PITTSBURGH—UIC plays in the Horizon League, the same conference as NCAA runner-up Butler. Opening their season at No. 5 Pittsburgh, the Flames found themselves truly out of their league.Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points, Brad Wanamaker added 17 and No. 5 Pittsburgh opened an 18-point lead midway through the first half while cruising to its second victory in three nights, a 97-54 decision over rebuilding UIC on Wednesday night.The Panthers (2-0) needed little time to take control in the 2K Sports Classic game against the Flames (0-1), who didn’t hire new coach Howard Moore until late August after going 8-22 last season.Pitt was guaranteed of advancing to the tournament’s semifinals against Maryland on Nov. 18 in New York even before winning its two home games. The Panthers will play either Texas or Illinois the following night.Pitt started fast, then was even better in the second half while shooting 70 percent (21 of 30).Wanamaker had a driving layup, two pull-up jumpers and a 3-pointer in the opening seven minutes as Pitt opened leads of 9-2, 14-4 and 22-6.It was a contrast to Monday, when Pitt trailed by eight points in the first half before coming back to beat Rhode Island 83-75- an unusually tight game for a Top 5 team in its season opener.This one, as expected, wasn’t nearly as close, as Gilbert Brown added 12 points and backup guard Travon Woodall had 10 for the Panthers.Pitt made it 26-8 on Gibbs’ two free throws with 9:37 remaining in the half, allowing coach Jamie Dixon to spread playing time among 10 players as he looks for an effective rotation. Illinois-Chicago, 1-16 on the road the last two seasons, never got closer than 12 points after that.With Gary McGhee and Dante Taylor getting eight rebounds each, Pitt outrebounded UIC 45-25 and now has a 90-57 advantage through two games.Wanamaker had nine assists, and Gibbs had seven. Gibbs was 5 of 10 from 3-point range and Wanamaker made his only attempt as Pittsburgh was 11 of 21 from beyond the arc, a significant improvement from its 3 of 16 against Rhode Island.The Flames, not nearly as quick or as deep as Rhode Island, never did find an answer for the quickness and playmaking skills of Wanamaker and Gibbs, the backcourt that led Pitt to a 25-9 record and the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.K.C. Robbins scored 12 points for the Flames. Paul Carter, a 6-foot-8 senior who graduated from Minnesota but is finishing his eligibility at UIC, scored six points on 1-for-10 shooting.Carter, the son of former NBA player Ron Carter, transferred so he could be closer to his 14-year-old sister, Bria, who is recovering from cancer.Pitt won its 49th consecutive home game against a non-conference opponent at the Petersen Events Center, where the Panthers are 134-11 over nine seasons.

DEKALB—Tailback Chad Spann had three touchdowns rushing and quarterback Chandler Harnish threw a touchdown pass and ran for another and Northern Illinois pounded Toledo 65-30 on Tuesday.Six players had touchdowns for the Huskies (8-2, 6-0 Mid-American).NIU built a 28-0 halftime lead, then combined with the Rockets (6-4, 5-1) for a 51-point third quarter.Harnish went 11 of 16 for 162 yards. He also rushed 13 times for 149 yards scored on a 28-yard run. Spann added 70 yards on 20 carries.Adonis Thomas had 10 carries for a game-high 152 yards, including touchdown runs of 18 and 60 yards, for Toledo. Quarterback Terrance Owens was 18 of 38 for 186 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Eric Page had seven catches for 67 yards.Northern Illinois’ 65 points were a season high and fifth highest in school history and its seven-game winning streak is the longest since 2003. Toledo’s loss was its first in four games. Spann rushed for 44 yards on nine carries on a 14-play opening drive — including a 1-yard touchdown run — as the Huskies opened a 7-0 lead.On its third possession, Northern took a 14-0 lead as freshman wide receiver Akeem Daniels capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.The Huskies added two touchdowns in the final 5:43 of the half as Harnish threw a 33-yard scoring pass to Nathan Palmer. With 20 seconds left, Harnish capped a six-play, 80-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown run.Toledo broke the shutout with a safety early in the third quarter. Two minutes later, Thomas scored on an 18-yard touchdown run that trimmed the deficit to 28-9.Harnish then set up a score with a 69-yard run to the Toledo 11. Three plays later, Spann scored on a 5-yard run for a 35-9 lead.Toledo and Northern Illinois then traded big-play touchdowns.Thomas had a 60-yard scoring run while Daniels had a 50-yard run for a 42-16 Huskies lead with 5:44 left.Spann’s third touchdown came with 2:34 left in the third on an 8-yard run.The Rockets then scored on a 3-yard pass from Owens to Page.NIU’s Tommy Davis had an 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for a 56-23 lead.Senior Michael Cklamovski hit a 43-yard field goal to open the fourth-quarter scoring.Jasmin Hopkins extended the lead to 65-23 with a 55-yard touchdown run with 1:37 to play.Toledo scored on a 3-yard pass from Owens to Jerome Jones with 3 seconds left.

