SIOUX FALLS—South Dakota State senior Griffan Callahan didn’t like the looks on his teammates’ faces at halftime against Western Illinois.The Jackrabbits were trailing, and they couldn’t seem to make a shot.Callahan made good on his promise, making two free throws to force overtime and then hitting the winning 3-pointer in a 52-50 victory in the Summit League championship game Tuesday night.Those locker-room frowns were turned upside down as the Jackrabbits celebrated earning the Summit’s automatic NCAA tournament bid. They’ll make their first NCAA appearance since becoming full-fledged Division I members four years ago.Callahan made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:30 left, and the Jackrabbits (27-7) survived some nervous moments.Western Illinois had a couple opportunities to tie or take the lead. The Leathernecks turned it over when Ceola Clark lost control of the ball and committed a shot-clock violation. The same thing happened to SDSU on the other end, with Nate Wolters unable to get his shot from the baseline off before the clock ran out.Tommie Tyler had the last chance after the Leathernecks got the ball back with 10 seconds left, but he couldn’t get his short shot to fall. Terell Parks rebounded but was stripped by SDSU’s Brayden Carlson, who held the ball a moment before the buzzer sounded and SDSU’s students rushed the court.A Sioux Falls newspaper columnist wrote that it would be the high point in South Dakota sports history if the Jackrabbits made it to the NCAA tournament.All but a handful of the 6,526 at Sioux Falls arena — 50 miles from SDSU’s campus in Brookings — were wearing the school colors. Most of them were standing the last 10 minutes of regulation and through overtime.Summit tournament MVP Nate Wolters said no one deserves the NCAA bid more than Nagy, who coached the Jackrabbits during their Division II days.Western Illinois (18-14) lost in its first Summit final since 1997 and was denied its first NCAA berth.Wolters led the Jackrabbits with 14 points and Callahan added 10. Parks led Western Illinois with 19 points.Western Illinois, picked to finish ninth in the preseason, came to Sioux Falls as the No. 4 seed and upset No. 1 Oral Roberts in the semifinals.The Leathernecks were the lowest seed since 2006 to make it this far. Before this year, the Leathernecks hadn’t won a Summit tournament game since 1999. Wolters, who scored 31 points against Southern Utah on 10-of-17 shooting, was just 5 of 22 from the floor.Each team endured long rough patches offensively. South Dakota State’s slump bridged the first and second halves and allowed the Leathernecks to build a 12-point lead. Western Illinois struggled late and let the Jackrabbits come back to force overtime.The Jackrabbits won despite shooting 35 percent, while Western Illinois shot 40 percent.There were nine lead changes and four ties early before the Leathernecks held the Jackrabbits scoreless for 6 1/2 minutes and rolled off 10 straight points.Wolters ended SDSU’s 10:06 stretch without a field goal when he banked in a runner, and he scored again a few minutes later to start a 9-2 spurt that pulled the Jackrabbits to 44-42 with 3 1/2 minutes left in regulation. The Leathernecks made just one field goal in the last 7:40 of regulation, giving the Jackrabbits ample opportunity to come back. Callahan’s two free throws made it 44-all with 15.3 seconds left. The Leathernecks tried to win it on a last shot. Clark let the clock run down under 5 seconds before he ducked under Wolters at the left wing and put up a shot that glanced off the rim just ahead of the buzzer.

VALPARAISO—After falling short against Valparaiso in the first two meetings this season, Detroit won when it mattered the most. Ray McCallum Jr. scored 21 points as Detroit beat Valparaiso 70-50 on Tuesday night to win the Horizon League tournament championship. Jason Calliste scored 17 points and LaMarcus Lowe added 14 for the third-seeded Titans, who qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.Detroit (22-13) had lost both regular-season meetings with the Crusaders, despite being close in both times. The Titans trailed this game by three at halftime, then shot 58 percent in the second half to win. Kevin Van Wijk led Valparaiso with 17 points. Ryan Broekhoff, the conference player of the year, added 13 points for the Crusaders (22-11). Valparaiso was seeking its first NCAA bid since 2004. The Crusaders automatically qualified for at least an NIT bid after winning the league’s regular-season title.Valparaiso rolled to an early 23-14 lead, holding Detroit to 25-percent shooting during that stretch. Van Wijk, the Crusaders’ No 2 scorer, went down with a thigh bruise with 3:59 left in the first half. He had scored 12 points when he was injured and Valpo led 25-18. Valparaiso led 27-24 at halftime and 31-25 early in the second half before McCallum scored seven points during an 11-0 run to give Detroit a 36-31 lead. Calliste said the team remained confident despite its early struggles. Van Wijk made a 3-pointer that cut Detroit’s advantage to 44-42, though he came up hobbling again.McCallum’s steal and layup gave Detroit a 49-42 lead with just over six minutes to play, and a 3-pointer by Calliste pushed the lead to 10 and forced Valpo to call timeout. The Crusaders never challenged the rest of the way.

