DETROIT—Patrick Kane had a couple shots that simply could not be stopped.Just like the Blackhawks who extended their NHL-record season-opening points streak to 22 games Sunday when Kane scored the tying goal on a power play with 2:02 left in regulation and the Hawks earned an extra point when the star forward scored the only goal in a shootout of a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

“Just amazing what’s going on,” Kane said.

Corey Crawford was perfect in the shootout and finished with 32 saves to help the Hawks win a ninth straight game.

“He had several big saves, particularly right after they scored to go up one,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “He kept us in there to make it a one-goal game and gave us a chance.”

The Blackhawks have earned at least a point in 28 straight games — dating to a March 25, 2012 loss in regulation to Nashville — to tie the second-longest streak in league history. They’ve matched Montreal’s multi-season points run from the 1977-78 season and trail only Philadelphia’s streak of 35 straight games with at least a point during the 1979-80 season.

“It’s impressive,” Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard acknowledged after making 32 saves. “They’re finding different ways to do it every single night.”

It looked like the sensational streak of success might end when Detroit’s Tomas Tatar broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Howard stopped every puck that came his way.Kane and Crawford had other ideas.

“We keep finding a way to keep ourselves in the game or win it at the end,” Kane said.

The Red Wings hurt their chances by getting called for delay of game twice toward the end of regulation for putting the puck out of play.The Blackhawks took advantage of the first of two late power plays with forward Viktor Stalberg getting more of the puck than Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey did, pushing it to Kane to set up a one-timer that made it 1-1.Kane scored from the bottom of the right circle and pivoted toward the crowd, shouting with joy as he pumped his gloves toward the banner-filled rafters.

“He knew the importance of it to get us to overtime,” Quenneville said.

With a sold-out crowd on its feet for a shootout at the end of an entertaining afternoon of hockey, Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk was denied on a low attempt by Crawford’s pads on the first attempt. Jonathan Toews then went high and couldn’t get a shot past Howard’s glove.Red Wings rookie Damien Brunner made some nifty moves next, but couldn’t keep the puck and for that, Crawford looked thankful as the two met face to face on the ice.Kane then stole the show, slowly skating toward Howard and lifting his right skate off the ice twice before flipping a wrist shot past him to make the fans at Joe Louis Arena sigh.

“He’s got great skill,” Howard said.

On Detroit’s third attempt in the heart-pounding shootout, Henrik Zetterberg couldn’t extend the game.

“I don’t think we were close to perfect and we almost beat them anyway,” Zetterberg said.

The Red Wings had chances to win in regulation, and in overtime, but Crawford was effective in his return to the net.Crawford slid to his left to get a piece of Johan Franzen’s shot with 1:40 left in overtime, and the two talked about the play during the subsequent break.Both teams were inches away from scoring in the final seconds of overtime, with Detroit’s Brendan Smith just missing an opportunity to the left of the net and Kane’s shot squirting past Howard before it trickled just to right of the other net.The Blackhawks dominated the first period, but Howard — and his teammates — prevented them from scoring on two power plays. The second period was evenly played, then Detroit finally got a shot past Crawford at 2:43 of the third.Patrick Eaves got to a loose puck behind the Hawk net, pushed it to Joakim Andersson, whose sharp pass set up Tatar perfectly on the side of the net to beat Crawford.A bit later, Crawford made a spectacular glove save to deny Datsyuk’s chance that could’ve given the Red Wings a two-goal lead — and perhaps the win in regulation. Quenneville gave Crawford the start in Detroit after he left his last game Thursday night in St. Louis with an upper-body injury that Quenneville insisted isn’t the same one that forced the goaltender off the ice earlier in the season.Crawford didn’t get much work early, making just three saves in the first period. He stopped 12 shots in the second — as did Howard — in a fast-pace game filled with end-to-end action and few whistles.

“It was a fun game,” Zetterberg said. “Fans were really into it from the start. These are the games you’re looking forward to play. Unfortunately we couldn’t come up with the win.”

