CHAMPAIGN—Fresh off its first loss of the season against UNLV and with No. 9 Missouri looming on Thursday, Illinois could have used an easy win against Cornell. The 64-60 victory, however, was anything but easy for No. 25 Illinois. Meyers Leonard had 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, overcoming a back injury to lead the Illini. After trailing for the most of the game, Illinois (11-1) was sparked by D.J. Richardson’s nine points in the second half and narrowly avoided its second consecutive loss.Josh Figini scored all 14 of his points in the first half to lead Cornell (4-4). The forward sat out the last seven minutes of the half after picking up two fouls and was limited the rest of the game. Illinois opened the second half 1 for 13 from the field and fell behind 42-36, then put together a 14-6 run to regain the lead. The teams exchanged leads until the final minute, when Richardson hit a pull-up jumper with 17 seconds left to put Illinois ahead 62-58. Cornell hit six 3-pointers, including three by Figini, to jump out to a 24-14 lead. Led by several baskets from Leonard, Illinois tied the score 32-all by halftime.Leonard’s big first half — 15 points and nine rebounds — allowed Illinois to stay in the game as it struggled with its outside shooting against Cornell’s zone defense. It looked as if the Illini might have been without their starting center when Leonard went to the locker room five minutes into the second half after getting hit in the back. But he returned a few minutes later, still grimacing as he checked back into the game. Leonard, who was held to four points and three shot attempts in the second half, said the injury was a strained back and that the pain was manageable. Richardson, the team’s leading scorer, scored 17 points, 11 in the second half. Brandon Paul broke out of a scoring slump with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting for Illinois. Sam Maniscalco continued to struggle, however, going 1 for 7 and finishing with five points. In the last four games, Maniscalco is 9 for 36 from the field. Cornell’s Chris Wroblewski, who grew up in Highland Park, Ill., scored 10 points and had six rebounds. The starting five led the way for Illinois, with the bench only contributing a combined 41 minutes and being held without any points. Depth has been a problem for Illinois this season – the reserves have been held to single digits in scoring in four of the last six games.Illinois outrebounded Cornell 42-25 and had 13 offensive rebounds. There were eight lead changes and the score was tied nine times.

Ben Averkamp had 23 points and eight rebounds and Loyola never trailed in beating Rockhurst 69-46 Monday night.Walt Gibler contributed 13 points and Denzel Brito scored 10 for the Ramblers (4-7), who have won three in a row. Loyola shot 54 percent in the first half in building a 35-13 lead. The Hawks made just 5 of 22 shots before the break, or 23 percent.The Ramblers finished at 51 percent compared to 35 percent for Rockhurst (5-5).Kareem Amedu scored nine points to lead Rockhurst, a Division II school from Kansas City, Mo

Gary Talton’s basket with 3.8 seconds to play gave UIC a 57-56 victory over former Conference rival Western Illinois Monday night.Talton scored the Flames’ last eight points and finished with 15. Daniel Barnes scored a career-high 22 points for the Flames (4-7), who outscored Western Illinois 10-1 in the final 1:55.Darrin Williams added 13 points for UIC, which shot 55 percent in the first half and led by 13 at one point before Western Illinois cut the margin to 32-26 at the break. Ceola Clark led the Leathernecks (4-4) with 17 points. Terell Parks had 14 points and nine rebounds but was 4 of 10 from the free-throw line and missed a pair with 40 seconds to play. Western shot 48 percent from the foul line while UIC made 56 percent.It was UIC’s ninth straight win in the series between the schools, playing for the first time since 1997-98.

You could say the Bears are on life support after losing their fourth straight 38-14 to the Seattle Seahawks, but in reality,someone will soon have to simply pull the plug. This late season collapse is the worst for a so called contenting Bears team since the 1989 Bears started 4-0 and then went on to lose 10 of their last 12 to finish 6-10.Calib Hanie threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns and he was sacked four times, three in the second half when the Seahawks turned up the heat.

