ROSEMONT—Fuquan Edwin converted the game-winning layup with 6.9 seconds remaining to give Seton Hall a 73-72 win against DePaul on Wednesday night.Aaron Cosby led Seton Hall (12-2) with 24 points.Jamee Crockett of DePaul missed a wide open 3-pointer with four seconds left to seal Seton Hall’s win in the Big East conference opener for both teams. A turnover gave Seton Hall the ball with 26 seconds remaining as they trailed DePaul, 72-71.DePaul (9-5, 0-1) chipped away at Seton Hall’s 40-32 halftime lead. DePaul guard Durrell McDonald made a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 52 with 9:42 remaining.Less than a minute later the Blue Demons took the lead on Brandon Young’s three-point play. From then on, the teams traded baskets as neither squad led by more than five points the rest of the game.

NORMAL—Creighton forward Ethan Wragge worked all week on his outside shooting. It showed Wednesday night when the junior scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range to lead the 16th-ranked Bluejays to a 79-72 victory over Illinois State. The 6-foot-7 Wragge, who normally comes off the bench, made his first four attempts from behind the 3-point line. After that, his teammates were kicking the ball out to him nearly every offensive series, looking for his hot hand.

“I worked pretty hard all week on my outside shooting,” Wragge said. “They were dropping pretty good in practice, too. As soon as the first one went in tonight, I just felt it. They really started falling after that.”

Grant Gibbs added 16 points for Creighton (13-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference), while the team’s leading scoring Doug McDermott (third in the nation at 23.5 points per game) was held to 15 points and nine rebounds.

“It was a fabulous win,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “There are not many teams in our league that could’ve come in here tonight and played a tough opponent like [ISU] and get away with a win. We’ll take it.”

Tyler Brown and Bryant Allen each scored 15 points to lead the Redbirds (9-5, 0-2). Creighton led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Illinois State went on a 9-0 run over the last 2 minutes of the half that culminated with a 3-pointer by Nick Zeisloft with 2 seconds left to pull the Redbirds within 42-39. It took Creighton until the second half to figure out the Redbirds’ zone defense.

“Finally, we were able to get into the teeth of their zone. It was something we didn’t recognize, and we had to make some adjustments. We picked it up eventually,” Greg McDermott said. It was a crushing loss for the young Redbirds, who felt they were in the game until the final seconds.

“Disappointed,” first-year Illinois State coach Dan Muller said. “We really wanted this win tonight. And we came close. Creighton is a very good team, but we wanted this one.”

The teams combined for 26 3-pointers in the game, 17 coming in the first half. As both defenses tightened, Illinois State staged another comeback late in the game, pulling ahead 63-61 on a 3-pointer by Allen with 9:15 left. Creighton regained the lead at 67-65 with 7:03 left and never relinquished it. Illinois State’s Jackie Carmichael recorded his 161st career blocked shot, passing Greg Dilligard for the most in school history. Carmichael scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. Creighton’s seven-point margin of victory was its lowest of the season. ISU is 0-8 against nationally ranked opponents in the history of Redbird Arena.

CARBONDALE—Walt Lemon Jr. scored 20 points Wednesday night to help Bradley to a 66-60 victory over Southern Illinois.Lemon’s basket with 2:58 left gave the Braves (10-4, 2-0 Missouri Valley) the lead for good at 57-56. Lemon finished 8 for 11 from the field and also contributed five steals for Bradley, which was 0-9 on the road in the MVC last season. Dyricus Simms-Edwards and Jordan Prosser had 11 points apiece for the Braves. Desmar Jackson led the Salukis (7-6, 0-2) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Jeff Early scored 11 and Anthony Beane Jr. added 10 points for SIU.Bradley shot 50 percent from the field and led 28-23 at halftime. Southern Illinois shot 42 percent and was just 13 for 23 from the free-throw line. Bradley was 14 of 18.

VALPARAISO—Ben Averkamp scored 16 points and had four blocked shots Wednesday night as Loyola beat Valparaiso 63-54 in the Horizon League opener for both schools.Christian Thomas had 14 points and six rebounds, and Cully Payne had 13 points and seven assists for the Ramblers (10-3).Ryan Broekhoff led Valparaiso (10-5) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Van Wijk also had seven rebounds, and contributed 10 points. LaVonte Dority also scored 10 points for the Crusaders, going 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.Loyola led 26-24 at halftime. Broekhoff made a 3-pointer for Valpo early in the second half, but Thomas’ layup with 18 1/2 minutes to go put the Ramblers ahead for good.

Gary Talton drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining and made three free throws to protect the lead as UIC defeated Youngstown State 65-60 on Wednesday night.Talton had 19 points and Hayden Humes 15 for the Flames (10-4, 1-0 Horizon League), who snapped a three-game losing streak.Kendrick Perry scored 19 points and Blake Allen had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Penguins (8-6, 0-1). Allen’s 3-pointer gave Youngstown State a 60-59 lead with 1:31 remaining.Josh Crittle scored 14 points and Daniel Barnes 10 for UIC.Talton was 7 of 15 from the field with six rebounds

MACOMB—Adam Link scored 10 points and Western Illinois slipped by Savannah State 39-35, extending their winning streak to eight games.Terell Parks had eight rebounds and blocked seven shots for the Leathernecks (11-3).Savannah State led 23-12 at halftime. But the Tigers shot 32.6 percent from the field for the game, while Western Illinois shot 44 percent.Khiry White led the Tigers with 10 points. Arnold Louis had eight rebounds.Savannah State (5-8) has now lost five consecutive games.

