DETROIT—The Bears finished the season 7-9 by scoring when they needed to late to defeat the Detroit Lions 37-23,but it wasnt a dominant effort. In a so called sold out Ford Field,but with tons of empty seats,the crummiest matchup of the NFL’s final regular season weekend got under way with the Bears winning the coin toss and marhing through a porus Lions defense to the Detriot 26,but the 54 yard drive suddenly stalled and Robbie Gould kicked a 44 yard field goal just 5:11 into the game.Donte Culpepper,who was booed by the home fans as he took the field,did not endear himself on his second pass when he overthrew everyone except for the Bears Zach Bowan who had a very easy interception which he returned to the Lions 41. On first down,Jay Cutler went for the home run,but the pass went through the hands of a wide open Devin Hester at the 5 and the Bears went three and out.The Lions used the running of Mo Morris to gain a first down,and with a third a one facing Detroit,some moron ran onto the field and ran all the way to the north end zone before security caught him. Then Aaron Brown was stuffed on third down and Nick Harris punted to the Bears 13. That also was followed by three downs and a punt after a Cutler third down pass was dropped bu Matt Forte. Brad Maynard shanked hit punt just 28 yards to the Bears 28. Culpepper hit Calvin Johnson for 23 yards to the Bears 32,but the Bears held and Jason Hanson tied the game with a 42 yard field goal. Hester returned the kickoff 44 yards to the Bears 46.On the Bears next possession they went 44 yards in 8 plays,the key being when Cutler found Greg Olsen on a 34 yard pass to the Detroit 10, but a run for no gain by Forte and two incompletions later, Gould kicked a 28 yard field goal.After an exchange of puntsthe Lions started at the Bears 42 and became the first team to find the end zone in 7 plays.Culpepper capped it with a pin point 10 yard TD pass over the middle to Bryant Johnson and Detroit led for the first time 10-6 with 2:59 remaining in the half. The Bears had a nice two minute drive with Cutler hitting Earl Bennett for 17 to the Lions 25 and a 14 yarder to Hester at the 11.Finally, on a third down from the 7, Cutler hit Olsen over the middle for the Bears first TD with :11 left to give the Bears a 13-10 halftime lead. The Bears arried their momentu into the 2nd half. On the Lions first possession of the third quarter, they tried a fake punt and were stuffed at their own 39.The Bears drove to the Lions 9 after a 16 yard Cutler to Hester pass, then a wide open Devin Aromashodu took in a 9 yard TD pass to up the Bears lead to 20-10. The Lions responded with a drive of 48 yards in 8 plays and on a fourth and one,the fans booed loudly when Lions Coach Jim Schwartz sent out the field goal unit. Nonetheless, Hanson booted a 48 yarder to trim the Bears lead to 20-13.That was how the third period ended. The Bears had to punt and Detroit took over at their own 42. Culpepper tossed an 18 yard pass to Calvin Johnson.They had a fourth and three from the 33,but Culpepper hit Bryant Johnson with consecutive 12 yarders to set up a first and goal at the 9.One play later B.Johnson made a leaping grab for 4 yard TD reception to tie the game 20-20 with 9:37 left in the game(and season).Hester took the kickoff three yards in his own end zone and only got to his own 13,but the Bears went through the Lions quikly.On third down, Cutler hit Hester in stride for 38 yards to the Lions 34,then a 31 yarder to Olsen at the 3.The Lions next picked up a defensive holding penalty and Cutler found the most wide open Desmond Clark to regain the lead 27-20. Detroit got to the Bears 14 but stalled and Hanson,to the chagrin of the home fans,booted a 32 yard field goal to slice the Bears lead to 27-23 with 4:38 remaining. Again, Hester was slopped quickly on the kickoff at his own 15.Forte then broke the Lions backs with a 53 yard run all the way to the Detroit 17 which led to a third down 12 yard TD pass to Aromashodu whih iced the game.The Bears got the ball one last time when Derrick Williams fumbled the kickoff and Tim Shaw recovered for the Bears at the Lions 24.Three plays after that, Gould kicked his third field goal of the day, a 34 yarder to finish the scoring.