2011 Chicago Rush Season Schedule

CHAMPAIGN—A year ago, Brandon Paul started his college career with two big games that powered Illinois to victories before sliding back to the bench and mostly watching the Illini wade through a disappointing season that ended in the NIT.On Monday night, Paul replayed a little of that history, scoring 18 points to lead No. 13 Illinois to a season-opening 79-65 victory against UC-Irvine.The trick now, he said, is to avoid a repeat. “It felt like déjà vu for me,” the sophomore said. “This year the main thing is to stay consistent. I don’t want to have a few good games and then slack off the next few games.” All of Paul’s points came on 3-pointers and he was 6 for 8 from the field with all of his shots from beyond the arc. Fifteen of his points came in the first 20 minutes as Illinois took a 42-18 lead.Paul sparked what had been a sluggish Illinois offense, hitting on three consecutive early possessions.His first 3 with 14:10 left in the first half gave the Illini an 11-5 lead.After a missed jumper by the Anteaters, point guard Demetri McCamey was bringing the Illini up court when Paul yelled his nickname loudly from behind — “Meechi! Meechi!” — looking for the ball. McCamey provided and, before UC-Irvine could set its defense, Paul hit another 3. Seconds later, on the next possession, he drained a third.Turner quickly called a timeout, but the Anteaters were already down 17-5 with 12:56 to play in the first half. While Paul and the Illini were finding their shooting stroke, UC-Irvine hit only 6 of its 26 first-half shots (23.1 percent).The Anteaters didn’t score during one five-minute-plus stretch, coming up dry on nine consecutive possessions after Darren Moore’s 3-pointer with 9:03 to play. Chris McNealy’s jumper ended the drought, but the Anteaters were already down 34-10. While Illini coach Bruce Weber was impressed with Paul’s offense, that first-half defense was what he wanted to talk about.The Illini struggled through two exhibition victories against Division II schools that left Weber wondering about his team’s intensity and whether they could live up to the preseason ranking.”We were intimidating defensively in the first half,” Weber said. “We were all over the place.” Paul, a key piece of that defense with two steals and a blocked shot, echoed Weber. “We came out feisty and fighting, diving for balls and stuff like that,” he said.McCamey, often a target for Weber’s criticism and, after those exhibition games, a source of his concern, finished with 13 points, two in the first half.He said after the game, though, that his eight assists proved he had at least part of the kind of night he had aimed for.”I shot terrible, but at the same time we got a win,” he said. “I said in the preseason that that was one of my goals, to make my teammates better.” UC-Irvine opened the second half with more offensive life — helped by a dip in intensity from Illinois — and outscored the Illini 47-37 over the final 20 minutes.The Anteaters cut the deficit to 49-34 with just under 15 minutes to play on Moore’s 3-pointer. Six minutes later, he drove the lane to shave Illinois’ lead to 14. But Illinois quickly snuffed out any ideas about a comeback, scoring five points over the next 55 seconds. The last two, a dunk by Mike Davis, made it 64-45 with 7:32 to play.Only a late flurry by UC-Irvine closed the gap to the final 14 points.Moore led the Anteaters with 18 points, while Patrick Rembert added 12 and Eric Wise and Pavol Losonsky had 11 each.Illinois’ Mike Tisdale had 12 points and Mike Davis added 11.Illinois will face Toledo on Wednesday night in the tournament’s second round.