MIAMI —Anxious to avoid an Orange Bowl shocker, the Florida State Seminoles kept getting tricked. An onside kick fooled them, as did a fake punt, and a pooch punt by Northern Illinois‘ star quarterback. But the final score was no surprise. Florida State had too much speed and depth for the Huskies and pulled away for a 31-10 victory Tuesday night. Senior fullback Lonnie Pryor, voted the game’s outstanding player, ran for a career-high 134 yards and two scores in only five carries. Senior EJ Manuel threw for 291 yards, while the Seminoles stuffed Huskies’ QB and all-purpose threat Jordan Lynch for most of the night.

“I’m glad I’m a Nole, and I’m glad the seniors went out with a bang,” Pryor said. “I always wanted to be MVP of a bowl, and I told myself that every time I get the ball, to try to make a big play.”

The victory was a consolation prize for the No. 13 Seminoles (12-2), who began the season with national championship hopes. They’ve won five consecutive bowl games, but the victory was their first in a BCS bowl since 2000, when they beat Virginia Tech for the national title. After the game, the Seminoles wore T-shirts that read, “Florida Statement.”

“It’s not the national championship, but right below,” defensive end Bjoern Werner said. “Not a lot of teams can say that.”

For 16th-ranked Northern Illinois (12-2), playing in a BCS bowl for the first time, the defeat snapped a 12-game winning streak. The Huskies came in as two-touchdown underdogs and fell to 5-28 against top 25 teams.

“We knew that they were going to play us tough,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. “But our kids, it’s another step in which we handled the big platform, and I’m very proud of them.”

Pryor scored the first touchdown on a career-long 60-yard run, then ran 37 yards for a clinching touchdown with 10 minutes left. They were the two longest rushes allowed by Northern Illinois all season. Manuel went 26 for 38, threw for one score and ran for another.

“We just kept playing,” he said. “Now we’re going to enjoy ourselves.”

The Huskies were widely derided as unworthy of a BCS bowl berth, and didn’t do enough to silence the doubters. They were outgained 534 yards to 259. The trick plays in the kicking game helped keep the Huskies close until the fourth quarter, but when it came to Lynch, not much fooled a Florida State defense ranked second in the nation. And the Huskies’ last attempt at razzle-dazzle backfired when receiver Da’Ron Brown lost a fumble on an end around at midfield, setting up the Seminoles’ final touchdown.

“Definitely the best defense we played all year,” Lynch said. “They were always in the right spot at the right time, it seemed like. They were hungry out there.”

Lynch came into the game leading the nation in rushing and total offense, and he threw or ran on nearly every play for the Huskies. But he completed only 15 of 41 attempts for 176 yards, and carried 23 times for 44 yards. The junior became the first player in NCAA history to surpass 3,000 yards passing and 1,500 rushing in a season. After the Huskies’ lone touchdown cut their deficit to 17-10 in the third quarter, they recovered an onside kick, and Lynch moved them to the Florida State 23. But he was flushed from the pocket on third down and threw an ill-advised pass that Terrence Brooks intercepted.

“It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to force the ball there,” Lynch said.

The loss was Rod Carey’s debut as the Huskies’ coach. He was promoted to replace Dave Doeren, who took the North Carolina State job after the regular season.

“I’m upset,” Carey said. “Florida State is a well-oiled machine. They beat us, no doubt. That doesn’t change the fact I don’t like to lose.”

Doeren watched the game from the stands. When Florida State dropped no one deep defending an early fourth-and-1 situation, Lynch pooched a 52-yard punt that rolled dead at the 5. The poor field position didn’t faze the Seminoles, who scored in four plays, the last when Pryor broke into the clear near midfield and outran the Huskies’ secondary. With the Seminoles up only 7-3, Manuel moved them 82 yards in the final 3:57 of the first half for another touchdown with 11 seconds left. He threw on the move for a 6-yard score to Rashad Greene, who managed to get one foot inbounds before he tumbled out of the end zone. Desroy Maxwell took a short snap on a fake punt on fourth and 3 and ran 35 yards to set up a field goal for the Huskies’ first score.

“You’ve got to play to win,” Carey said of the trick plays. “We saw some things. We knew we had it. Gosh darn, our kids executed it.”

But his team’s offense struggled to sustain anything. Lynch passed, ran or punted on 28 of 29 plays for Northern Illinois’ offense in the first half, and the Seminoles were geared to stop him. He finally got the Huskies going in the third quarter, when they mounted an 87-yard touchdown drive. He threw deep to Akeem Daniels for 55 yards, then hit Martel Moore for an 11-yard score. That was it for NIU, though. This was the Seminoles’ night.

3. • JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Behind huge interceptions early and late, No. 21 Northwestern beat Mississippi State 34-20 in the Gator Bowl on Tuesday and snapped college football’s longest postseason losing streak.The Wildcats (10-3) won their first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl 20-14 win over California, snapping a nine-game losing streak that was tied for the longest in NCAA history. They also celebrated double-digit victories for the first time since the 1995 Rose Bowl season.Quentin Williams returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game and Nick Vanhoose set up a late touchdown with a 39-yard interception return. Those plays were the difference in a back-and-forth game that featured more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six).In between, NU’s two-quarterback system kept the Bulldogs (8-4) off balance most of the day.