ROSEMONT—Donnavan Kirk tied a career high with 14 points and Jamee Crockett added 13 points and six rebounds to lead DePaul to an 84-50 rout of Milwaukee on Sunday night.DePaul (6-3) used an early 14-0 run to jump out to a 21-8 lead. Moses Morgan made two 3-pointers and made a nice pass to Cleveland Melvin for an alley-oop dunk during the span for the Blue Demons.Brandon Young scored 13 points and Melvin finished with 11 points and three blocks in a game where DePaul led by as many as 41. The Panthers beat the Blue Demons last season.DePaul held Milwaukee’s leading scorer Jordan Aaron to six points on 2-for-11 shooting. Paris Gulley led Milwaukee (3-7) with 14 points.The Blue Demons held Milwaukee to 25.8 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

INDEPENDENCE—The Chicago Soul (2-7) were on their way to complete a late comeback, but the Missouri Comets (5-3), powered by Byron Alvarez’s hat trick, hung on for the 14-11 victory on Sunday at the Independence Events Center.The Soul saw plenty of opportunities for a rally in the fourth quarter, but were simply unable to capitalize. Matthew Stewart provided some spark for Chicago, scoring a three-pointer nearly four minutes into the period and then struck again from the two-point range, but Alvarez matched Stewart’s efforts scoring two of his three goals in the final quarter. The Soul then threw out a sixth attacker in the final minutes to provide more offensive momentum. Chicago even caught a bit of a break with 33 seconds to go when Vahid Assadpour headed to penalty box, allowing the Soul a power play opportunity with their sixth attacker in the mix. Chicago managed to make several solid shot attempts, but the clock wound down and the squad simply ran out of time.

“They put great pressure on us,” Soul Head Coach Manny Rojas said of the Comets’ defense in the final minute of play. “We tried to get our best players to take shots, but Missouri just did a better job of keeping us out of close range and forcing us to take difficult shots while in counterattack. We didn’t get the clear shot we needed, and lost to a very good team.”
The Soul had started out on a positive note with Bato Radoncic getting the squad on the board early in the first quarter, but Chicago got hit with most of the damage in the second quarter and seemed to struggle the rest of the way. The second quarter consisted of dominant play on the Comets’ end, with three consecutive Missouri goals from Assadpour, Mads Falck, and Alvarez to make it a 6-2 Chicago deficit. The Soul’s Sean Summerville managed to squeeze in his first goal of the season to cut the Comets’ lead to 6-4, but Lucas Rodriguez responded minutes later with a goal to make it a four-point game by the half.The third quarter opened up with a goal by rookie Ephraim Beard on a clean pass from Summerville, and the Soul were able to bring the game back within two until Leo Gibson followed up with a goal on the other end, making it a 10-6 Comets lead heading into the final period of play.

“We will head back home now, take a good look at our problem, and try to fix it as soon as possible,” said Rojas.

The Soul will return to action at home on Friday when they host the MISL defending champion Milwaukee Wave. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at the Sears
Centre Arena.

Marco Belinelli and Luol Deng scored 22 points apiece as the Bulls beat the Knicks 93-85 on Saturday night, snapping New York’s five-game winning streak.Belinelli scored 15 points in the first quarter, while Deng had 10 in the fourth, giving the Bulls their first three-game winning streak of the season.Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago. One night after putting up career highs of 30 points and 23 rebounds in a win at Detroit, Joakim Noah just missed an odd triple-double, getting 10 points and 11 rebounds but committing a career-worst 10 turnovers.Raymond Felton led the Knicks with 27 points, matching his season high set on Thursday in a victory at Miami. However, Felton was just 9 for 30 from the field, exceeding his career high for field-goal attempts by six shots.Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who shot a season-low 32.1 percent from the floor and matched a season high with 15 turnovers. It was also a season-low point total for New York.The Knicks again played without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who missed his second straight game because of stitches in the middle finger of his left hand. Anthony, who is third in the NBA with 26.4 points per game, was hurt in a win over Charlotte on Wednesday.Nate Robinson had 12 points, five rebounds and eight assists off the bench for the Bulls, who had won five of its last six and 18 of its last 21 at home against New York.Chandler’s free throws pulled New York within three with 1:56 left, but Belinelli hit a side jumper just inside the 3-point line. Then Belinelli fed Noah for a layup with 56 seconds left, putting the Bulls up 89-82.The Knicks attempted 85 3-pointers over their previous two games, or more than 10 per quarter. They got up just three in the first period against the Bulls, the last one from Rasheed Wallace that tied the score at 23 with 3 seconds left.However, Belinelli took the inbounds pass and hit a 43-footer as the buzzer sounded, putting the Bulls up by three and giving him a 15-point first period. The Bulls, who entered the game last in 3-pointers made and attempted, were 4 for 5 from behind the arc in the opening period.Belinelli and Kirk Hinrich hit 3s during a 10-0 Bulls run after New York scored the first six points of the game. In a ragged start to the second quarter, the Knicks didn’t convert a field goal during the first 5:39 before J.R. Smith’s 3-pointer drew New York within 30-27.After the Bulls pushed the lead to seven points, reserve Taj Gibson was ejected by official Derrick Stafford, drawing two quick technical fouls after being called for this third personal foul, a loose ball foul on the Knicks’ end.Steve Novak converted both technical free throws, sparking a nine-point run to give New York the lead. The Bulls battled back and held a 43-41 edge at the break and maintained their two-point advantage through the third period.

