YPSILANTI—Jalen Ross’ 3-pointer with 32 seconds left gave Eastern Michigan a 45-44 victory over Northern Illinois in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference tournament Monday night.Da’Shonte Riley had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for the seventh-seeded Eagles (15-17), who next play Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday in Cleveland. Glenn Bryant had 10 points and eight rebounds for Eastern Michigan.Northern Illinois (5-25) trailed 42-35 after Ross scored for the Eagles with 5 minutes to go. J.J. Cravatta hit a 3-pointer for the Huskies, Aksel Bolin’s three-point play got them within a point and Travon Baker’s 3-pointer put NIU ahead 44-42 with 2:08 left. Ross got the rebound off a missed 3 try and made his shot for the Eagles, and the Huskies had three tries at the end but couldn’t score.Cravatta and Bolin led Northern with nine points apiece.

All the streaks are over.The Blackhawks have lost in regulation at home and on the road, in back-to-back games.Now they get a chance to rest.Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist as the Blackhawks rallied after a terrible start, but Yann Davis made 10 saves in the third period to help the Edmonton Oilers hold on for a 6-5 victory on Sunday night.

“Definitely disappointed with the way we began the game,”  Joel Quenneville said. “We’ve seen that movie before from them. I like the response, though, after that.”

Sam Gagner scored two of the Oilers’ four goals in the first period, helping Edmonton come up with a sorely needed victory.The Oilers had dropped five in a row and six of seven on their franchise-record, nine-game road trip. They were shut out in each of the previous two games.

“It’s just a good feeling to come out with a win,” Gagner said. “We wanted to respond after the last couple of games and we did a good job of that in the first. We got away from it a bit in the last two periods, but we were able to hang on to the win and that’s the important thing.”

Ryan Whitney and Taylor Hall each had a goal and an assist for Edmonton, which will play at Colorado on Tuesday before returning home. Captain Shawn Horcoff also scored as the Oilers went 3 for 4 on the power play.

“The explosion we had in the first period, you could see they were a little back on their heels coming off their loss in Colorado,” Oilers coach Ralph Krueger said. “They were slightly flat and we really took the opportunity. I thought all of our goals tonight, all six, were excellent goals.”

The Blackhawks set an NHL record by recording at least one standings point in the first 24 games of the season. The streak ended with a 6-2 loss at the Avalanche on Friday night, and the Blackhawks needed an entire period to find their footing in their seventh game in the past 11 days.Now they’re off until they open a four-game road trip Thursday at Columbus.

“We’ve got to take advantage, take care of our bodies and get ready for Thursday,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “It’ll be nice.”

Back at home after their first regulation loss, the Blackhawks opened with their worst period of the season before putting together a spirited rally.Kane, Marian Hossa, Sheldon Brookbank and Brent Seabrook scored during the second, and Kane added his team-best 14th of the season to get the Hawks within one with 13 minutes left. The Blackhawks kept up the pressure for the last part of the game, but couldn’t get the tying goal. Davis, who came in after Devan Dubnyk was hurt in the second period, finished with 21 saves.

“I think in the room we knew we were going to give it a play, especially after the first period,” Kane said. “It was an exciting end. When you’re down 4-0 and can come back to make it 6-5  you gotta have a little bit of a good feeling about that, just not a great start.”

Dubnyk made a nice pad save on Hossa before the posts were dislodged when the right winger and Edmonton center Teemu Hartikainen converged on the goal. Hartikainen practically skated over the prone Dubnyk, who was down for several minutes before he was escorted from the ice.A trainer appeared to be examining Dubnyk’s head and neck.The Blackhawks looked slow and listless on defense as Edmonton skated free all over the ice in the first. Ray Emery was pulled midway through the period, marking the second straight time that Quenneville yanked his starting goaltender from the game.Mike Brown and Gagner scored 36 seconds apart to make it 2-0 only three minutes into the game. Whitney then got open along the left side of the goal and converted a cross-ice pass from Hall to make it 3-0 at 9:19, chasing Emery from the game.Corey Crawford came in and shut out the Oilers for three minutes before a streaking Gagner went to his backhand for a power-play goal with 7:38 left in the period.