As predicted,the Bears introduced their DEFENSE on the PA, so Marion Barber would not get booed until the game started.Make no mistake,that was planned.The Bears started three and out,and the Fans were so bored,that they didn’t even boo much,not even when Barber was stuffed for a 2 yard gain on first down.The Seahags also did not move the chains.Jon Ryan’s punt was downed at Bears 3. Hanie hit Johnny Knox,who fumbled when Kam Chancellor clocked him pretty good, and Earl Thomas recovered at the Bears 23.Knox also shaken up on the play.After quite a delay,he moved both of his arms which is a good sign as he is wheeled off to the Locker Room and taken to a hospital. .

DUMB AND DUMBER!!! Two stupid calls by Seattle. Three running plays starting from the two,then back to the 8,and they were going to settle for a Steven Hauschka field goal,but an ‘elevation’ penalty on Corey Graham gave the Seahawks a 1st and goal(again)at the 2 and Marshawn Lynch ran it in easily for his first of two TD’s. Another stupid Bears penalty gave Seattle 4 more points than they otherwise would have had.

After Adam Podlesh punted the ball back to the Seattle three, on a third down,Julius Peppers knocked the ball out of Tavaris Jackson’s hand as he was trying to pass and Israel Idonije recovered the ball in the end zone.An automatic booth review upheld the TD which tied the game 7-7.

At that time Seattle had ZERO pass rush.Hanie had all day and after swallowing a ten course meal,got a pass off to a wide open Kahlil Bell for a 25 yard score.Even as awful as Hanie has been, you don’t put pressure on, you get burned. Seattle falls in that category.That ended the Bears scoring for the day as they took a 14-7 lead into the locker room.

The Seahawks outscored the Bears 31-0 in the second half! They tied it on first drive of third quarter when Jackson threw one that Ben Obomanu outran for a 43 yard reception to the Bears 3, then Lynch scored on the next play to tie it 14-14. Fifty seconds later, Hanie was about to be clocked and his ill advised pass went right into the hands of Red Bryant, and the DE had an easy 20 yard waltz into the end zone for his first NFL TD, and a 21-14 Seattle lead.It would get worse. A

nice punt return by Seattle’s Leon Washington for 36 yards put the ball on the Bears 29.Another interception for Hanie-his third of the game and second pick six-occurred as Brandon Browner went 42 yards untouched, and this blowout was now completed at 38-14. Josh McCown came in with 4:55 left and was 1-2 for 12 points,and 1 interception.When they go to Green Bay,will we hear Lovie say “JOSH IS OUR QUARTERBACK!”? Maybe,but he did not say after the game.

NOTES—Hanie was 10-23 for 11 yards,1 TD and a passer rating of 33.3…..Jackson went 19-31 for 227 yards, 1 TD, was sacked once(when he fumbled for the Bears defensive TD),and had a passer rating of 94.4.

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Brandon Young scored 19 points as DePaul matched its best start since 2004-05 with an 81-62 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday night.The Blue Demons (8-3) used a 22-5 run late in the first half to take a 48-28 advantage at the break and led by 27 points in the second half.Jeremiah Kelly had 15 points, and Cleveland Melvin and Jamee Crockett added 13 and 10 points, respectively.Savalace Townsend scored 23 points for the Golden Lions (1-8). Daniel Broughton had 18 points and Mitchell Anderson 14. Broughton and Anderson had 11 rebounds each.DePaul is 3-0 this year at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

Mike Moser’s legs were sound and his game was solid Saturday as he led UNLV to a convincing 64-48 victory over No. 19 and previously unbeaten Illinois. Moser scored 17 points — more than his previous three games combined — and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Runnin’ Rebels, who tied up the Illini with a scrappy, aggressive, switching defense.UNLV (11-2) got a bit of revenge for a 73-62 loss to the Illini in the second round of the NCAA tournament last March, but that wasn’t really that much of a factor, first-year coach Dave Rice said. What was really bugging UNLV was a loss a week ago at Wisconsin. UNLV, which beat then-No. 1 North Carolina earlier this season, double-teamed Illinois center Meyers Leonard early and then backed off, but made sure it kept switching all over the floor throughout the game. The Runnin’ Rebels were quicker to the ball most of the evening and also blocked nine shots at the United Center.Quintrell Thomas added 13 points for UNLV, which won despite getting only two points from leading scorer Chace Stanback. The Runnin’ Rebels built a 33-22 halftime lead by closing with a 14-2 run.The cold-shooting Illini (10-1) were led by 19 points from D.J. Richardson. Illinois shot 25.4 percent (16 for 63) and had 15 turnovers. The Illini went 7 of 25 from 3-point range and 9 of 18 on free throws.Moser managed just four points against the Badgers and had only 16 in his three previous games. He was just fresher on Saturday.Thomas hit a jumper to start the Runnin’ Rebels’ late first-half spurt and also had a three-point play after an Illini turnover. Oscar Bellfield’s two free throws with just more than a minute to play gave the Runnin’ Rebels a 33-22 lead they held at halftime. In the opening 20 minutes, Illinois had nine turnovers and made just eight of 28 field goal attempts, including 3 of 11 on 3-pointers as it disappointed a large, orange-clad throng of fans.