The Edmonton Oilers,who had the NHL’s worst record last season, are playing better on the road.Meanwhile, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks seem to be losing their edge on home ice.Kurtis Foster and Sam Gagner scored 14 seconds apart in the third period, and Edmonton rallied to beat the Blackhawks 2-1 on Sunday night.Nikolai Khabibulin made 26 saves for Edmonton, which improved to 2-2-2 on the road this season and 4-23-3 in its last 30 games away from home dating to December 2009.Both of the Oilers’ road wins this season have been in the United Center. The Hawks dropped to 4-6-0 at home. Edmonton defeated the Blackhawks 7-4 at the United Center on Oct. 29.The Hawks were ahead 1-0 on a goal from ex-Oiler Fernando Pisani and were seemingly in control. Then, Foster scored on a power play to tie it and Gagner followed with the game-winner.The Hawks got 24 saves from backup Corey Crawford in his fourth start and fifth game of the season. But for the fifth time in their six home setbacks, the Blackhawks lost the game in the third period.The Blackhawks have lost three straight at home, including twice to the Oilers and once to injury-depleted New Jersey.Marian Hossa returned after missing five games with a shoulder injury.Pisani, signed as a free agent by the Hawks from Edmonton in the offseason, scored the only goal of the first period at 10:23. He skated in from the right circle and fired a shot under Khabibulin’s glove on the short side.Crawford wasn’t heavily tested, but did make a couple of tough stops in the scoreless second period. His best was a quick right pad save on Andrew Cogliano 7:40 into the period.Crawford made another point-blank pad save on Cogliano in the first minute of the third following a turnover by Duncan Keith. Seconds later, Edmonton’s Taylor Hall fired the rebound off the right post.Foster ended Crawford’s shutout bid at 7:13 of the third with a power-play goal from a sharp angle. Following a faceoff in the Chicago zone, Foster’s screened shot from the right circle slid underneath Crawford’s pads.”It’s amazing,” Foster said. “You can shoot 30 shots in a row hard, and the one you kind of whiff on goes through. It got through five-hole.Gagner put Edmonton ahead 2-1 just 14 seconds later when he slipped through the crease alone and knocked in Dustin Penner’s pass while falling to the ice.”It’s unacceptable to lose the game in one minute,” Hossa said. “We played a pretty good defensive game up to the third period. As a championship team, we have to respond better.”Khabibulin made point-blank saves on Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane from the slot with about 6 minutes left.

NOTES—The Oilers played their final regular-season game at the United Center this season. …Dave Bolland missed his fifth game with an upper-body injury. … Oilers LW Steve MacIntyre missed his third game with a back injury. Edmonton D Theo Peckham missed his second with the flu.

TORONTO—Pretty is wasn’t,but the Bears made just a couple of more plays late and won their first regular season game outside the United States 22-19 over the winless Buffalo Bills at the Rogers Centre to finish the first half of the season 5-3.The Bills won the coin toss but deferred,so the Bears got to receive Rian Lindell’s kickoff and Danieal Manning returned the kickoff 15 yards to his 22, Matt Forte got 7 yards on first down,but got nailed for a loss of one by Marcus Stroud.On third down,Forte was nailed by Paul Posluszny for no gain and Brad Maynard punted 38 yards to the Bills 33.Fred Jackson was nailed by Julius Peppers for no gain and then by Lance Briggs for a loss of two.Ryan Fitzpatrick’s first pass was forced into the ground and Brian Moorman kicked to Devin Hester,who slipped,and only got three yards to his 34.Forte rushed for a pair,then caught a pass for 1, and Cutler missed Hester up the middle forcing another Meynard punt which Roscoe Parrish returned six yards to his 31.On a second down,Fitzpatrick hit Parrish for 11 for the game’s initianl first down.Jackson then put on a neat mopve for six up the middle.An a creen,Parrish picked up 13 before Chris Harris stopped him.The next pass to Parrish was stopped by Harris for a three yard loss,and Jackson ran up the middle for two,leaving a third and eleven at the Bears 40,but a false start moved the ball back five yards.After Jackson got 2 on a screen, Moorman punted away from Hester who watched it roll dead at the Bears 19.Chester Taylor on his first carry got one yard.Then on an empty backfield set up, Cutler was left wide open and ran for 18 yards.Taylor was able to escape a sure loss and pick up one yard.Cutler then found Earl Bennett who made a leaping grab at the Bears 48 for ten yards.On a third and four, Cutler his Johnny Knox for 24 yards to the Bills 21.Hester on an end around lost a yard.Tarloy was able to get four to the Buffalo 18 as the first quarter ended.