NOTES—It was Brown’s first goal since Feb. 29, 2012, for Toronto at the United Center…..Edmonton scored 24 goals while taking three of four against the Hawks last season.

EAST LANSING—At lease Northwestern was competitive,but this was one Big Ten title coach Tom Izzo could live without.Needing help from rival Michigan for a chance to share the conference crown, No. 10 Michigan State instead settled for second place. The Spartans beat Northwestern 71-61 on Sunday night, but they’d already been eliminated from the championship race when Indiana beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

“Sure, I would have liked to have another Big Ten championship, but I like getting them when I earn them,” Izzo said. “I don’t need anybody else earning them for me.”

Keith Appling scored 16 points and Gary Harris added 12 for the Spartans, who struggled to put away the undermanned Wildcats. Northwestern (13-18, 4-14 Big Ten) rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit, tying the game at 51 before the Spartans recovered.Kale Abrahamson scored 16 points for Northwestern, which has lost eight straight. The Spartans finished in a tie for second place with Ohio State, a game behind Indiana.Michigan State senior Derrick Nix scored 10 points in his final home game. The Spartans (24-7, 13-5) shot 66 percent from the field and 6 of 10 from 3-point range.MSU held its ceremony for Nix after the game — and Izzo did his best to fire up the crowd, despite the fact that the Spartans fell short of the title. Michigan State needed Michigan to beat Indiana for the Spartans to have any chance of sharing the championship.

“You’ve got yourself a blue-collar coach who hasn’t been given anything,” Izzo told the crowd. “And I don’t want anything from anyone else in this state.”

The Wolverines and Hoosiers were tied at 64 when Michigan State’s game tipped off. Michigan inched ahead, and with fans in East Lansing glancing at hand-held devices, it appeared the Wolverines might get a rare ovation at the Breslin Center.But Michigan let the game slip away, removing some of the meaning from Michigan State’s regular-season finale. Appling said he got the news of the Wolverines’ loss from assistant coach Dane Fife.

“Coach Fife told me they won. Then he said they lost,” Appling said. “After that it was hard to focus in on the game.”

The rest of the first half seemed anti-climactic — the most interesting moment might have been when a small bird was spotted on the actual playing surface near midcourt for a few seconds. Early in the second half, out-of-town scores were announced at Breslin, but Michigan-Indiana was left out. That drew a chuckle from some people in the crowd.At that point, Northwestern had rallied to within five. It was 43-40 before Travis Trice and Adreian Payne made back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to nine.The Wildcats answered with an 11-2 run, tying it at 51 on two free throws by Reggie Hearn. Abrahamson could have given Northwestern the lead, but his 3-pointer from near the top of the key went in and out.The Cats went 7 of 27 from beyond the arc.

“To beat that team, you have to be 12 for 27,” Wildcats coach Bill Carmody said. “You can’t be 7 for 27.”

Harris put Michigan State back up by two. Alex Olah tied it again with a dunk, but Nix scored inside to give the Spartans the lead for good.Nix was pulled with 1:03 remaining and his team up by nine. He kissed the Spartans’ logo at midcourt and then left to a nice hand.

“This program has given me way more than I’ve given the program,” Nix told the crowd afterward. “This is probably the best team I’ve been on my whole life. These guys have all come to my rescue at some point, and Coach is probably the closest I’ve had to a father.”

NU, which is without Drew Crawford and Jared Swopshire because of injuries, will be seeded 11th in the Big Ten tournament. Michigan State will be the No. 3 seed.

LOS ANGELES—Dwight Howard scored 16 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, Kobe Bryant chipped in with 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat thestill short-handed Bulls 90-81 Sunday.The Lakers improved to 33-31, the first time this season they have been two games over .500. They also moved one-half game ahead of the Utah Jazz and into sole possession of the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.The Lakers led almost throughout, only briefly falling behind by two points in the second quarter, and led by as many as 18 in the third period.Nate Robinson led the Bulls with 19 points, and Joakim Noah had 18 points and 17 rebounds.Howard made 8 of 14 shots from the floor but missed all five free throws. His 21 rebounds marked the fourth time this season he’s grabbed at least 20.

COLUMBUS—Having done all they could do by beating Illinois 68-55, the Ohio State Buckeyes feigned surprise that there were any other big games on the schedule Sunday. Indiana at Michigan? A piece of the Big Ten title on the line for the Buckeyes?