NEW YORK—Jeremy Lamb scored 25 points and Ryan Boatright added 19 to lead Connecticut to an 81-67 victory over DePaul on Tuesday in the opening round of the Big East tournament.The ninth-seeded Huskies (19-12) will play eighth-seeded West Virginia in the second round on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.Connecticut, the defending Big East tournament and national champion, had coach Jim Calhoun back on the bench for the second game. He had back surgery just eight days ago after missing eight games, of which the Huskies won only three.Calhoun looked like his old self during the game, getting up and down from his seat often and making his way on the court at a whistle to make sure Boatright understood what he wanted him to do in running the offense.Cleveland Melvin and Moses Morgan both had 19 points for the 16th-seeded Blue Demons (12-19), who closed the season losing 10 of their last 11.

SIOUX FALLS—In took every ounce of energy from the Fighting Leathernecks Monday evening (March 5), but when the buzzer sounded, Western Illinois had knocked the top-seeded Oral Roberts Golden Eagles out of The Summit League Tournament, 54-53, advancing to the Summit League Championship game for the first time since 1997.

The fourth-seeded Leathernecks improve to 18-13 overall this season and have now earned four-straight wins. Oral Roberts suffers just its sixth defeat of the year, falling to 27-6 overall.

“We do what we do,” said head coach Jim Molinari. “We showed great resiliency and kept making stops. I thought that was a great part of it. Oral Roberts is a great team, a great rebounding team. You can defend the first shot, but it’s hard to defend the second shot. They didn’t score in the last four minutes and we got a couple of key baskets.”

