shots we were getting were off effort plays, and I think we did a good job of playing off our defense,” Sullivan said. “When you’re in the rhythm of the game … it’s a lot easier to make them.”