“I think we’ve all got some schoolwork we have to go home and do,” point guard Aaron Craft cracked.Evan Ravenel, the Buckeyes’ only senior, would have none of that.
“Speak for yourself,” he said with a grin.

The victory over the Illini put Ohio State (23-7, 13-5) in position to grab a share of the conference title if No. 7 Michigan could win at home against No. 2 Indiana later on Sunday. Later, Craft finally conceded that he knew all about the conference standings and what was at stake.

“There’s no point worrying about something that we have no control over,” said Craft, who had 14 points and six assists and, as usual, created havoc on defense. “Obviously, we would love for [a Michigan win] to happen. But if it doesn’t, it’s out of our hands. We did what we needed to do.”

Three weeks ago Sunday, the thought of Ohio State being in the middle of a title chase was almost inconceivable. The Buckeyes were routed 71-49 at Wisconsin, a loss that knocked them two games behind the Big Ten leaders with just five left. More than that, it seemed like a psychological blow to a team that came home humiliated.

“As I told them, a lot of people had this team dead to rights a month ago,” coach Thad Matta said. “And they haven’t lost since then.”

Just in the past few days, the Buckeyes played No. 2 Indiana, which only needed a win on its home court to clinch its first outright Big Ten title in two decades. Instead, the Buckeyes hung a 67-58 upset on the Hoosiers.Then on Sunday the Buckeyes took on an Illinois team that had manhandled them in early January, 74-55.

“You look at what we had to do just in terms of this week, going to Bloomington and you ride the emotional high coming off [the win there],” Matta said. “Then you’re playing [an Illinois] team that was at one point in the top 10 in the country. From the standpoint of what these guys have been able to do, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

So they left the arena in the odd position of having to root for archrival Michigan in order to get a share of the title. The Buckeyes were seeking at least a piece of their fourth straight Big Ten crown and sixth in eight years.Deshaun Thomas, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 19.8 points a game, scored 19 while possibly played his final home game for Ohio State.

“We’ll think about that decision at the end of the [NCAA] tournament,” said Thomas, a junior. “Right now, there’s a lot more basketball left. I’m just going to enjoy my time and try to get to the Final Four. That’s all I’m worried about now.”

The Buckeyes are assured the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament in the United Center.They beat the Illini (21-11, 8-10) by overcoming a stalemate after the first 13 minutes, closing the half on a 12-2 run and then holding off any threats at the end.

“The end of the first half, they made a run on us and got a nice little lead going into halftime,” said Brandon Paul, who led the Illini with 21 points. “That definitely boosted their confidence. Then we didn’t find ways to stop them down the stretch.”

Illinois pulled as close as 51-44 on consecutive 3-pointers by Paul and Myke Henry.But then Craft, who has broken out of a lethargic offensive season with several big scoring efforts, drove the lane and banked in a layup in traffic. After an Illini miss, Thomas fed Ravenel for a three-point play.Craft then rebounded at the other end and tossed in a 3 late in the shot clock and the lead was 15 with less than six minutes left.

“It looks like from watching film they’re playing the best that they’ve played,” said first-year Illinois coach John Groce, a longtime assistant to Matta at Ohio State and former Ohio University head coach. “They’re getting contributions from a lot of guys. They’re starting to connect a little bit and play together.”

The Buckeyes will play Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament against the winner of seventh-seeded Purdue and 11th-seeded Nebraska. The Illini will play ninth-seeded Minnesota on Thursday.The Ohio State winning streak provides some powerful momentum — for the Big Ten tournament and beyond.

ROSEMONT—J.J. Moore’s teammates had a good feeling as they watched him warm up before Pittsburgh’s regular-season finale at DePaul. Moore entered the game shooting only 29.7 percent on 3-point attempts this season, but the 6-foot-6 junior forward capitalized on his opportunities Saturday. Moore hit a career-best five 3s and scored 21 points off the bench as the 20th-ranked Panthers shot a school-record 72 percent to beat DePaul 81-66 in their last Big East regular-season game.

“He’s been playing good defense for us all along,” Pittsburgh coach Jaime Dixon said. “If he makes shots, he makes us a really good team. He’s hard to guard.”