A false start forced the Bears back to the 23.A pass to Taylor went for just five yards,but an illegal hands to the face gave the Bears an automatic first down at the 18.That break kep the drive going and allowed the Bears to score on foreign soil in regular season play for the first time ever.Taylor was tackled for no gain.Then on a creen,Taylor broke a tackle and picked up 14 to the four yard line for a first and goal,but another false start moved it back to the nine.After an incompleted pass to Greg Olsen,Cutler hit Forte for four yards to the five.On the next play Curler found Olsen with a quick five yard TD pass to make it 7-0 Bears with 12:06 to go in the first half. Robbie Gould’s kickoff went out of bounds,so the Bills got to start at their own 40.On first down a long pass from Fitzpatrick to Spiller was nullified by a holding call,but he then hit David Martin for 11.On first down a long pass from Fitzpatrick to Spiller was nullified by a holding call,but he then hit David Martin for 11.But that drive died and Moorman punted to Hester who fair-caught at his 13.A 26 hyard Cutler to Bennett pass moved the ball to midfield. Then Cutler found Knox at the Bills 38 for 12.Cutler scrambled for 14 and slid to the 21 of Buffalo.Taylor slipped with the handoff for a two yard loss.An illegal shift moved the ball back to the 28.Cutler found Bennett at the 14 for 14 yards as the two minute warning was reached.Two more false starts on the Bears pushed them back to the 24.After an incomplted try to Forte in the end zone,Gould missed a 42 yard field goal wide right with 1:45 left in the half.On first down,Fitzpatrick ran out of bounds and was touched by Peanut Tillman for a 15 yard personal foul moving the ball to the Bears 46.On fourth and 3,the Bills went for it,and Fitzpatrick hit David Nelson for ten, then he hit Jackson at the 21.A first down pass to Jackson followed with :27 left at the 14.On a third down from the Bears 14,Buffalo 14,Fitzpatrick found Parrish at the two and he was able to strech across the goal line to tie the game at 7-7 with :11 to go and at halftime.

Since Buffalo deferred on the opening coin toss,they received the second half kickoff which Gould booted deep enough into the end zone for a touch back.The Bills pikced up a pair of first downs,the second on a 13 yard pass from Fitzpatrick to Johnson at the Bears 49.Then Parrish brought in a 9 yard pass at the 39.On a third and 1,Jackson fumbled when hit by Peppers and Tillman recovered for the Bears at the 40.The Bears went the 60 yards in nin plays,taking 4:54. They moved the ball to the Buffalo 26 thanks in part to a 7 yard Cutler to Olsen pass.Forte then ran 22 yard to the Bills 4 for a first and goal.Taylor ran three yards to the one,then scored untouched to give the Bears the lead back with 6:18 to go in the third quarter. The Bills started at their twenty again.They picked up two first downs to the Bears 49,helped by a Bears penalty.Then,Johnson caught one for 45 yards,avoided three tackles and got to the Bears four.Jackson then bowled over for the touchdown,but Israel Idonije,in his home County of Canada,blocked the extra point by Lindell to allow the Bears to retain a one point lead 14-13 with 2:59 left in the third period.Cutler found Hester for 16 yards to the Bears 38 to start the drive.He then found Brendoln Manumalenuna at the 48 for ten more as the third quarter ended.After a pass interference gave the Bears a first down,Cutler was sacked for the first time in the game,Spencer Johnson with the sack,and also forcing a fumble and recovered the ball at the Bills 49.A pass to Lee Evans picked up a first down at the Bears 40.C.J.Spiller got five up the middle.Then on a draw play Spiller broke through for 15 to the 20.A pass to Evans followed to the Bears 7 for a first and goal.Then a short pass to Johnson to the one,and Corey McIntyre scored on the next play also Jackson was stopped by Idonije on a two point try.The Bills took a 19-14 lead with 10:24 to play.After nearly having a pass picked off,Cutler and the Bears went three and out and Maynard punted to the ball dead at the Bills 29.On first down,Fitzpatrick went for a long pass to Steve Jophnson and Tim Jennings jumped in front of it,picked it off and returned it 39 yards to the Buffalo 23.Two plays later,it was third and ten,and Cutler found Olsen at the five for a first and goal.After an incompleted pass and a two yd gain, Cutler hit Bennett for a four yard TD pass with 6:41 left and Forte ran in the two point conversion to give the Bears a 22-19 edge with 6:41 to go.Gould kicked off to Spiller who downed it.The Bills picked up one first down. On a third down Steve Johnson caught a 14 yard pass to get a first at the Bears 44,but the Bills would turn the ball over on downs to the Bears at the 44 with 2:20 left and two timeouts remaing for Buffalo.The Bears got the ball and had to punt and Maynard put the ball dead just outside the Buffalo one yard line with 1:04 left and no Bills timeout remaining.

