Local Sports

Monticello crushes 2nd half, Sages beat Storm 58-24

Monticello traveled to start their traveling three games series and started off with a bang in the victory over Salt Fork winning the game 58-24.

 

Ben Singleton went on a rampage in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, as he totaled 18 points to help lead the Sages victory. Ryan Reeder followed with 13 total points, and Garret Kepley and Devin Graham tied with 7 points. The Sages helped separate themselves from the Storm coming out in the 2nd half putting up 24 points just in the 3rd quarter. 

 

Salt Fork struggled with keeping the ball, as only four of their players were able to put points on the board. Payton Taylor was the leading scorer for the Storm with 11, followed by Matthew Wrzosek with 5, and Dawson Dodd and Logan Appleman tied with 4 points. 

 

Monticello getting the victory against Salt Fork improve to 3-0, while Salt Fork goes to 1-1. Next game for the Sages will be at Auburn Tuesday, December 12, with tip-off at 7:30 pm. You can listen to the game on 95.9 FM WEZC or stream at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Play of the Game: Ben Singleton on a transition goes for an easy lay, turns back around to steal the ball from Dawson, putting the ball up again get 4 easy points for Monticello. 

Jets beat Blackhawks 6-5

Nikolaj Ehlers had a hat trick, Patrik Laine scored twice and became the fourth-youngest player in NHL history to reach 100 goals, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5 on Thursday night.

Laine scored his 100th and 101st goals in his 178th game at the age of 20 years, 224 days. Wayne Gretzky did it the fastest in 20 years, 40 days. Jimmy Carson and Brian Bellows also accomplished the feat faster than Laine.

 

The Finnish forward has an NHL-leading 21 goals this season, 18 of them November.

Ehlers scored a goal in each period, with his third fired in when he went in alone on goalie Corey Crawford and beat him with a low shot at 9:45 of the third period to make it 6-3. It was his third career hat trick.

 

Jacob Trouba also had a goal and one assist for Winnipeg, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler each had three assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves.

 

Winnipeg held on after Artem Anisimov cut it to 6-5 with 2:52 left.

 

Marcus Kruger, John Hayden, Jan Rutta and Domink Kahun also scored for Chicago, and Crawford stopped 27 shots. The Blackhawks are 1-4-0 in their last five games.

Cowboys stifle Brees, end Saints' 10-game win streak, 13-10

Dak Prescott desperately scrambled for a first down in a game of fourth-quarter keepaway, then took three knees starting from the New Orleans 1 to run out the clock by the narrowest possible margin.

 

Anything to keep Drew Brees and the NFL's highest-scoring offense on the sideline.

Ezekiel Elliott scored the only Dallas touchdown on a 16-yard screen pass and the Cowboys stifled Brees and the Saints, ending New Orleans' 10-game winning streak with a 13-10 victory Thursday night.

 

The Cowboys (7-5) won their fourth consecutive game and assured they will at least remain tied for the NFC East lead.

 

The Saints (10-2) were shut out in the first half, had their fewest points in three years and finished with a season-low 176 yards. They missed a chance to perfectly match Dallas from two years ago, when then-rookie sensations Elliott and Prescott won 11 straight after dropping the opener.

 

Brees had his fewest yards passing in a first half since joining the Saints in 2006 with 39, and couldn't get a potential winning drive going in the final minutes.

 

Instead, Jourdan Lewis' interception - just the third for Brees while he became the NFL's first with at least 30 TD passes in 10 seasons - gave the Cowboys a chance to run out the clock from the New Orleans 1 after an interference penalty in the end zone.

 

Brees said he was trying to throw the ball away behind pass-catching back Alvin Kamara, who cut outside just as Brees threw it and Lewis dove forward, barely keeping the ball off the ground.

 

The Cowboys spent the fourth quarter trying to protect their three-point lead, with Prescott breaking several tackles on an 11-yard scramble on third-and-10 and Cole Beasley catching a third-down pass and diving for 5 yards on third-and-5.

 

But Prescott fumbled on his season-high seventh sack with Dallas in position for at least a field goal, giving Brees another chance from his 15 with more than two minutes remaining.

 

Brees' interception came two plays later, then Marshon Lattimore was called for interference against Amari Cooper in the end zone, giving Dallas a first down at the 1 with 1:58 remaining.

 

The Cowboys had just enough time to end the game, with the play clock matching the game clock down to zero after Prescott took a knee for the third time.