Pitt’s shooting performance was the best ever by a Big East team in conference play. The next stop for surging Pittsburgh is its final Big East tournament, which begins Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Panthers (24-7, 12-6), who will move into the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, are the No. 4 seed and receive a double-bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals. Senior guard Tray Woodall added 18 points for Pitt, which has won 11 of its last 14 games and six of eight on the road. While Moore knocked down perimeter shots, many of his teammates got to the rim at will against DePaul (11-20, 2-16). Twenty-two of Pittsburgh’s 46 first-half points came on dunks or layups. A pumped-up Moore was too exuberant after one of his second-half 3s and received a technical foul.

“(The ref) said I did a little too much,” Moore said. “I’ll just try to keep it down a little more. Try for more composure and keep my head. But it was a good game, it was a tough game.

“My teammates looked for me today. I’m just thankful to have good teammates.”

Despite the Blue Demons shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, Pittsburgh led by 11 points at halftime thanks to its own sharp shooting. The Panthers finished 33 for 46 (71.7 percent), surpassing their previous best of 70.8 percent against Mount St. Mary’s in their season opener.Moore went 8 for 8 from the field and tied his career high for points.DePaul had four players in double figures, led by Brandon Young’s 22 points. With his two 3s, the junior guard became the first DePaul player with at least 1,200 points, 400 assists and 100 3-pointers. Senior guard Worrel Clahar tied his career high with 19 points.

“Worrel played one of his best games for us,” DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said. “He was tenacious and tough out there.”

The Blue Demons head to New York as the bottom seed (No. 14) in the Big East tournament and face 11th-seeded Rutgers on Tuesday night. After the team’s sixth straight loss, DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said Purnell is not in jeopardy of losing his job.

ST. LOUIS—Carl Hall scored 16 points, Malcolm Armstead added 15 and Wichita State advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final with a 66-51 victory over Illinois State on Saturday.Hall was 7 of 10 from the floor and added eight rebounds, while Armstead was 5 of 9 and grabbed nine boards, for the No. 2 seed Shockers (26-7), who will play top-seeded Creighton in Sunday’s final. The Bluejays beat fifth-seeded Indiana State 64-43 earlier Saturday.Jackie Carmichael had 22 points for the sixth-seeded Redbirds (18-15), who beat No.3 seed Northern Iowa on Friday but couldn’t continue their tournament run. Illinois State shot just 29 percent.Wichita State opened the game on a 22-6 run before Illinois State scored 16 unanswered to tie it just before halftime. The Shockers took control in the second half, steadily building their lead to double digits and cruising to the victory from there.

VALPARAISO—Ryan Broekhoff made a desperation 3-pointer as time expired Saturday, giving Valparaiso a 70-69 victory over Green Bay and a berth in the Horizon League tournament final.Valparaiso had pulled within 68-67 on Matt Kenney’s 3-pointer with 7 seconds left. After Green Bay’s Alec Brown made a free throw, Broekhoff threw up a shot from the right wing while he was falling down. It went in, setting off a raucous celebration on Valpo’s home court.Broekhoff scored 25 points and made five 3-pointers to lead the Crusaders (25-7), who will face third-seeded Wright State in Tuesday’s final. The Raiders needed their own buzzer-beater – Miles Dixon’s off-balance jumper – to beat Detroit 56-54 earlier Saturday.Keifer Sykes led the Phoenix (18-15) with 31 points, including four 3-pointers. Green Bay lost despite shooting 53 percent from the floor.Valpo led for most of the game, but Green Bay went ahead 51-49 on Sykes’ layup with 8:36 left and didn’t trail again until Broekhoff’s game-winner.