NOTES—When Idonije blocked Lindell’s PAT try in the third quarter, it was the first miss of Lindell’s career after 321 successfull attempts which was an NFL record…..Attendance was 50,746.

LES

NOTES—Joel Quenneville earned his 544th victory to take sole possession of 10th place on the NHL list, moving ahead of former Blackhawks coach Billy Reay….Jeremy Morin, who made his NHL debut, limped off the ice after he blocked a shot by Johnny Oduya early in the third.The Hawks acquired Morin in the June 24 trade that sent Byfuglien, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel to Atlanta. … Before Toews’ first goal, Atlanta had killed 16 straight penalties over six games. … The Blackhawks improved to 2-5-1 when allowing a power-play goal.

STATE COLLEGE—That’s 400 and counting for Joe Paterno.JoePa became the first major college coach with 400 victories as Penn State rallied from a three-touchdown deficit Saturday night to defeat Northwestern 35-21.Backup quarterback Matt McGloin threw for four touchdowns and the Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-2 Big Ten) shut down Wildcats quarterback Dan Persa in the second half to get the 83-year-old Paterno his latest milestone.Only two other coaches have more wins. Eddie Robinson had 408 with FCS school Grambling State, while John Gagliardi had 476 entering the weekend with Division III St. John’s, Minn.Mobbed by his teammates, fans and wife Sue afterward, Penn State honored Paterno with a postgame ceremony as backup tailback Stephfon Green held a sign that read “400. The Paterno Way.” “People ask me why I’ve stayed here so long, and you know what, look around, look around. Now that the celebration’s over, let’s go beat Ohio State,” he said as the crowd roared. Persa ran for two scores and threw for another to build a 21-0 lead for Northwestern (6-3, 2-3). But McGloin rallied Penn State and Silas Redd put Penn State ahead for good with a 4-yard touchdown run for a 28-21 lead in the third quarter. NU had a last gasp when Persa drove the offense to the Penn State 9 with 8:13 left but threw incomplete into the end zone on fourth down. Linebacker Michael Mauti led a furious second-half defensive charge to contain the dual-threat quarterback.The 100,000-plus fans packed into Beaver Stadium began celebrating with anticipation, and chants of “Joe Paterno! Joe Paterno,” echoed through the stands with 6:30 left and Penn State up comfortably by two touchdowns.Camera flashes lit up the stands and Paterno stood idly by on the sideline, hands in his gray Penn State parka, not paying much attention to all the ruckus.As if enough history wasn’t being made at raucous Beaver Stadium, the win also matched the biggest come-from-behind win under Paterno, in 1994 when the Nittany Lions also rallied from 21 down to beat Illinois.The festivities at Beaver Stadium seemed like they were going to be put on hold when Persa cut through Penn State. He had touchdown runs of 6 and 4 yards in the first half, then found tight end Drake Dunsmore in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead late in the first half.It turned out to be Northwestern’s last big play, and Penn State dominated from there.Freshman Rob Bolden started for the first time since getting knocked out of the Minnesota game two weeks ago with a concussion, but was pulled after fumbling the ball away on a sack on his second series.McGloin had a so-so start after entering before energizing the crowd with a two minute-drill drive to close the first half that ended with a pretty catch by Brett Brackett in the back of the end zone to cut the lead to 21-7 at the half.The Nittany Lions could seemingly do no wrong in the second half. McGloin found Nate Cadogan for a 3-yard score before hitting Derek Moye on perfect pass down the right sideline over corner Mike Bolden to tie the game at 21.From there,the Wildcats just seem to collapse.