NOTES—The previous record for season-opening points streak was 16 set by the Anaheim Ducks during the 2006-07 season….The Hawks plan to have F Dave Bolland (upper-body injury) back in the lineup Tuesday at home against Minnesota….Detroit hopes F Valtteri Filppula, out with shoulder injury, can return by next weekend….Marian Hossa, a former Red Wing, played in his 1,000th NHL game, a milestone that was recognized by the public address announcer amid a chorus of boos.

INDIANAPOLIS—David West and George Hill came to Indiana to make the Pacers title contenders.Now they have Indiana rolling along toward the playoffs.West matched his season-high by scoring 31 points, Hill finished with 21 and the two accounted for the last nine points as the Pacers held off a late Bulls charge for a 97-92 victory in Sunday night’s big Central Division showdown. 

“He [West] leads our team in will,” coach Frank Vogel said. “He has a great will to do whatever is necessary to get the job done and to get a ‘W’ and that was clear tonight.”

The victory gives the Pacers a clear advantage in the division race, too.They extended their lead over for second-place to four full games and now own the tiebreaker, too, by virtue of sweeping this season’s first three meetings with the Bulls. Indiana also has won six of seven since the All-Star break — the only loss coming when Roy Hibbert was suspended by the league for one game. And it closes the season with 10 of its remaining 22 games at home where the Pacers are 21-3 since early December. That’s not all.The Pacers improved to 8-5 against the Eastern Conference’s top seeds, a mark that includes the perfect record against the Bulls, a 2-0 record against Miami and a 2-1 record against the New York Knicks. And the Bulls will only get one more crack at Indiana before the playoffs start. That will come March 23 in Chicago.

“It’s a huge win. It’s someone who was the best in our division,” Hill said, referring to the defending Central champs. “They say to be the best, you have to beat the best, and today we took that as a challenge to go out there and play hard.”

The Pacers needed every ounce of effort and more to hold off the hard-charging Bulls.Marco Belinelli and Jimmy Butler each scored 20 points, Joakim Noah had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Luol Deng added 15 points.But for the second time in a month, the Bulls showed up at Indiana severely short-handed.Both times they were missing point guard Kirk Hinrich, this time with a right foot injury. They were also still missing Derrick Rose, who continues to recover from last season’s torn ACL in his left knee. On Sunday, the Bulls were also playing without guard Richard Hamilton, who didn’t travel because of a lower back injury, and forward Taj Gibson, who sat out with a left knee injury.The Pacers were only missing one player, Danny Granger, who spent the second half on the bench after aggravating a left knee injury that kept him out of Indiana’s first 54 games.There was no question about the difference. Indiana took control early and the Bulls spent the rest of the night playing catch-up, unable to retake the lead after the 45 minutes.Tom Thibodeau said the injuries were no excuse.

“It’s the NBA, we’ve got plenty in that locker room, we’ve got to get the job done,” he said.

The Pacers took advantage, building a 32-21 lead after one quarter and still leading 47-40 at halftime. They didn’t let the Bulls get closer than four until Butler hit a 3-pointer with 31.1 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Bulls couldn’t tie the score until Deng hit an 8-footer early in the fourth.After Hill answered with five consecutive points for Indiana, the Bulls charged back and tied the score again at 80 when Butler made two free throws with 7:04 to play.

“We fought really hard and gave ourselves a chance,” Deng said. We’ve been there before many times, but it’s tough. We just didn’t have it tonight.”

The Pacers answered the second challenge by converting back-to-back turnovers into four points.The Bulls did have one last gasp to send it to overtime, but Belinelli missed a 3 with 7.8 seconds left, and after the rebound went out of bounds off the Pacers, West came up with a steal and made two free throws to seal the win.

“They were making 3s and they were able to make some clutch ones tonight,” West said. “But throughout the year, as our defense has continued to grow, we know that we have confidence to make plays in games and to get stops to win.”

NOTES—Vogel picked up the 100th victory in his coaching career…..Marquis Teague scored two points in his second trip to his hometown this season….Paul George finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for his 20th double-double of the season…..This is the first time the Bulls have lost a season series to Indiana since 2003-04.