The best start in NHL history is over. The banged up Blackhawks finally left the ice without a point.The Blackhawks were stunned 6-2 by the struggling Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. It was their first loss in regulation and ended a remarkable run in which they earned at least one point in their first 24 games, an NHL record.Matt Duchene scored four points and Ryan O’Reilly got his first goal since his contract dispute was resolved more than a week ago. O’Reilly assisted on another goal in a four-goal onslaught in the second period that turned a 1-1 tie into a laugher.The Blackhawks (21-1-3) hadn’t lost in regulation since a 6-1 rout by Nashville on March 25, 2012, and their last loss in regulation on the road came more than a year ago, with a 5-1 defeat at St. Louis on March 6, 2012.Dating back to last year’s regular season, the streak was 30 games.The Hawks overall points streak was the second longest in NHL history. The 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers set the league record with a staggering 35-game unbeaten streak that included 25 wins and 10 ties – all in the same season.Duchene, John Mitchell and Jamie McGinn also put pucks past Corey Crawford in the second period for the Avalanche, who had lost six of their previous seven, including a 3-2 heartbreaker at Chicago 48 hours earlier.Crawford (11-1-3) allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced in net by Ray Emery to start the third period.Semyon Varlamov had 30 saves for Colorado.

Marco Belinelli took a deep breath and exhaled as a grateful Carlos Boozer gave him a big hug.This was one big shot for the Bulls.Belinelli made a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to lift the Bulls to an important 89-88 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.

“We didn’t play well in the last quarter, we had some turnovers and made some mistakes on defense, but we found a way to win the game,” Belinelli said. “Just keep moving right now.”

The Italian guard missed a potential tying jumper, but got a second chance when Joakim Noah grabbed the rebound. Jimmy Butler then came away with a loose ball and swung it back out to the corner, and Belinelli connected on the fallaway 3 to put the Bulls in front to stay.

“The first two shots I took in the last couple of minutes, I missed the shots,” said Belinelli, who has scored the winning basket in the final 10 seconds of three games this season.I’m not scared about that situation. I can take that shot.I didn’t think much in the last shot from the corner,” he continued. “I was just ready to shoot the ball.”

Gordon Hayward missed a jumper on the other end, and Butler secured the rebound as the horn sounded.Al Jefferson scored 23 points in his return to the lineup for Utah, which has dropped six of seven. Marvin Williams had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and fellow reserve Derrick Favors added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

“It’s frustrating, it’s difficult, but the positive thing is we were in a position to win the game,” Jazz coach and one time DePaul Blue Demon Tyrone Corbin said. “Guys are playing hard. They did a good job of giving us a chance to win. We fought back again tonight, took the

lead. We didn’t capitalize on it again. We have to continue to work.”
The Jazz have dropped the first three games of a four-game road trip by a total of five points. They face the New York Knicks on Saturday night.Belinelli and Boozer had 22 points apiece for the Bulls, who had 21 offensive rebounds. Nate Robinson finished with 14 points and seven assists, and Boozer also had 10 rebounds.The Bulls had dropped two in a row and four of six. They open a difficult three-game California trip at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, making Belinelli’s clutch shot all the more important.

“We’re grinding out games right now,” Boozer said. “I’m super proud of my guys, they played great.”

Utah trailed by nine at halftime, but Jefferson and Williams combined for 19 points in the third quarter to get the Jazz back in the game. Favors then scored six points in a 10-0 run that gave Utah an 81-76 lead with 7:22 to go.But the short-handed Bulls managed to rally for a sorely needed victory.The Bulls played without Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich and Richard Hamilton while they await a resolution to the soap opera surrounding injured All-Star Derrick Rose. Gibson is rehabbing a sprained left knee, Hinrich is out with a sore right foot and Hamilton is having a lower back issue.Rose has been out all season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in last year’s playoff opener against Philadelphia. The 2011 NBA MVP continues to practice without restrictions, but his return from remains up in the air.

“He’s been cleared to do everything there is,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Before he makes the final step, everyone has to get together and sign off. That hasn’t happened yet. The most important part of this is that we have to trust Derrick, and I trust him.”

The Jazz got Jefferson back after he missed three games due to a sprained left ankle, and the 6-foot-10 center had an immediate impact.Jefferson got the ball on Utah’s first possession and spun away from Noah for a dunk as the Jazz made their first five shots of the game. He had another big jam in the second quarter, driving in and throwing it down over Nazr Mohammed to give Utah a 37-35 lead.Belinelli responded with a four-point play on the other end, helping the Bulls pull away to a 55-46 halftime lead.

NOTES—The Bulls beat the Jazz 93-89 on Feb. 8 in their only other scheduled meeting this season…..Thibodeau doesn’t think Hamilton will travel with the team to California.