ANN ARBOR—In the highest-scoring game in the history of Michigan football, the Wolverines’ defense came up with the game-winning play.Michael Shaw scored on a 1-yard run, Tate Forcier threw a 2-point conversion to Junior Hemingway and Michigan stopped the potential tying 2-point try in a 67-65 triple-overtime win over Illinois on Saturday.Mikel Leshoure ran for a touchdown to draw the Illini within two. On the conversion try, Michigan put a heavy rush on Nathan Scheelhaase, who flipped a desperation pass incomplete.Michigan (6-3, 2-3 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak and became bowl-eligible for the first time in Rich Rodriguez’s three seasons.A few days after Michigan found out the NCAA would not be coming down hard on the program for rules violations under Rodriguez, the Wolverines came away with a win they badly needed.The Fighting Illini (5-4, 3-3) allowed Tate Forcier to cap an 80-yard drive with a 9-yard, game-tying pass to Darryl Stonum with 1:47 left in regulation.The 132 points made it the highest-scoring game of the year in major college football and in the 131-year history of Michigan football.The last FBS game to produce more points was when Navy beat North Texas 74-62 on Nov. 10, 2007.The previous highest-scoring Michigan game wasn’t nearly as dramatic. The Wolverines beat West Virginia 130-0 in 1904.Denard Robinson threw a 75-yard TD on the first play of the game, but didn’t play after the third quarter and it wasn’t immediately known why he spent the rest of the afternoon on the sideline.Robinson was 10 of 20 for a career-high 305 yards with three TDs and two interceptions. Forcier finished with 12 completions on 19 attempts for 114 yards with two TDs and an interception in the final minute of regulation.Roy Roundtree had a school-record 246 yards receiving and two scores. Hemingway had 104 yards receiving and two TDs.Scheelhaase threw for 211 yards, ran for 101 yards and accounted for four scores. Leshoure ran for 101 yards and a TD and Jason Ford had 91 yards rushing and a score against the 106th ranked defense in the country.But Michigan’s offense is about as good as its defense is bad. The Wolverines rank fourth in the nation and might have been able to reach 60 points in regulation if not for five turnovers.As it was, Forcier led the drive for the tying touchdown that made it 45-all at the end of regulation.Every overtime possession resulted in a touchdown.Shaw’s 5-yard touchdown run in the first overtime put Michigan ahead, then Leshoure’s run converted a fourth-and-1 and forced a second overtime.Scheelhaase then threw a 25-yard pass to a wide-open Patrick Nixon-Youman for a one-play possession, but Forcier answered with a 9-yard TD pass to Hemingway that was deflected by defensive back Terry Hawthorne, sending the game to a third OT.By rule, the teams had to start going for 2 at that point. Michigan got theirs. Illinois failed to convert and the Wolverines celebrated as if they had clinched a Rose Bowl bid instead of just a trip to some second-tier bowl.It didn’t take long to figure out the game was going to be a shootout.Robinson connected with Roundtree for a score on the first play.He fumbled on his next snap, a teammate recovered the football, then he threw interceptions on back-to-back plays.Michigan’s defense played relatively well in the first quarter — holding Illinois to two field goals — then fell apart, allowing the Illini to score 25 points in the second quarter.The Wolverines were fortunate that their offense kept up, scoring 24 points to make it 31-all at halftime.It was the highest-scoring total in a first half Michigan history, surpassing the 55 points it and Chicago scored in 1939.Michigan had 394 yards of offense in the first half and gave up 312 to Illinois.Shaw’s 18-yard run that put the Wolverines ahead 38-31 midway through the third and Michigan had a chance to take a 10-point lead late in the quarter, but Seth Broekhuizen couldn’t make a 39-yard field goal.Scheelhaase answered with a 27-yard TD pass to Leshoure, who was wide open in the end zone, to tie it on the first play of the fourth.Forcier fumbled on his first play and Illinois turned that into Leshoure’s go-ahead TD run.Forcier, last season’s starter before Robinson took over and become a Heisman contender, led a 12-play drive that tied it.