Coming off one of the best performances of his career, Joakim Noah did all he could to match it.He came up short, but not by much.Noah finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Carlos Boozer scored 20 and the Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-85 on Saturday night.The Bulls went on a 19-0 run that started in the second quarter and stretched into third, giving them an 18-point lead. And they opened March on a winning note after going 5-8 in February, just their second losing month in 2 1/2 seasons under coach Tom Thibodeau.
“It’s been an up-and-down year,” Noah said. “But I really feel like when we’re playing our best, we can really beat a lot of people. So the potential is definitely there.”
Their superstar point guard is not playing, and to many, the Bulls can forget about contending for a championship until Derrick Rose is back and dominating.Noah understands the perception.
“It doesn’t matter,” he added. “I know the building’s always packed and they’re showing a lot of love.”
How could they not like this? Noah followed up the third triple-double of his career with another terrific performance that also included four blocks. He committed five turnovers, but even so, it sure was impressive after Thursday’s gem, when he had 23 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks in a win over Philadelphia.Boozer added eight rebounds and tied a career high with five steals. Jimmy Butler had 13 points, Nate Robinson and Kirk Hinrich scored 12 apiece, and the Bulls won their second straight after dropping seven of 10.Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 22 points — 14 in the first quarter — but the Nets fell for the fourth time in five games. Deron Williams cooled off, finishing with 14 after averaging 27 over the previous three games.Joe Johnson scored 11 in his second game back after missing three with a foot injury and committed five of Brooklyn’s 21 turnovers.
“Our energy, effort. isn’t there,” Johnson said. “We don’t get stops and we make it hard on ourselves offensively.”
On the other side, Noah was all energy, hustling for points and rebounds and dominating in every way. And there was Butler afterward, just smiling and shaking his head in awe.
“It’s crazy to see a guy like him dominate in every aspect of the game,” Butler said. “The way he scores the ball, passes the ball, defends. He always has at least two or three in every category, not to mention 20 points, 20 rebounds. It’s amazing to see the energy that he brings and how it transfers from the offensive end all the way back to the defensive end.”
Noah had 15 points in the first half, and the Bulls led 53-39 at the break after trailing by 11 in the early going.They scored the final 15 points of the second quarter and got a pull-up jumper and driving layup from Boozer to start the third, turning a one-point deficit into a 57-39 lead.Daequan Cook started the run by nailing a 3 with 4:16 remaining in the half, and Robinson and Hinrich struck from long range on back-to-back possessions with about a minute remaining. Butler also scored four during that stretch, including a 20-footer with 18.8 seconds remaining, and Brooklyn’s C.J. Watson missed a long jumper at the buzzer to keep the lead at 14.
“Until we can play consistently for more than a three or four-game stretch, until we can play consistently on the road, particularly now, in March, this is what we’re gonna be,” said interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, who hinted at changes. “We just have to tighten it up. We have to play a lot better, and we have to do it soon.”

NOTES—Luol Deng scored just eight points for the Bulls after being elbowed in the mouth by Philadelphia’s Spencer Hawes in Thursday’s game. He saw the dentist on Friday and might need root canal on one or more of his teeth thanks to the blow that left him with internal bleeding around the jaw. “I have to wait a few days, see how stable my teeth are and how the recovery is and see if I need a root canal on a few of them,” said Deng, who is having difficulty eating…..Richard Hamilton missed his second straight game because of back spasms and Thibodeau did not expect him to travel to Indiana, where the Bulls play the Pacers on Sunday.

CHAMPAIGN—Illinois used double-figure scoring from five players to hold off stubborn Nebraska Saturday, 72-65.The Huskers led 57-55 with just over 6 minutes to play. But the Illini (21-9, 8-8 Big Ten) went on a 7-0 run started by a 3-pointer from D.J. Richardson to go up 62-57. They never trailed again.Tracy Abrams led Illinois with 16 points. Brandon Paul had 14 and Richardson, Myke Henry and Nnanna Egwu also scored in double figures.Nebraska (13-16, 4-12) was led by 23 points from Ray Gallegos and 20 by Dylan Talley.The win helps build Illinois’ NCAA tournament case with two regular-seasons games left. The Illini play at Iowa Tuesday and at No. 16 Ohio State March 10.

