College of DuPage scored the game's first nine points and held a two-possession lead for nearly the entire second half in a 68-56 Region 4 men's basketball victory over visiting Harper on Tuesday night.

Sophomore guard Greg Strong scored a game-high 24 points with six 3-pointers and Braylen Meredith and Charles Farrell followed with 13 and 12 points, respectively, as COD earned its 20^th victory of the season.

The victory pushed COD to 20-9 overall, 13-9 Region 4 and is just the second 20-win season in the last 15 seasons. It's the second time in coach Joe Kuhn's three years at the helm that the Chaps have earned that distinction.

COD led 16-4 in the opening six minutes before Harper mounted its only significant run of the night. The Hawks (5-24, 5-22) went on an 11-3 run that featured three 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to 19-17 with 10:08 left. COD remained out front, before finding its groove and leading 35-27 at the break.

The Chaps led by 16 with under two minutes remaining in the game. They shot 41 percent from the floor on 26-of-63 shooting and forced 19 Harper turnovers.

COD totaled eight 3-pointers with Ben Zielinski and Payton Moore each adding a trey.

Cameron Chandler led in rebounds with 13 along with his five points.

COD closes the regular season Thursday night at home against Madison (18-8, 16-6). The Chaps will honor their six sophomores — Zielinski, Meredith, Quentin Schaffer, Adrian Llamas, Terence Spencer and Strong in a pregame ceremony.