“They came out swinging and we didn’t punch back. They were definitely the aggressor from the tip and they kept it going pretty much throughout the game,” said Illini guard Sam Maniscalco, who shot 1 for 10, including 1 for 7 on 3-pointers. “You can’t dig yourself a hole like that, especially against an opponent of that caliber that has that kind of scoring punch and athleticism.”

The Illini then missed eight of their first nine attempts to start the second half, but Richardson’s 3-pointer helped the Illini get within eight. Then the Runnin’ Rebels took off. Carlos Lopez had a nice follow shot, Kendall Wallace sank a long 3-pointer and Moser drove for a basket after another Illini turnover as the Rebels ran out to a 15-point lead with 11:15 to go. Richardson hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half to get the Illini within 11 with 6:14 remaining. Illinois whittled it to eight with 4:24 to go on a basket by Leonard.But Thomas had a dunk with 2:25 remaining to end a 7-minute field goal drought for UNLV and the Runnin’ Rebels regained control. Illinois, which is 32-11 at the United Center, has lost three straight and five of six on the Bulls’ home floor.

Ben Averkamp and Walt Gibler had double-doubles to help Loyola keep Chicago State winless with a 64-49 victory Saturday.Averkamp scored 21 points, Gibler had 16 and each pulled down 10 rebounds for the Ramblers (3-7), who won their second in a row. It was Averkamp’s third career double-double and Gibler’s second.Denzel Brito added 10 points, but only five Ramblers scored.Lee Fisher led the Cougars (0-11) with 11 points. Jeremy Robinson had 10 points and nine rebounds.Loyola’s biggest edge came at the free throw line. The Ramblers made 22 of 27 (81 percent) to Chicago State’s 11 of 16 (69 percent).Averkamp’s three-point play put the Ramblers up 27-24 with 1:45 before halftime, and they led 31-26 at intermission.The lead peaked at 57-38 on two free throws by Christian Thomas with 8:34 to play.

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DeKALB—Kendal Brown-Surles came off the bench to score 19 points and Southern Illinois used a 17-0 run to beat Northern Illinois 62-49 on Saturday.Surles went 6 of 12 from the floor and sank three of the Salukis’ four 3-pointers. Reserve Jeff Early added 13 points and Mamadou Seck grabbed 10 rebounds for Southern Illinois (2-5), which snapped a two-game losing streak.Abdel Nader scored 14 points and Tim Toler 12 for the Huskies, who fell to 0-10. Aksel Bolin had 12 rebounds.Antone Christian’s basket pulled Northern Illinois into a 35-35 tie with 13:52 left.But the Salukis responded with their game-changing surge for a 52-35 edge with 7 minutes left.The Huskies outrebounded SIU 38-31 but were done in by 29 percent shooting and 22 turnovers.The Salukis have won 12 straight over the Huskies, with NIU’s last victory in 1982.

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INDIANAPOLIS—Cody Zeller scored 21 points and had eight rebounds to help No. 18 Indiana beat rival Notre Dame 69-58 on Saturday in the Crossroads Classic at Conseco Field House.The Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time since 1989-90 and protected their first Top 25 ranking in more than three years.Eric Atkins led Notre Dame (7-5) with 15 points. But the only Division I team with six players who have scored 20 points in a game this season struggled badly against the Hoosiers’ defense. Notre Dame shot 38.1 percent from the field and went more than 16 minutes without a basket during one stretch.Indiana went on a 12-2 run during the drought to take its first lead of the game, then pulled away in the second half.In the first game, Butler rallied past Purdue 67-65 after the Boilermakers led 46-35 at halftime.