NOTES—Anthony warmed up on the court before the game, then declared himself unable to play due to the difficulty he was having catching passes because of the bandage covering his injured finger. He said he hopes to return to action when the Knicks host Denver on Sunday. … The Knicks entered the game with the fewest turnovers in the league, but committed 12 miscues in the first half alone, one short of their season high. … Hinrich began the second half on the bench because of an injured left elbow. His return at the time was termed questionable by the team. … The national anthem was performed by Krysten Knievel, the granddaughter of 1970s daredevil Evil Knievel.

SPOKANE—Brandon Paul of No. 13 Illinois figured his team needed a pep talk after rallying to tie No. 10 Gonzaga at halftime in their showdown of unbeaten teams.

“I kept telling everybody, `This is it. We’ve got to take this right now,” Paul said. “We’re not playing well, but we’re still in this game.”

His teammates listened.Paul finished with 35 points to lead Illinois over Gonzaga 85-74 on Saturday.

“A lot of people doubted us,” Paul said. “We came into the game as underdogs. We love that stuff.”

Paul, a senior guard, made 10 of 16 field goals, including 5 of 9 3-pointers. He made 10 of 11 free throws, and added three assists, two blocks and three steals.

“He looked like a high-level NBA guy,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We didn’t have a guy who could guard him one-on-one basically.”

Tracy Abrams added 14 points for Illinois (10-0) and new coach John Groce is off to the best debut for an Illinois coach in the team’s modern history.

“I thought our toughness and togetherness was exemplary,” Groce said.

Groce had called his players out after they narrowly escaped from Western Carolina on Tuesday. “What a response,” he said.Kelly Olynyk scored 16 points to lead Gonzaga (9-1). Elias Harris added 15 and Gary Bell Jr. had 12.The Zags were hampered by 38 percent shooting in the second half, after shooting 60 percent in the opening half.

“We had a lot of good looks and didn’t shoot it as well as we wanted,” Few said. “We missed some wide open looks.”

Gonzaga led most of the first half, although Illinois came back to tie the game at halftime at 41.Myke Henry’s basket gave Illinois its first lead of the game at 44-43 in the opening seconds of the second half, and the Illini pushed that to 54-49 by making all five of their field goals to open the half.Henry’s 3-pointer gave Illinois a 59-51 lead. Two baskets by Przemek Karnowski cut Illinois’ lead to 61-58.But shooting woes hurt Gonzaga in the second half, and D.J. Richardson’s 3-pointer gave the Illini a 68-59 lead.Gonzaga was held without a field goal for 6 minutes, then got consecutive baskets from Olynyk and Bell to close within 68-64.Paul replied with two baskets for a 73-64 Illini lead with 5:45 left.Gonzaga rallied, and Kevin Pangos’ free throw cut Illinois’ lead to 75-71 with 2:51 left.But Paul completed a 3-point play to give Illinois a 78-71 lead with 2:29 left. Tracy Abrams hit two more free throws for an 80-71 Illini lead, and Gonzaga started taking desperation shots.In the first half, Gonzaga made six of its first seven shots to jump to a 14-6 lead. Paul’s free throw cut Gonzaga’s lead to 20-16, but David Stockton replied with a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs, and they went on to build a 31-20 lead.Illinois fought back with a 12-2 run, and Paul’s free throws tied the score at 35.The score was tied at 41 at halftime, and Paul led all players with 18 points in the half for the Illini.Illinois, which leads the NCAA with an average of 10.8 3-pointers per game, made 11 of 26 from long range.

“I didn’t want to rely too much on the 3, but they were giving me open shots,” Paul said.

Illinois had lost five straight games to ranked teams. Illinois’ previous road win over a ranked team came in 2010.