NOTES—Attendance was announced as 56,677,but there were at least 25,000 empty seats…..Cutler was 22-36 for 276 yards, 4 TD’s and zero interceptions.His passer rating was 122.0…..Culpepper finished 23-34 for 262 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 interception.His rating was 97.9……Forte had 16 rushes for 101 yards…..Olsen caught 5 passes for 94 yards and a TD, Aromaahodu caught 5 for 46 yards and 2 scores.

LES

Steven Gray scored 20 points, Elias Harris and Robert Sacre added 19 apiece and Gonzaga rallied to beat Illinois 85-83 in overtime Saturday after blowing a big lead at the sold out United enter.Harris scored on a reverse layup with 12 seconds left in overtime to break an 83-83 tie. Illinois’ Brandon Paul then missed a 3-pointer, preserving the win for Gonzaga (11-3).Illinois trailed by as many as 21 in the first half and led by eight in the second but needed a 3-pointer by Dominique Keller in the closing seconds of regulation after a miss by Demetri McCamey to tie it 79-79.In overtime, Paul and McCamey each hit a pair of free throws to make it 83-80 before Matt Bouldin (18 points) tied it at 83 with 1:34 left.

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EVANSTON—Kalin Lucas scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half Saturday night and No. 11 Michigan State pulled away and routed No. 25 Northwestern 91-70.Michigan State (11-3) used its speed, depth and a 12-0 run to build a big second-half lead and win its Big Ten opener. Northwestern (10-3, 0-2) lost its second straight since breaking into the Top 25 for the first time since 1969.Durrell Summers and Raymar Morgan added 17 points each for the Spartans, who shot 57 percent for the game.John Shurna led Northwestern with 29 points, tying his career high.Morgan hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to cap a 14-3 run as the Spartans took a 41-33 lead. During the closing spurt, Summers hit two from the line, Chris Allen drove for a basket, Draymond Green got inside for two baskets and Lucas canned a jumper as Michigan State showed its versatility.Summers had 14 points in the opening half, including a pair of spectacular dunks and a pair of 3-pointers. He shot 5 for 7 and also had six rebounds.NU, averaging 10 3-pointers made and 28 attempted per game, was 5 for 15 in the opening half and finished the game 9 for 26.The Spartans pushed their halftime lead to 13 points seven minutes into the second half as Korie Lucious hit a 3-pointer and Northwestern began to struggle from the field and the line.Lucas, who came off the bench in the Spartans’ previous game against Texas-Arlington because coach Tom Izzo was not pleased with his leadership, then drove through the middle for a layup. And after an offensive rebound came his way after a missed dunk, Lucas hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 61-43 with just under 11 minutes to play.MSU is now 20-2 in last 22 games against Northwestern, even though the Wildcats won the previous meeting 70-63 last January in East Lansing. That victory came behind 31 points from Kevin Coble, who is out for the season with a foot injury.

TORONTO—Mike Ford played the best game of his career in just two quarters.Ford ran for a career-high 207 yards and scored one touchdown, B.J. Daniels threw two scoring passes to A.J. Love, and South Florida beat Northern Illinois 27-3 in Saturday’s International Bowl..Ford had just one carry in the first half, an 18-yard gain in the second quarter. He broke out in the third, rushing 12 times for 106 yards, then capped his day with a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth.Ford set the tone for his big second half by breaking off a 36-yard run, his longest of the day, three plays after the break.Ford had holes to