The Blackhawks extended their NHL-record, season-opening point streak to 21 games.It wasn’t easy at home against the team with the fewest points in the league.Brent Seabrook finished off a 2-on-1 rush at 3:23 of overtime to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 win over the banged-up Columbus Blue Jackets.The Blackhawks (18-0-3) have won eight straight overall and haven’t been beaten in regulation time in 27 games, dating to a loss on March 25, 2012, to Nashville.The Hawks put this one in the win column when Jonathan Toews carried the puck down left wing and dished a cross-ice pass to Seabrook, who fired in a shot from the right circle before goalie Steve Mason could slide across the crease.

“It was a great pass by Tazer,” Seabrook said. “I just tried to get up in the play. Tazer had some speed going up, and I tried to help out.”

The Blue Jackets (5-12-4) are saddled with injuries to key players, but they skated toe-to-toe with the Blackhawks for much of the game – including leading twice.
“They come out and play 60 minutes hard,” Seabrook said. “There are no easy games, and you can never take a night off.”

Columbus’ Ryan Johansen scored with 7:37 left in regulation to tie it at 3, snapping his 37-game goal drought.Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell scored 59 seconds apart late in the second period, and Viktor Stalberg also connected in regulation for the Hawks, who has earned 39 out of a possible 42 points this season.Vinny Prospal and Artem Anisimov also had goals for Columbus, which has a league-low 14 points.

“They had us on our heels a couple times,” Bickell said. “They had a late goal, but it was good to see Seebs get on the rush and pop the OT winner.”We were down early in this game. It shows the character in this room to come back. It’s been fun. We’re just having a blast right now.”

The Blackhawks posted their 10th consecutive win against the Blue Jackets, dating to Feb. 18, 2011.Ray Emery made 19 saves for the win.Mason stopped 31 shots as he faced the Blackhawks for the second time in less than a week. He made 26 saves in a 1-0 loss to the Hawks on Sunday.

“We did some pretty good things to be able to stick with those guys, but we’re not doing enough to get that next goal,” Mason said. “We knew it would be a real test for us because we had a lot of guys out.”

Earning one point, even in Chicago, wasn’t a moral victory for Columbus coach Todd Richards.

“Regardless of who it us, it’s still a loss,” Richards said. “We still just aren’t quite good enough. We battled and competed, which is what we should do, but we’ve got to find ways to come out on top.”

Anisimov scored in his first game after he missed three because of an upper-body injury. He was hurt in Detroit on Feb. 21 when his head struck the ice.Columbus has lost seven of eight, with all but one of the defeats by one goal.Emery relieved Corey Crawford after the first period in St. Louis on Thursday as the two combined to shut out the Blues 3-0. Crawford was forced out by an upper-body injury. Crawford was back on the bench Friday, serving as Emery’s backup.The Blue Jackets were again without centers Brandon Dubinsky (knee) and Derick Brassard (upper body) and defensemen Jack Johnson (shoulder), ex Hawk James Wisniewski (broken foot) and John Moore (upper body). Moore was injured Friday during Columbus’ morning skate.Prospal gave the Blue Jackets the lead just 31 seconds into the game.Emery made a glove save on Derek Dorsett’s drive from the right circle, but knocked the rebound into the slot. Prospal swooped in and fired the loose puck into the open net before Emery could react.Stalberg tied it with 3:51 left in the first when he scored a power-play goal from the edge of the crease. Battling in a scrum, Stalberg converted a rebound of Brandon Saad’s shot. Anisimov put Columbus back ahead with 7:18 left in the second on a screened shot from the right wing. His shot appeared to glance off of Daniel Carcillo before getting past Emery.Mason came up with several tough saves, but was fooled when Sharp tied it at 2 with 2:40 left in the period. Sharp cut down the left wing and shoveled a backhanded shot from a sharp angle that struck Mason’s blocker and slipped through.Less than a minute later, Bickell put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2 on a 2-on-1 break with Stalberg. Columbus’ Mark Letestu and Matt Calvert, and the Hawks Jamal Mayers all fired shots off the post early in the third.Johansen scored his first goal since Jan. 24, 2012, with 7:37 to make it 3-3. Following a failed clearing attempt, Johansen took a pass from Nick Foligno, broke in alone and slipped a backhander past Emery.Mason made two point-blank blocker saves on Stalberg with 2:55 left to keep the game tied.But the Hawks eventually prevailed, again.