EVANSTON—Andrew Smith scored a season-high 24 points and Butler pulled away in the second half for a 74-65 win over Northwestern on Saturday night. Smith had 19 points in the second half – including nine straight – and added 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (7-2), who shot 48 percent en route to their fourth straight win overall and fourth straight against the Wildcats (7-3).Rotnei Clarke was 4 for 6 on 3-point attempts and finished with 13 points for Butler. Kellen Dunham added 11 points and Roosevelt Jones had 10.Dave Sobolewski scored 21 points for NU, which shot just 32.7 percent from the field but stayed close by converting 22 of 31 free throws. Tre Demps added 15 points and Reggie Hearn had 13.Butler, which led 34-31 at the half, pulled away with a 10-4 run to open the second half.

NORMAL—Jackie Carmichael scored 24 points and Illinois State rolled to an 85-63 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday night.ISU (6-3) also benefited from 50.8 percent shooting from the floor (31 of 61) and a 39-8 scoring advantage off the bench.Tyler Brown scored 13 points for Illinois State, and Johnny Hill contributed 10 assists.Western Michigan (6-3) could not get untracked with its shooting, making just 33.9 percent from the floor (33.9 percent). It did have a 41-35 rebounding edge.Nate Hutcheson scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Western Michigan. Darius Paul scored 14 points and Brandon Pokley scored 13.

EAST LANSING—Gary Harris shed the protective sleeve on his sprained left shoulder, then led Michigan State to a big comeback win.Harris scored 14 of his career-high 20 points in the second half as the 19th-ranked Spartans beat Loyola 73-61 on Saturday. Harris shot 7 for 11 from the field, including 5 for 7 on 3-pointers.

“He’s a very unselfish kid,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “He took the brace off today, and I’m not sure like that. I might be fist-fighting the doctors today. But he has a chance to be a great player.”

Adreian Payne added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State (8-2), his second double-double in the last three games. Travis Trice had 11 points, while Keith Appling, the Spartans’ top scorer this season, added eight points and seven assists, mostly on feeds to Harris.

“If I’m open, I’m going to shoot the ball,” Harris said after being challenged at halftime. “I need to come out like that at the beginning instead of having someone get into me.”

Ben Averkamp had 25 points, including four 3s, and eight rebounds for the Ramblers (6-3). Devon Turk added 10 points.

“We have to learn we can’t just be close,” Loyola coach Porter Moser said. “Michigan State has a culture. And we were a step slow getting to Harris and a little uneasy in the second half. We have to compete for 40 minutes.”

Michigan State used a 22-9 run, including three 3’s from Harris, to start the second half and build a 52-41 lead. Loyola-Chicago clawed back within three but saw their last push end with a jumper by Appling and a putback dunk by Payne.

“It was a tough game,” Izzo said. “We didn’t play great. We didn’t play bad. We had a couple of rough stretches with really foolish turnovers. But we took a little step in the right direction.”

The Spartans shot 49 percent from the field and the Ramblers just 36. But Loyola, winner of four straight coming in, held its own on the boards against one of the nation’s top rebounding programs, trailing just 33-31.The Ramblers overcame a 10-point deficit and took a 28-25 lead on a 3 from Cully Payne, a transfer from Iowa who had played in Breslin Center in 2010. Loyola’s advantage reached five and was 32-30 at halftime, after going 5 for 9 from long range and shot six free throws after fouls on other 3s.

“Our guys have to learn that we’re right there,” Averkamp said. “Moving forward, if we learn from this, it was a good game for us. If not, we really have to look at ourselves.”

Averkamp and Turk each had eight first-half points for the Ramblers, who were outrebounded and outshot from the field and the line in the first half. Payne had nine points and five rebounds for the Spartans before the break, but starting guards Appling and Denzel Valentine were scoreless.Michigan State had allowed just 39 and 44 points in the previous two games. It was a different story against an improved opponent that didn’t win its sixth game last season until Feb. 11. But the Spartans regrouped and left with their 70th straight win at home over an unranked non-league opponent.Next Saturday, both teams will pay tribute to the “Game of Change,” a matchup 50 seasons ago that helped to integrate college athletics. The Ramblers will face Mississippi State, the all-white team they beat en route to the 1963 national title. Michigan State will host Tuskegee in Jenison FIeld House, the scene of one of the sport’s most important games.