The Leathernecks found themselves down five, 53-48, with four minutes left in the game, but thanks to tough, smart defense  and clutch shots, including a game-winning fade-away jumper from junior forward Terell Parks, the Leathernecks came away victorious.The 18 wins are the most since the 1996-97 season when Western earned 19 wins. The Leathernecks are 1-3 in Summit League title games, with the one victory coming in 1984, and the three losses coming in back-to-back-to-back seasons (1995, 1996, 1997).Parks led the Leathernecks with 14 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and two steals on the evening, while senior guard Ceola Clark III, who played all 40 minutes, recorded 11 points and dished out three assists. Fellow senior guard Tommie Tyler finished with a team-high four assists. The Golden Eagles were led by Dominique Morrison who finished with a game-high 23 points, 15 of which came in the first half.ORU kicked-off the contest with a 5-0 run, but Clark put an end to the Golden Eagles early advantage by connecting on his first shot of the game, a triple from the top of the key.Clark’s three would spark a 12-0 Leatherneck run to make it 12-5 heading into the first media timeout. The run was highlighted by another three from Clark, along with a triple courtesy of junior forward Jack Houpt.The Golden Eagles would respond with a small run (6-0) and cut Western lead to one, 12-11 with 12 minutes remaining in the half.Oral Roberts would pull out to a 24-18 advantage late in the half, but the Leathernecks would score nine unanswered, highlighted by Clark’s third triple and a high flying slam dunk from Parks, and take a 27-26 lead into the break.Tyler knocked down a jumper, followed by Parks finishing a two-handed slam to begin the second-half, extending Western’s run to 13-0 and make it 31-26 in favor of Western.
Junior David Gebru entered the game after Parks ran into foul trouble early in the second and produced right away. In Gebru’s first four minutes of action he scored five points and grabbed two rebounds, helping to extend the Leathernecks’ lead to seven, 36-29.ORU slowly creeped back into a 41-41 tie with a little over 10 minutes left in the game before Oral Roberts’ Morrison scored four straight for the Golden Eagles, making it a 45-41 game in favor of ORU.With seven minutes left in the game, ORU continued to build on its lead, putting together a 6-2 run and extending its lead to eight points, 51-43. Houpt was able to connect on another three, followed by a Parks completing a put-back, cutting Western’s deficit to three points, 51-48 with five minutes to play.Morrison would knock down two free throws at the 4:03 mark, but freshman forward Obi Emegano would answer for Western on its next possession, making it 53-50 with 3:42 left.The two teams would go scoreless until the 1:22 mark when Emegano knocked down two free throws to make it 53-52 with under a minute to play.Western called a timeout with 41.8 left on the clock and the game plan proved to be successful as Parks got the ball down low, turned towards the basket and knocked down the jumper, giving Western the lead, 54-53.No. 4 Western Illinois (18-13) will square-off against No. 2 South Dakota State tomorrow night in the 2012 Summit League Championship game at 8:05 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN 2 and the winner will punch its ticket to the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Luol Deng scored 20 points, teaming with Derrick Rose in a decisive third-quarter rally that sent the Bulls to their seventh straight victory, 92-72 over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.Rose added 13 points and nine assists, hitting three 3-pointers while Deng had two in the third as the Bulls blew open a close game.Joakim Noah had 17 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a dominating 60-32 edge on the boards. The Bulls outscored the Pacers 20-4 on second-chance points. John Lucas III scored 13 points, one of three Bulls reserves in double figures. Paul George scored 21 points for Indiana, which had a six-game winning streak snapped. George Hill scored 17 points off the bench.The Bulls improved their league-best record to 32-8. They stretched their lead to 2½ games over Miami atop the Eastern Conference and to seven games over Indiana in the Central Division. The Pacers were trying to win a seventh straight for the first time in eight years.The Bulls avenged a 95-90 loss to the Pacers on Jan. 25, one of just two home losses this season. Rose was irked after that game because of what he perceived to be Indiana’s excessive celebration on the court after the game ended, saying “I can’t wait till we play them again.” Richard Hamilton left the game after just 1:23 had elapsed with a right shoulder injury. He did not return.Indiana led by three two minutes into the second half when the Bulls went on a 20-4 spree that featured a pair of nine-point runs. After starting the game by missing nine of his first 10 shots, Rose capped the first run with a 3-pointer to put the Bulls up 53-47.Indiana closed within four before Chicago hit three consecutive 3-pointers, one by Rose and the last two by Deng. His long one from straight on as the shot clock expired for a 13 point lead. The Bulls extended the lead to 19 by the time their third-quarter burst ended. They outscored the Pacers 32-14 in the period, held Indiana to 6-of-22 shooting and outrebounded the Pacers 18-7. Rose had 11 points and five assists to lead the charge.Rose rested for the entire fourth quarter as Indiana could get no closer than 13 points. The Pacers took a one-point halftime lead after a tight, ragged first half that featured 13 lead changes. George, who led Indiana with 11 points before the half, scored six straight on a layup, dunk and two free throws late in the second quarter to give Indiana the lead it carried into the break. Rose scored just two points before the break, shooting 1 for 9 from the floor. His backup, Lucas III, scored nine points off the bench to lead the Bulls in first-half scoring.

NOTES—Bulls backup point guard C.J. Watson did not play because of a sprained left ankle. Watson was injured during the win over Philadelphia on Sunday, but was able to finish the game. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Watson had experienced swelling around the injury on Monday and did not know a timetable for his return.. The Bulls, who improved to 15-2 at home this season, play 16 of their last 26 regular-season games at the United Center.