 

Brees was 18 of 28 for 127 yards, actually the second straight game and third overall under 200 yards for the MVP contender. The running game didn't do much either, with Kamara getting 36 yards rushing while the Saints had 65 as a team after averaging 177 the previous four games.

 

The only touchdown drive for the Saints was aided by three first downs on Dallas penalties. The biggest was Randy Gregory's roughing-the-punter penalty on Thomas Morstead.

 

Two plays later, Brees dropped a deep throw to a backpedaling Keith Kirkwood in the end zone for a 30-yard score to get New Orleans within 13-10.

 

Prescott had 194 of his 248 yards passing while helping the Cowboys to a 13-0 halftime lead - the first scoreless first half for the Saints since 2014, also against the Cowboys, and their first deficit in five games.

 

Elliott had 136 scrimmage yards with 76 rushing and 60 receiving on six catches.

Angels acquire infielder Tommy La Stella from Cubs

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired infielder Tommy La Stella from the Chicago Cubs for $100,000 or a player to be named.

 

La Stella has spent the past four seasons with the Cubs. He batted .266 in 2018 while appearing in a career-high 123 games this year. He led the major leagues in pinch hits (24) and batting average (.312) while his 11 RBIs tied for the big league high. He has .264 average in five seasons.

 

Atlanta drafted La Stella in the eighth round in 2011, he debuted with the Braves three years later, then was acquired by the Cubs that offseason.

 

The Angels released outfielder Jabari Bush to make room for La Stella on the 40-man roster.

Monticello falls short, Hilltoppers beat Lady Sages 56-45

Isabella Wade dropped 21 points for the Hilltoppers, and the Lady Sages fell short 56-45 in their basketball game Thursday night. The Sages couldn't find much rhythm early in the game as they shot from the arc many times trying to get points on the board, but Coach Leever and the Hilltoppers zone defense kept the Sages at bay.

 

Lexi Fisher started for the Sages in Thursday night's game, leading the team in points with 11, and going 5-5 in free throws. Cloe Clark was second in points with 10, and Jayna Burger and Emily Edmundson tied with 7. Monticello was 13-22 in free throws. 

 

Wade led the Hilltoppers in points with 21, where their average leading scorer Sasha Hayes was second with 17. Hayes usually averages around 21 points per game, who quickly made points with Wade off transitions. Savannah Moore was third in points with 11. Hilltoppers were 8-17 in free throws, a little under 50 percent. 

 

Monticello fell to 1-3 with the loss against Mt. Pulaski, as Mt. Pulaski improved to a 4-2. Next game for the Lady Sages is at Urbana on December 6, starting at 7:30 pm. You can catch that game on 95.9 FM WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Play of the Game: Sydney Dowling put the first two buckets up for Monticello both three-pointers, starting to get Monticello into a rhythm. 

Red Wings beat Blues 4-3

Tyler Bertuzzi broke a tie with 6:53 to go with his second goal of the game and the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Wednesday night after blowing a 3-0 lead.

 

Bertuzzi put in a loose puck from just outside the crease for his eighth goal of the season.

 

Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist, Andreas Athanasiou also scored, defenseman Mike Green had two assists and Jimmy Howard made 33 saves to help Detroit snap a three-game losing streak.

David Perron scored twice for St. Louis, Vladimir Tarasenko added a goal and Jake Allen stopped 27 shots. The Blues have lost five of their last six.

 

Perron tied it at 3 at 8:04 of the third with his eighth goal.

 

The Red Wings led 3-2 after a five-goal second period.

 

Detroit scored three times in 6:42 to take a 3-0 lead in the middle period. Vanek made it 1-0 4:22 into the period with his third goal, and Athanasiou followed at 7:17 with his 11th goal. Bertuzzi made it 3-0 with 8:56 left in the second with his first goal of the game.

 

But St. Louis scored two power-play goals in 1:39 to pull to within one. Perron put the Blues on the board with 6:23 left in the second period with his first of the game, and Tarasenko made it 3-2 with 4:44 remaining in the period.

Bucks hold off Bulls 116-113

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Khris Middleton made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left to lift the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 116-113 on Wednesday night.

 

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks (15-6) won an entertaining duel with former teammate Jabari Parker, who put up 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists in his latest return to Milwaukee. Parker signed with the Bulls last offseason after spending his first four NBA seasons with the Bucks.