Cristobal Huet and the Blackhawks showed they could bounce back convincingly — and do it against one of the NHL’s top teams.Huet stopped 26 shots, and Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist to lead the Blackhawks past the New Jersey Devils, 5-1 on Thursday.Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd and John Madden also scored for the Hawks, who improved to 57 points, remaining two behind NHL-leading San Jose. The Blackhawks won for the fourth time in five games and are 8-2-0 in their last 10.Huet lost a bid for his fourth shutout when Jamie Langenbrunner scored with 1:33 left in the third after stripping the puck from defenseman Duncan Keith.Huet rebounded from a shaky outing in his last start, when he allowed four goals on 10 shots Tuesday in Dallas before being pulled early in the second period.The Hawks went on to lose that game, 5-4.New Jersey, which also has 57 points, is still in first place in the East after only its second loss in nine games. And the established Devils are a team the young Blackhawks wanted to beat.Huet bested New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, who finished with 31 saves in a battle of teams with the NHL’s top two defensive records. Among Huet’s best stops were a left pad save on Zach Parise’s breakaway attempt, and Travis Zajac’s quick shot from a faceoff early in the third.Brodeur had made 32 saves on Wednesday in a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh to earn his 105th career shutout. On Thursday, however, the Devils played their third game in four nights and couldn’t keep pace with Chicago for much of the contest.Langenbrunner stopped short of saying the Devils were dragging after a tough, but successful stretch against top Eastern Conference teams that included two shutout wins against the Stanley Cup champion Penguins in the last five games.Patrick Kane added an assist and has seven goals and four assists in a six-game, point-scoring streak. Kane leads all Americans in the NHL in points with 45 on 17 goals and 28 assists, and is expected to be chosen to the U.S. Olympic team on Friday.Niklas Hjalmarsson was struck with a puck while on the bench early in the third period and left the game.The Blackhawks took control midway through the first, grabbing a 2-0 lead on goals by Brouwer and Eager 1:45 apart on consecutive shots late in the period.The Devils had killed 10 straight penalties and 18 of 19 before Brouwer’s power-play goal. Eager made it 2-0 from the slot when he backhanded Colin Fraser’s feed from behind the net between Brodeur’s pads.Ladd completed a 2-on-1 with Patrick Sharp 2:12 into the second to extend the lead to 3-0. Huet made some of his best saves early and midway through the second, as the Devils began to generate some offense.Toews made it 4-0 at 4:41 of the third when he stripped the puck from Johnny Oduya in the Devils zone, moved in alone and beat Brodeur with a high shot on the glove side.

NOTES—Toews has two goals and eight assists in his last five games. … New Jersey RW David Clarkson sat out the game with a sore right leg. He had missed 13 games with a broken fibula before returning last Monday against Atlanta. He then left in the second period Wednesday. … Devils D Bryce Salvador missed his second game with a lower-body injury. … The Blackhawks signed D Shawn Lalonde, their second pick in the 2008 draft (68th overall) to a three-year contract on Thursday.

AUBURN HILLS—When the Bulls won at Sacramento on Nov. 14, they were hoping they’d get their next road victory before Thanksgiving.Instead, it took until New Year’s Eve.Derrick Rose scored 22 points, and Joakim Noah added 15 points and 21 rebounds to help the Bulls end a six-week road drought with a 98-87 victory over Detroit.Rose finished with a point more than Ben Gordon, who joined Detroit this summer.The Bulls had lost eight straight on the road, but never trailed while handing Detroit its ninth straight loss. The Pistons (11-21) are 10 games under .500 for the first time since the 2000-01 season.Tyrus Thomas added 19 points for the Bulls (13-17), and John Salmons had 17.Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 22 points despite leaving the game twice in the first half after spraining his left ankle.The Bulls led 44-39 after a sloppy first half that saw the teams combine for 22 turnovers.Detroit got to 46-44 in the third quarter, but the Bulls led 69-56
at the end of the period. The Bulls led by 20 as the Palace emptied during the fourth quarter.

NOTES—Charlie Villanueva, who had stopped wearing the mask protecting his broken nose, put it back on for the second half, but only wore it for a few possessions….Detroit has not led in the second half of any of its last six games. Their only lead in the last two games — at home against the struggling Knicks and Bulls — was 2-0 against New York….Thomas had 10 points in the first three quarters without making a field goal. He was 0 for 2 from the floor and 10 for 12 from the line.