EVANSTON—Reggie Hearn scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, including a three-point play with 55 seconds left, as Northwestern held off Central Connecticut State 70-64 on Saturday.The Blue Devils (5-5) came within 63-62 with 1:35 left on a 3-pointer by Ken Horton before Hearn’s decisive play. Central Connecticut State’s Robby Ptacek made two free throws to close the margin to 66-64, but Drew Crawford hit a spinning one-handed shot in the lane for the Wildcats (9-1).Hearn was 6 for 7 from the field, including 4 for 4 from behind the arc.Crawford scored 14 points for Northwestern, and Shurna added 12 points and eight rebounds.Central Connecticut State freshman Kyle Vinales scored a game-high 27 points.Ptacek scored 17 points and Horton had 15 points and 11 rebounds and 5 assists for the Blue Devils.

INDIANAPOLIS—Derrick Rose and Luol Deng each scored 16 points to help the Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 95-86 on Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams.C.J. Watson added 15 points for the Bulls, who brought their share of red-clad fans for the game that had some of the intensity of a key regular-season game. It was a rematch of last season’s first-round playoff series, which the Bulls won 4-1.Tyler Hansbrough had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers. Danny Granger scored 12 points for Indiana, but was just 5 for 17 from the field. Indianapolis native George Hill scored three points in his first game in a Pacers uniform after being acquired from San Antonio.

GROBBER’S NFL WEEK 15 PICKS

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ATLANTA over Jacksonville(Thur Nite)

Dallas over TAMPA BAY(Sat Night)

Miami over BUFFALO

HOUSTON over Carolina

Tennessee over INDIANAPOLIS

NY GIANTS over Washington

Cincinnati over ST.LOUIS

ARIZONA over Cleveland

New England over DENVER

NY Jets over PHILADELPHIA

Baltimore over SAN DIEGO(Sun Night)

SAN FRANCISCO over Pittsburgh(Mon Night)

NFC NORTH GAMES

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Green Bay over KANSAS CITY

OAKLAND over Detroit

New Orleans over MINNESOTA

Seattle over BEARS

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The Bulls announced this evening the team has signed free agent guard Richard Hamilton. In accordance with team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

“We are excited to welcome a player, and person, with the credentials of Richard Hamilton to our organization,” said Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “Rip has been a winner at every level. His resume speaks for itself, and we are confident that he will be an excellent fit with our team, both on and off the floor.”

Hamilton (6-7, 193) is a 12-year veteran of the NBA who comes to Chicago after spending the previous nine seasons with the Detroit Pistons. For his career, he has appeared in 843 regular season contests (710 starts), and has posted averages of 17.7 ppg, 3.5 apg and 3.2 rpg in 33.0 mpg. He also owns career shooting averages of .450 from the field, .347 from behind the arc and .852 from the line. Last season with the Pistons, he played in 55 games (39 starts) and averaged 14.1 ppg, 3.1 apg and 2.3 rpg in 27.2 mpg. He also shot .429 from the field, .382 from downtown and .849 from the free throw line. A three-time All-Star selection (2006-08) while in Detroit, Hamilton helped lead the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight times (2003-08), including two trips to the NBA Finals (2004, 2005), which culminated with Detroit winning its third NBA Championship in 2004. During his nine years with the Pistons (2002-11), he led the team in scoring eight times. Hamilton’s teams have advanced to the playoffs seven times, where he has appeared in 120 playoff games (all starts). He owns career playoff averages of 20.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.00 spg, 40.0 mpg, .441 shooting from the floor, .337 three-point shooting and .862 shooting from the stripe.The 33-year old native of Coatesville, Pa., was originally selected by the Washington Wizards in the first round (seventh overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft. Prior to his time in the NBA, he was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 1999 NCAA Final Four, when he led UConn to the 1999 NCAA Championship.