 

Malcolm Brogdon smartly passed the ball back to a wide-open Middleton at the top of the 3-point arc to set up the winning shot. Justin Holiday missed a 3 for Chicago that would have tied it in the final seconds.

 

Antetokounmpo also had a crucial block of Parker's shot with the score tied at 111 in the last minute, and the star forward then sank two free throws with 36 seconds left before the Bulls' Zach LaVine tied the score with a reverse layup.

 

Brogdon had 24 points, five rebounds and six assists, and Middleton added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists.

 

Rookie guard Ryan Arcidiacano continued his stellar play in the last week with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, but the Bulls (5-17) dropped their fourth straight game and eighth in the past nine.

 

Antetokounmpo posted his fourth 30-point game in the last five, after scoring just 20 points in the Bucks' loss at Charlotte on Monday.

 

The Bulls again scored 40 points in the first quarter, equaling their total in the opening quarter on Nov. 16 in the first meeting between the teams this season.

 

Parker had 10 points in the quarter and the Bulls shot 66.7 percent from the floor (12 of 18) to take a 40-30 lead.

 

Antetokounmpo sparked a Bucks rally in the second and finished the half with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Milwaukee took its first lead at 50-48 on a layup by Ersan Ilyasova, and the teams traded the lead several times before Antetokounmpo's drive gave the Bucks a 63-62 edge at halftime.

 

Milwaukee outscored Chicago 33-22 in the second period.

 

A 3-pointer by Brook Lopez gave the Bucks a 77-72 lead with 7:40 left in the third quarter and prompted a Bulls timeout.

 

Arcidiacono sank a pair of 3s as the Bulls regained the lead at 82-80 before the Bucks responded with dunks by Antetokounmpo and Pat Connaughton sandwiched around a free throw by Middleton.

The Bucks led 92-89 entering the final quarter.

Fayne scores 20, hits big FTs, in Illinois State's OT win

Phil Fayne scored 20 points with 10 rebounds and put Illinois State ahead with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left in overtime as the Redbirds defeated BYU 92-89 on Wednesday night.

 

After Fayne's free throws, Josh Jefferson was fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound and added the final insurance points with 13 seconds remaining with the Cougars (5-3) then missing a pair of 3-point shots. Illinois State (6-2) made 17 of 18 free throws to BYU's 25 of 36.

 

Milik Yarbrough scored 19 points with four of Illinois State's 13 3-pointers before fouling out. Keyshawn Evans added 15 points and Zach Copeland 14 before both fouled out. Copeland tied the game with two free throws with two seconds left in regulation after the Redbirds had trailed by 10 with 10½ minutes left.

 

Yoeli Childs scored 27 points with 16 rebounds and TJ Haws added 22 points for BYU, which was just 6 of 28 from the arc.

Webster, Johnson combine for 42, Western Illinois cruises 83-58

Kobe Webster and Isaac Johnson combined for 42 points, Brandon Gilbeck added 10 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots and Western Illinois led all the way, defeating SIU-Edwardsville 83-58 Wednesday night.

 

Western Illinois (3-4) shot 58 percent from the floor, making 29 of 50 shots with 12 3-pointers and 15 assists. The Leathernecks offense was especially potent after halftime, with 15-of-24 shooting (62.5 percent), and 64 percent from distance, 7 of 11.

 

Webster led the Leathernecks with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting and four 3-pointers with six rebounds and five assists. Johnson added 20 points, also shooting 8 for 11. C.J. Duff added 10 points.

 

David McFarland led SIU-Edwardsville (1-4) with 12 points, shooting 4 of 11. Cameron Williams added 11 points and Christian Ellis 10 with six rebounds. The Cougars were held to 20-for-66 shooting, 30 percent.

Notre Dame holds off Illinois 76-74 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Notre Dame guards TJ Gibbs and D.J. Harvey scored 19 points each, and Juwan Durham sparked his team with all of his 10 points and five blocked shots in the second half, as the Irish held off late-charging Illinois 76-74 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game Tuesday night.

 

Trent Frazier's 24-foot, solid-look 3-point try for the Illini rimmed out just before time expired.

Durham, a 6-foot-11 sophomore transfer from Connecticut, registered a career high for points. Harvey also notched a career high and Gibbs a season high.

 

Notre Dame (6-1) won its fourth straight while Illinois (2-5) lost for the fifth time in its last six games.