“You get that swagger and confidence when you’re on a streak like this.” Stalberg said “You have confidence you’ll find a way to get it done.”
NOTES—Stalberg has 11 goals and two assists in 15 games against Columbus…..Dave Bolland missed his fourth game because of an upper-body injury…..The United Center crowd of 21,828 was the Blackhawks’ 200th straight sellout.

ST. LOUIS—The wins keep coming for the Blackhawks. Still, goalie Ray Emery is taking a realistic approach to their record-setting start.

“I know we’re not going to go unbeaten,” he said.

The way the Blackhawks are going, Emery may be selling his team short.Jonathan Toews scored twice, and Emery and Corey Crawford combined on a shutout as the Blackhawks extended their NHL-record season-opening points streak to 20 games with a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.Andrew Shaw also scored for the Blackhawks, which was coming off a 6-0-1 homestand and improved to 9-0-2 on the road. The Blackhawks, who have won seven in a row overall, have earned 37 out of a possible 40 points this season with a 17-0-3 start.The Bulls have a point in their last 26 regular-season games since a 6-1 loss on March 25, 2012 to Nashville. The Blackhawks, playing their first road game in 18 days, have won four in a row against St. Louis, which has lost three of four.Crawford was pulled with an upper-body injury after making six saves in the first period. He missed four games earlier this month also with an upper-body injury and returned to the lineup Sunday, making 28 stops in a 1-0 win over Columbus. Coach Joel Quenneville said after the game that Crawford is day to day, and it wasn’t the same injury that previously sidelined the goalie.Emery made 15 saves over the final two periods, as he and Crawford finished with 21.

“It’s kind of cool to be mentioned in history,” Emery said. “But we’ve just got to continue to play well.”

Emery was sharp in relief of Crawford. He stopped Chris Stewart from close range midway through the second period. Kevin Shattenkirk hit the post on a second-period power play.

“I was kind of surprised going in in the second period, but I’ve got to be prepared for that,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”

Toews scored his eighth goal of the season just 12 seconds into the game off a cross-ice pass from Brandon Saad. Marian Hossa started the play after Toews won the game’s opening faceoff. The goal was the fastest at the beginning of a game by a Hawk player since Dave Bolland scored 10 seconds into a 4-1 win against Dallas on March 16, 2012.Toews also scored on a scramble in the front of the net at 6:53 of the third period. But it was Toews’ early goal that set the tone.

“It was a good passing play, all five guys touched the puck,” he said. “I rushed to the net and it went in off my stick or my shin pad. It doesn’t matter to me. But it was a great way to start the game.”

St. Louis captain David Backes said the early going was difficult to overcome.

“To give up a goal 12 seconds in is totally unacceptable,” Backes said. “Especially against a red-hot team.”

The Blackhawks played 10 of their first 12 games on the road. They play three of the next four at home.Quenneville said consistency is the key to his team’s impressive run.

“I think we’re taking pride in playing the game that’s in front of us,” he said. “Everyone is challenging and pushing one another.”

Shaw made it 2-0 early in the third period when he converted from the slot off a pass from behind the net by Bryan Bickell.Toews pumped the lead to a 3-0 with his ninth goal of the season.Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves for the Blues, who fell to 4-5-1 at home. St. Louis was 30-6-5 at home last season. Halak lost for the first time in regulation this season.St. Louis is 0 for 13 on the power play over the past five games. The Blues’ last home shutout was a 6-0 loss to Calgary on March 1, 2011.

“The game was right there for us at 1-0,” St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We probably had more quality chances (early) than they did. But the 2-0 goal took the wind out of our sails.”

NOTES—Bolland is out with an upper-body injury…..St. Louis linemates Andy McDonald and Alex Steen both missed Thursday’s game with injuries suffered in practice Tuesday. McDonald is week-to-week with a left knee injury, while Steen is day to day with an upper-body ailment…..The Hawks played their first road game since beating Nashville 3-0 on Feb. 10…..Halak is 16-2-1 in his last 19 starts at home…..The Blues outhit the Hawks 34-14.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau needed just three words to sum up Joakim Noah’s big night on Thursday. “He was spectacular,” Thibodeau said.