MILWAUKEE—Junior Cadougan scored 13 of his 18 points in the final 10 minutes and Vander Blue added 17 points to lead Marquette past rival Wisconsin 60-50 on Saturday night.Marquette, coming off an 82-49 loss at No. 6 Florida on Nov. 29, led the entire game but wasn’t able to shake the Badgers until the closing minutes.No Wisconsin player scored in double digits with Jared Berggren and Ryan Evans each scoring nine points. Davante Gardner scored 10 points off the bench for Marquette (6-2).Neither team had success with free throws. Marquette missed 10 of 17 and Wisconsin (6-4) missed 14 of 23.Marquette dominated down low, outscoring the Badgers 36-10 in the paint. The Golden Eagles contested seemingly every inside shot by Wisconsin, which beat the Badgers for the second consecutive year.

Gary Talton scored 20 points, including a perfect 12 for 12 from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds and five assists to lead UIC to its seventh straight victory by defeating Colorado State 64-55 on Saturday afternoon.UIC (8-1) trailed 46-45 with 5:45 remaining after Wes Eikmeier hit a free throw for Colorado State. Seconds later, Will Simonton made a lay-up to give the Rams a 47-46 lead and Colorado State went on a 17-9 run from that point on to seal the victory. Daniel Barnes scored 14 points, Marc Brown had 12 points and four rebounds and Josh Crittle chipped in with 10 for the Flames, which haven’t suffered a loss since Nov. 16 when New Mexico beat them 66-59 in the Paradise Jam Tournament.Greg Smith scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Colorado State (6-2) and Pierce Hornung had eight points and 10 rebounds.

AUBURN HILLS—Joakim Noah was standing near the scorer’s table during the first half, visibly upset with his team’s performance while he was waiting to check back in.The Detroit Pistons were outworking his Bulls — but Noah’s big night was only beginning.

“I just felt like our energy was just low, from the start of the game,” Noah said. “It’s just human reaction, when there’s not a lot of people in the stands, to kind of put your guard down. I think we regrouped pretty well.”

Noah had 30 points and 23 rebounds, setting career highs in both categories and helping the Bulls beat Detroit for the 16th straight time, 108-104 on Friday night.

“It’s crazy to have numbers like that,” Noah said. “I knew I was missing a lot of tips in the beginning of the game. In some arenas, they count as rebounds, and some other arenas, they don’t. I’m happy they counted.”

The Bulls trailed by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but the Bulls rallied toward the end of the half and took control in the fourth.All five Bulls starters finished in double figures, including Carlos Boozer with 24 points. Luol Deng and Marco Belinelli scored 16 apiece. Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 24 points and Brandon Knight added 21. The Pistons had 28 rebounds on the night, only five more than Noah had by himself.

“Noah had a double-double in both halves. That’s just flat-out effort,” Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. “He had 30 points and 23 rebounds, and they didn’t run a single play for him.”

Noah’s previous career highs were 26 points and 21 rebounds. He said he was motivated by the presence of Ben Wallace, the former Piston who also played for the Bulls when Noah was a rookie.Wallace was sitting behind one of the baskets Friday night and got a nice hand from the crowd, which was announced at 17,142 but included a significant number of empty seats.

“That’s my vet,” Noah said. “To have him there, it means a lot. I’ve learned a lot from him.”

The game was tied at 82 in the fourth quarter when Noah rebounded a Bulls miss and made a layup while being fouled. The Pistons were able to hang around after the three-point play, but after they let Noah come up with another offensive rebound that led to a dunk by Boozer, the Bulls were ahead 100-93.Deng’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 10, and although Detroit cut into the margin during a sloppy final minute, the outcome was never really in doubt. Noah had 10 offensive rebounds, twice as many as the entire Detroit team. He and Boozer both shot 12 of 19, giving the Bulls enough scoring on a night their defense wasn’t all that impressive.The Bulls of course have been without Derrick Rose all season after he underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Richard Hamilton has also been out lately with a left foot problem.Detroit hasn’t beaten the Bulls since Dec. 23, 2008, but for most of the first half, the Pistons looked primed to end that streak. They led by as many as 17 in the second quarter, shooting 54 percent for the half.

“The second quarter was an abomination,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We gave them pick-and-rolls, we gave them cuts, we were ball watching, lacked awareness.”

But the Bulls went on a 12-0 run late in the second quarter and trailed 55-50 at the half. The Bulls took a 71-70 lead on a 3-pointer by Kirk Hinrich. They were ahead 78-74 after three.

“It’s even more frustrating, because in this streak, they’ve been holding us around 80 points, with a few games in the 70s. We got 104 tonight, and we still didn’t beat them,” Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince said.

NOTES—Noah also had six assists….Detroit’s Greg Monroe had 13 points and five rebounds, barely extending his streak of games with at least five rebounds to 112.