The Irish, fueled in large part by Durham's play off the bench, led 65-52 with 6:30 to go before the Illini mounted their rally that fell just short.

 

Aaron Jordan led Illinois with 23 points. Freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili added 22. Those were career highs for both players.

 

A back-and-forth first half yielded nine lead changes and six ties, with the Illini holding a 35-34 advantage at the break.

Golden Knights pound Blackhawks 8-3 for 4th straight win

Cody Eakin and Shea Theodore each had two goals and an assist, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Chicago Blackhawks 8-3 on Tuesday night for their season-high fourth consecutive victory.

Alex Tuch added a goal and an assist as Vegas continued its resurgence in the opener of a three-game trip. William Karlsson, Ryan Reaves and Daniel Carr also scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for his sixth win in his last seven starts.

 

The Golden Knights (13-12-1), who made it to the Stanley Cup Final last season as an expansion team, improved to 4-0 against the Blackhawks since entering the league.

 

Dylan Strome had a goal and an assist in his Chicago debut, but the sliding Blackhawks lost for the third time in four games. Defensemen Gustav Forsling and Erik Gustafsson also scored.

 

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 24 of 30 shots before he was replaced by Cam Ward for the third period. Ward finished with 11 saves.

 

Strome and Brendan Perlini were acquired in a trade with Arizona on Sunday night for Nick Schmaltz in a swap of former first-round draft picks. Strome, who went No. 3 overall in 2015, looked quite comfortable while centering a line with former junior hockey teammate Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane.

 

But that was about the only bright spot for Chicago (9-11-5), which got off to another slow start and committed a couple of ugly errors in its worst defensive performance of the season.

 

Carr, Tuch and Eakin scored in the first as Vegas jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Carr got his first of the season at 2:10, Tuch picked off Crawford's errant pass and extended his goal streak to three games at 12:14, and Eakin converted a slick backhand in front at 16:14.

 

The Blackhawks have been outscored 11-1 in the first period over their last four games.

 

Fleury lost a shutout streak of 150 minutes, 54 seconds when Forsling's shot ricocheted off Karlsson and into the net 29 seconds into the second. Karlsson responded with a power-play goal at 6:27.

 

Theodore and Reaves also scored in the second to extend the Golden Knights' lead to 6-2 going into the third. Eakin got credited for his 10th of the season when his shot went off Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith all alone in front and into the net midway through the final period.

Monticello stomps Riverton 53-37

Alek Bundy, Devin Graham, and David Alexander returned to the team, and the Sages go on to win their second game holding Riverton, 53-37.

 

Monticello's defense came out strong and with the help of returning Bundy, Graham and Briggs Fultz after winning the 3A State Football Finals. Alexander also returned after having an injury at the beginning of the season. The team was able to keep Riverton looking for shots as they wouldn't be able to land many as they sat at 16-38 in FG, and 1-11 in 3 pointers. Graham also came out firing away getting on fire for 3 pointers shooting 4-4 and get the lead scoring for Monticello of 17 points. Ben Singleton followed with 11 points and 7 rebounds, and Ryan Reeder with 10 points and 3 rebounds. 

 

Riverton struggled to find the hoop outside as two of their players shot more than four 3 pointers and couldn't get to sink. Travis Hogan led in points with 13, shooting 6-15 in FG, and 0-4 in 3 pointers. Kaleb Rutter followed with 9 points with almost perfect shooting going 4-4 in FG, 1-1 in 3 pointers, and went 0-4 in free throws. 

 

The Sages won their second game, increasing their record to 2-0. Next game will be against Catlin Friday, November 30 at 7:30 pm.

 

Play of the Game: Devin Graham's three-point shot in the first quarter to start the Sages off, as he would shoot 4-4 in three points and lead the team in points with 16 total.

Clinton Maroons fall to Tri-Valley

The Clinton Maroons fell to Tri-Valley by a score of 53-61 on Tuesday night.  The Maroons were led by Matt Overton with 21 points and Zeke Hickman with 9 points.

 

Tri-Valley was led by John Symanski with 16 points and Braden Zendor with 9 points.

 

With the loss the Maroons fall to 2-3 and Tri-Valley improves to 2-0.

 

Tune in Saturday, December 8th as the Maroons take on Rochester. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

Spurs beat Bulls 108-107

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the San Antonio Spurs held off the Chicago Bulls for a 108-107 victory on Monday night.