MESA—Ryan Dempster got off to a rough start last year and never recovered in one of his worst seasons with the Cubs.Nothing he can do about it now. He is focused on bouncing back this year.Dempster made his spring debut Monday and pitched two innings in the Northsiders 8-7 loss to a split-squad of Oakland Athletics. The right-hander, who went 10-14 with a 4.80 ERA last season, allowed one run and two hits.Dempster struck out two and walked none. “Anytime you’ve had a subpar year, you don’t like it a whole lot and you want to try and do a whole lot better the next time out. You work out and do what you can to be prepared.” Josh Reddick collected two more hits for Oakland, and Brandon Allen hit a sacrifice fly off Dempster in the second to give him eight RBIs this spring. Non-roster invitee Yordy Cabrera led off the ninth inning with a home run against right-hander Tony Zych, lifting Oakland to the victory.Blake DeWitt hit a three-run homer off A’s starter Bartolo Colon in the second inning. Jeff Baker added two hits, including a double, and scored two runs for the Cubs.Reddick is off to a fast start after coming over from Boston in the Andrew Bailey trade. He tripled in the second inning and is 5 for 8 this spring. Considering the A’s suddenly have a crowded outfield with the signings of Yoenis Cespedes and Manny Ramirez to go along with Jonny Gomes, Coco Crisp and Seth Smith, the hot start by Reddick can only help his chances.Reddick only saw three pitches from Dempster but said he could tell that the starter had a good changeup.Working in the off-speed stuff early might be the key to Dempster getting off to a fast start. He was 1-3 with a 9.58 ERA in six April starts last season.

NOTES—Geovany Soto (groin) is expected to see his first game action somewhere between Wednesday and Saturday. … Jeff Baker and Joe Mather had two hits apiece for the Cubs. Mather also had two stolen bases.

GLENDALE—Chad Billingsley has been working on his mechanics and saw positive results in his spring training debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers.Likely to be the No. 2 starter behind Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, Billingsley wants to smooth out his leg kick during his delivery. Monday was a step in the right direction as he pitched two scoreless innings in a 6-4 victory over the White Sox in an exhibition opener.Billingsley gave up a single to Alexei Ramirez and walked none. Ramirez finished with two of the Sox six hits.Billingsley said he felt good and mixed curveballs and changeups with his fastball. He’s looking for a stronger season than 2011, when he went 11-11 with a 4.21 ERA, his sixth with the Dodgers. The right-hander was an All-Star in 2009.The game also marked the unofficial debut for first-time manager Robin Ventura. He started a White Sox lineup that could foreshadow what he’ll use on opening day, with Alejandro De Aza leading off, followed by A.J. Pierzynski, Alex Rios, Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn.Dodgers star Andre Ethier hit a double in his first at-bat of the spring against Philip Humber, who allowed a run and a hit in two innings. He will likely be in the back of the White Sox rotation after he won a job as a starter a year ago. He went 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA in his first full major league season.Humber got five groundouts and praised the defense of second baseman Gordon Beckham and Ramirez at shortstop.Led by prospect Scott Van Slyke’s two-run homer, the Dodgers scored five times in the sixth off White Sox prospect Nestor Molina, acquired in the offseason trade that sent closer Sergio Santos to Toronto. Van Slyke is the son of former major leaguer Andy Van Slyke.He was the Dodgers’ minor league player of the year after he hit .348 to win the Double-A Southern League batting title. He also had 20 home runs and 92 RBIs.Molina, who might begin the season in Double-A, allowed five runs and seven hits in 1 1-3 innings.

NOTES—White Sox prospect Addison Reed struck out Matt Kemp in a 1-2-3 inning. … Dan Johnson, who could possibly make the Sox roster as a reserve, hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Ryan Tucker. … SS Dee Gordon led off for the Dodgers. He needed stitches in his lip Saturday after he took a grounder off the face during batting practice.