Noah had 23 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks for his third career triple-double and the Bulls ended a two-game losing streak with a 93-82 victory over Philadelphia.

“His will from the start of the game until the end was just incredible,” Thibodeau said. “He was everywhere – blocked shots, switching, guarding everyone. Big-time multiple efforts.”

Noah also tied the Bulls record for blocks in a regulation game, previously set by Artis Gilmore in 1977.

“He was amazing,” Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said. “[But] we needed everybody to step up and we did. It was impressive.”

Boozer added 21 points and 12 rebounds while Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng had 15 and 12 points, respectively, as the Bulls completed a three-game regular season series sweep.But Noah was quick to shrug off superlatives.

“It feels good, it feels really good to play well and win,” he said. “It was a good win for us and hopefully we can build on it.”

But Sixers coach Doug Collins wasn’t as reticent.

“Noah is so lively and he’s so active and he’s just on the move all the time,” he said. “If you don’t get your body on him, he’s just going to be nightmares around the rim. He’s got a great motor.”

Jrue Holiday paced the Sixers with 22 points, Spencer Hawes added 20 points and 15 rebounds while Evan Turner had 12 points.The loss was Philadelphia’s season-high seventh in a row.

“If we made more shots, we would have won,” Hawes said. “On defense we played well enough, they just made more plays than we did.”

The Sixers rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit to get within four points at 75-71 on Hawes’ dunk.But Nate Robinson hit a jumper and added a 3-pointer following a Noah block – his ninth of the game – to push the lead to 80-71.Noah added a 3-point play with 4:32 to play to restore a double-digit lead at 83-71. Philadelphia never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.Boozer opened with eight points and Deng added six as the Bulls had a 19-16 first-quarter lead less than nine minutes into the game.Boozer and Turner each had 10 as the Bulls led 23-22 by the close of the quarter.Early in the second quarter, Noah had back-to-back inside scores, hit a free throw and forced a turnover in a 55-second span as the Bulls went ahead 30-26.Hinrich fired a perfect pass to Deng late in the quarter and the Bulls forward converted a 3-point play with 3.4 seconds left as the Bulls opened a 45-39 halftime lead.Holiday had seven points in the quarter and closed the half with a game-high 13 points.Hinrich scored his first points of the game early in the third quarter with a pair of jumpers as the Bulls maintained an eight-point lead. The Bulls opened an 11-point lead as Noah’s 3-point play that gave them a 53-42 lead.The Bulls missed eight straight 3-point tries before Hinrich’s long-distance shot gave them a 64-48 lead.The Sixers found their shooting touch and trimmed the deficit to 68-62 on two Hawes’ free throws with 50 seconds left.

“We were very competitive,” Collins said. “[But] the Bulls front line was tremendous … Between Noah and Boozer they had 44 points and 33 rebounds and Noah’s 11 blocks and those guys were 18 for 21 from the foul line. That ended up being the difference in the game.”

NOTES—Derrick Rose still hasn’t said when he’ll come back and Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said the Bulls were proceeding correctly with Rose’s slow return. “The Chicago Bulls have a tremendous investment in Derrick Rose, you want to make sure this young guy is going to be ready to go.”….With both teams struggling recently, Tom Thibodeau said it was important to maintain continuity even if there’s a temptation to shake things up. “I think the preparation part is very, very important,” he said. “I don’t think you can allow that to slip at all.”….Hinrich made his second straight appearance since missing three games with a right elbow injury……Rip Hamilton sat out Thursday’s game with back spasms and Marco Belinelli started in his place.

EVANSTON—Lenzelle Smith Jr. made his mark right from the start and Deshaun Thomas came up big down the stretch for Ohio State. Good thing for the Buckeyes, because they needed all of it.Smith scored a season-high 24 points, Thomas added 19 and No. 16 Ohio State used a late run to beat Northwestern 63-53 on Thursday night.The Buckeyes (21-7, 11-5 Big Ten) moved one-half game ahead of Michigan and took sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten with another difficult win over a team that’s given them fits in recent years.This time, they led by 11 points early in the second half and regrouped after Northwestern took the lead, sending the Wildcats (13-16, 4-12) to their sixth straight loss and eighth in nine games.