 

DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and Patty Mills finished with 17 as San Antonio improved to 2-1 on a four-game trip. Bryn Forbes made three of the Spurs' 10 3-pointers on his way to 13 points.

 

Chicago had two chances to go in front in the final seconds and came up empty each time. Zach LaVine was short on a 3-point try from the top of the key, and Ryan Arcidiacono missed a jumper as time expired.

 

LaVine scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth, but the Bulls lost for the seventh time in eight games. Arcidiacono finished with a career-high 22 points, Jabari Parker had 18 and Justin Holiday added 17.

LaVine made two foul shots to give Chicago a 101-98 lead with 5:58 left. But San Antonio responded with a 10-0 run.

 

Aldridge started the decisive sequence with a fadeaway jumper. Derrick White made a go-ahead 3-pointer and DeRozan had a slick reverse layup before Aldridge punctuated the spurt with a three-point play on a drive and jam with 2:13 remaining.

Mike Ditka out of hospital following heart attack

Hall of Fame tight end and former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has been released from a hospital after being treated for a mild heart attack last week.

 

Steve Mandell, Ditka's agent, confirmed a report by the Chicago Sun-Times that the former coach was sent home. He tells The Associated Press Ditka "is doing better."

 

The 79-year-old Ditka coached the Bears and the New Orleans Saints, finishing with a 121-95 record in 14 years, and he led Chicago to the Super Bowl title after the 1985 season.

 

Ditka also played 12 seasons in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl five times. He finished with 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns.
 

Texans beat Titans 34-17

The Houston Texans wanted to honor their late owner and founder Robert ''Bob'' McNair, who died last week at age 81.

 

They knew the perfect way to do that Monday night was to keep their winning streak going.

Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Texans set a franchise record with their eighth straight victory, 34-17 over the Tennessee Titans.

 

Demaryius Thomas scored his first two touchdowns with Houston and Lamar Miller ran for 162 yards, including a 97-yard TD.

 

The Texans (8-3) also saluted McNair by wearing decals in the shape of a football with white block letters bearing his initials of ''RCM.'' With that tribute on the back of their helmets, they became the first team in NFL history to win eight games in a row after starting 0-3. They lead the AFC South by two games over Indianapolis.

 

The Texans trailed by 10 early before reeling off 27 straight points.

 

Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins said there was no panic after the team fell behind in the first quarter.

 

Tennessee (5-6) finally scored again on a 48-yard reception by Corey Davis late in the third quarter, but the second TD by Thomas - this one for 10 yards - made it 34-17 with just more than eight minutes left.

 

Marcus Mariota, who missed the second half of last week's game with a stinger, was 22 of 23 for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He completed his first 19 passes before an incompletion with just more than a minute remaining.

 

Miller's 97-yard breakaway in the second quarter made it 21-10. It was the longest run in franchise history and the longest in the NFL since his dash of the same length for a touchdown on Dec. 28, 2014, with the Dolphins. He's the only player in league history with two career rushing touchdowns of 95 yards or longer.

 

The Titans went ahead 3-0 on their first possession, and Jonnu Smith had a career-long 61-yard catch-and-run touchdown that extended their lead less than halfway through the first quarter.

Houston got going after that, cutting the lead to 10-7 when Thomas grabbed his first touchdown since being traded from Denver on Oct. 30, a 12-yard grab with about six minutes left in the quarter.

Watson put the Texans on top when he scrambled 15 yards for a score on the first play of the second quarter.

 

The Titans went for it on fourth-and-inches from the 3 later in the second, but tight end Luke Stocker was stopped for no gain.

 

Miller's long TD , which helped Houston set a franchise record with 281 yards rushing, came on the next play. He took the handoff in the end zone and darted through a crowd of Titans before shedding one tackle and simply outrunning the rest of the defense.

 

The Texans kicked a field goal as time expired in the second quarter to take a 24-10 lead into halftime.

Bulls F Markkanen moving closer to season debut

Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen is moving closer to his season debut after spraining his right elbow in September.

 

Markkanen has been ramping up his workouts, and coach Fred Hoiberg says the plan is have him "fully participate in practice" on Tuesday. If that goes well, the Bulls could set a date for Markkanen's return to game action.

 

The 7-foot Markkanen was selected by Minnesota with the No. 7 pick in last year's draft and then traded to Chicago in the Jimmy Butler deal. He averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in 68 games as a rookie.