PHILADELPHIA—With the game down to the final precious possessions, the Bulls and Philadelphia each leaned on its best player.Derrick Rose, the reigning MVP, saw a crack in the defense, went left-to-right with the ball and scored for a four-point lead.Andre Iguodala shot an air ball and fired one attempt off the backboard.Make it 31 wins and counting for the Bulls — and another defeat against the elite for the back-to-reality 76ers.Rose tied a season high with 35 points, Joakim Noah had 11 points and 18 rebounds and the Bulls beat Philadelphia 96-91 on Sunday night for their sixth straight win.Rose dominated the Sixers, scoring 20 points in the second half, and he had a pair of quarter-ending buzzer-beaters that showed why he’s on short list of the NBA’s best players. He was 12 for 23 from the field, including 4 for 7 from 3-point range.Leading 91-89, the Bulls turned the ball over, but Iguodala tossed up an air ball on a 3-point attempt. The Bulls turned the ball over again, and this time it was Thaddeus Young who missed a jumper for the Sixers. At least his shot hit the rim.Rose made them pay for the misses, going left hand-to-right for a one-handed shot on the run for a 93-89 lead with 20.2 seconds left.Iguodala’s tying 3 clanged off the backboard and finished off the Sixers. He was scoreless in the fourth quarter (0 for 4) and finished with 14 points.Carlos Boozer scored 13 points for the Bulls. Philadelphia’s Elton Brand had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his third straight double-double, Young had 17 points and Jrue Holiday 16.The Bulls alternated in the fourth between sloppy play and clutch buckets.Late in the quarter, Rose’s pass went over Noah’s head and was intercepted by Holiday, leading to Young’s dunk that made it 87-85. Noah and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau exchanged words on the bench in a timeout, perhaps over miscommunication on that play. Noah placed his hand on Thibodeau’s shoulder to make a point.C.J. Watson, playing with a sprained left ankle, made a long jumper on the next play.Rose took it from there. He had nailed a 22-footer at the halftime buzzer and another long jumper with a hand in his face to end the third that tied it at 64.The Bulls carried that last-shot momentum into the fourth. Luol Deng hit a pair of 3s early in the quarter and Rose continued to torment the Sixers.Still, the Sixers kept the Bulls in their sight, and Holiday’s dunk pulled them to 82-78. But the Sixers weren’t smart with the ball and Iguodala’s long 3 hit nothing but air — even as he protested in vain it was tipped.The Sixers, losing their grip on the Atlantic Division, give the Bulls fits each time they play.Brand had a big block on Noah in the first half, then scooped the loose ball on a bad-pass turnover on the Bulls next possession. The Sixers led 46-40 at the break and kept rolling in the third. Iguodala slammed home Holiday’s jumper off the front of the rim, and Young made a sweet spin around Taj Gibson that wobbled the forward in the paint for a bucket.Once Deng, Noah and Richard Hamilton warmed up offensively, the Bulls got going. At one point in the first half, the trio were a combined 2 of 11 for four points. That was long forgotten by the fourth, and when Deng hit consecutive 3s early in the quarter, the Bulls turned the deficit into a 74-66 lead.They didn’t have an answer.

NOTES—Sixers C Spencer Hawes is close to returning after sitting out almost a month with a strained left Achilles tendon. Hawes could return to the lineup by the middle of the month….Sixers Coach Doug Collins felt the pain when Duke lost to North Carolina on Saturday night. Collins’ son, Chris, is an assistant for the Blue Devils. “Do I feel it? That’s your son sitting over there on the bench getting beat,” he said. “Yeah, I feel it.”….76ers broadcaster Malik Rose is pulling for the Drexel Dragons to win the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Monday. Rose led the Dragons to the tournament from 1994-96, but the program hasn’t been back. “I think they still have a good chance at getting an at-large,” he said.

DETROIT—Patrick Sharp had a goal and an assist, and Patrick Kane broke a tie late in the second period in the  Blackhawks’ 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Sunday.Ray Emery made 23 saves to help the Hawks solidify its hold on the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference.Niklas Kronwall scored for Detroit, 27-4-2 at home. Jimmy Howard made four saves before leaving after the first period because of a lower-body injury. Joey MacDonald stopped 12 shots in the final two periods.Red Wings defenseman Jakub Kindl also left early in the first period because of an upper-body injury. Detroit already was without captain Nicklas Lidstrom, center Pavel Datsyuk and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson.Lidstrom missed his third game because of a deep bone bruise in his right ankle and is expected to sit out at least one more game. Datsyuk is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, and Ericsson has a broken left wrist.Kane scored with 1:19 left in the second period. He made a move and backhanded a shot past MacDonald from the front of the net for his 16th goal.Sharp’s power-play goal opened the scoring 3:47 into the game. His slap shot from the left point deflected in off Kronwall’s skate. It was Sharp’s 25th goal.Kronwall tied it at 6:03 of the first with his 14th goal. He beat Emery with a one-timed slap shot from the left point.

NOTES—Detroit recalled forward Chris Conner from Grand Rapids of the AHL on Saturday night. … Detroit’s Brad Stuart had an assist for his 300th NHL point. … Sharp has 15 goals and 30 points in 40 career games against Detroit. … Red Wings rookie defenseman Brendan Smith and the Blackhawks’ Andrew Shaw fought with 3:18 left in the second period. Smith was clearly the winner. … The loss snapped MacDonald’s winning streak at seven games.