“I give them tremendous credit, with all the injuries they’ve faced,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “They’ve kind of been knocked down a couple times.”

Northwestern lost two of its best players – Drew Crawford and Jared Swopshire – to season-ending injuries and that was after guard JerShon Cobb was suspended for the season for violating team policy. It’s added up to a difficult season, but the Wildcats again found a way to make the Buckeyes sweat.Northwestern led by a point twice in the second half and was up 49-48 with about 4 minutes remaining after a 3-pointer by Reggie Hearn. But Ohio State outscored the Wildcats 15-4 the rest of the way. Thomas scored six points during that stretch, and the Buckeyes took advantage of three straight turnovers to come away with a tight win.Smith scored 14 points in the first half and had five of Ohio State’s 10 field goals, including four 3-pointers, as the Buckeyes grabbed a seven-point lead. He was 7 of 13 overall and hit 6 of 11 3s in the game, and the Buckeyes avoided another Big Ten upset after No. 1 Indiana lost to Minnesota and Penn State upset No. 4 Michigan this week.They also took a step toward a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Securing one won’t be easy with a trip to Indiana next week and home game against Illinois looming, but the Buckeyes did what they had to do in this one after squeezing by Northwestern two weeks earlier.

“When me and Deshaun are both connecting on the offensive end I feel like we’re a very dangerous team,” Smith said. “Obviously we have the second option when I’m going and then we get other guys going.”

Tre Demps led Northwestern with 14 points. Dave Sobolewski finished with 13 after scoring a total of 12 in the previous three games – all blowout losses.

“It was a lot of fun to play in a competitive game, but that’s not what we play for,” Sobolewski said.

The Wildcats have lost eight straight and 19 of 20 against Ohio State, but the lopsided record aside, recent games have been close — particularly at Welsh-Ryan Arena.A year ago, the Buckeyes needed Jared Sullinger’s banked turnaround with 3.1 seconds left to escape with a 75-73 win. In 2011, they were 22-0 and No. 1 in the nation, but they barely won, 58-57, with David Lighty making a late steal and Sullinger hitting a free throw.The game at Value City Arena this season was anything but a breeze, with Northwestern in control most of the way before Ohio State put together a late 12-point run to pull out a 69-59 victory.This one wasn’t easy, either.Ohio State was leading 33-22 early in the second half when Northwestern went on a 12-3 run, with Demps nailing a 3 and scoring on a backdoor layup and hitting two free throws to make it a two-point game with 15:32 remaining.The Cats took their first lead of the game midway through the second half when Kale Abrahamson hit a 3 to make it 41-40.Thomas scored on a tip-in and Smith hit a 3 to make it 45-41, but the Wildcats hung in, tying it at 46 on Alex Olah’s three-point play with 6:31 left.After Thomas scored on a bank shot, Hearn put Northwestern ahead again with a 3, but Smith answered with one to make it 51-49, Ohio State.Sam Thompson then stole the ball from Hearn, leading to a pull-up jumper for Aaron Craft.Smith stripped Demps, but Thompson missed two free throws.Another turnover by NU led to a layup by Thomas to make it 55-49, and Thomas scored again on a nice spin move with 1:24 left to get the lead back to six after Olah scored for Northwestern.

MACOMB—Michael Ochereobia scored 14 points and Western Illinois stayed in contention for a share of the Summit League title by rallying past UMKC 53-50 on Thursday night.Ceola Clark added 13 points and six assists for the Leathernecks (20-7, 12-3), who can tie South Dakota State atop the conference by beating South Dakota on Saturday. SDSU finished its regular season Thursday with a win over Nebraska-Omaha.UMKC opened the game on a 22-5 run and led by as many as 18 in the first half, but Western came all the way back, taking their first lead, 50-48, on Ochereobia’s three-point play with 3:47 left. UMKC’s Kirk Korver made a jumper before Clark hit two free throws for the final margin.The Kangaroos (7-23, 4-11) lost their fourth straight. Estan Tyler scored 17 points, but he also had nine turnovers and missed a game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.