Clinton Lady Maroons Fall to Unity

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons fell to the Tolono Unity Lady Rockets by a score of 33-32 on Monday night. The Lady Maroons were led by Mallory Overbey with 5 points. Kaile Beck, Maddie Stevens, Claudia Workman and Ryty Dupont-Barlow all added 4 points each.

 

The Lady Rockets were led by Elyce Knudsen with 17 points and Jordyy Curtis added 8.

 

Tune in Tuesday, November 27, as the Maroons take on Tri-Valley. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

No. 3 Notre Dame rolls to 12-0 season, beats rival USC 24-17


Ian Book passed for 352 yards, Dexter Williams went 52 yards on a go-ahead touchdown run and No. 3 Notre Dame completed an unbeaten regular season and likely secured a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 24-17 over longtime rival Southern California on Saturday night.

 

Chris Finke caught an early TD pass for the Fighting Irish (12-0, No. 3 CFP), who showed playoff-level tenacity in rallying from an early 10-point deficit, their largest of the season. Tony Jones Jr. then took a short pass 51 yards for a touchdown with 3:09 to play to finish off Notre Dame's 10th perfect regular season since 1945, the first since 2012.

 

Notre Dame is all but certain to be chosen for the four-team playoff, and this win could keep the Irish away from powerhouse Alabama in the first postseason game.

 

Williams rushed for 97 yards as the Irish overcame a slow start in the 90th edition in this famed intersectional rivalry. Notre Dame didn't score until Finke's TD catch shortly before halftime, but the Irish ran off 24 consecutive points and shut out USC in the second half until Tyler Vaughns' TD catch with 48 seconds to play.

 

J.T. Daniels passed for 349 yards for the Trojans (5-7), who will stay home for the bowl season after their first losing season since 2000. Vaughns caught 12 passes for 120 yards in what might have been the final game for coach Clay Helton, who is under pressure after the Trojans lost five of their final six games in a dismaying collapse.

 

After USC won eight straight over Notre Dame in the 2000s, the Irish have claimed the Jeweled Shillelagh in six of the last nine meetings in this classic college football matchup. Notre Dame is the first road team to win in the series since 2012, when the Irish also completed an unbeaten regular season with a victory at the Coliseum.

 

Only four USC teams have finished with losing records since 1961, but this clearly talented group gave a tough game to the powerhouse Irish, who faced their first double-digit deficit of the year when USC went up 10-0 in the second quarter. The Trojans' 289 yards in the first half were 64 more than the Irish had allowed before halftime all season.

 

Notre Dame had only trailed twice at any point beforehand in their perfect season, but Williams bounced his 52-yard go-ahead run down the USC sideline shortly after halftime.

 

Justin Yoon set a Notre Dame record with his 58th career field goal late in the third, putting the Irish up 17-10.

 

Although Jones' late rumble to the end zone clinched the expected result for Notre Dame, the Trojans were competitive with an elite opponent despite the roiling subplot of their coach's future.

Helton won the Pac-12 last season and the Rose Bowl just two years ago, but a large portion of the Trojans' fan base is publicly agitating for the dismissal of the coach, who got a contract extension through 2023 just nine months ago.

 

When Helton's face appeared in a recorded announcement on the scoreboard in the first half, he was booed by a portion of the Coliseum crowd of 59,821 - the smallest for the Notre Dame-USC game in Los Angeles since 1960.

 

But USC got a 14-yard TD run on its opening drive by Vavae Malepeai, who missed the second half with an injury. When Michael Brown hit a field goal early in the second quarter, Notre Dame faced its first double-digit deficit of the year.

 

The Irish offense finally scored 2:20 before halftime, capping a difficult 64-yard drive with Book's 24-yard throw to Finke, who hadn't caught a TD pass since the season opener against Michigan.

USC's 10-7 halftime lead could have been much larger, but receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Amon-Ra St. Brown both fumbled after catches in Notre Dame territory.
 

Blackhawks trade Schmaltz to Coyotes

The Chicago Blackhawks have traded Nick Schmaltz to the Arizona Coyotes for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini in a swap involving three former first-round picks.

 

Schmaltz is off to a slow start with two goals and nine assists in 23 games, but the forward is just 22 years old and is coming off a breakout season. He was selected by Chicago with the 20th pick in the 2014 draft.

 

The Blackhawks are hoping Strome will benefit from a change of scenery after a tough start to his NHL career with the Coyotes. He went No. 3 overall in 2015, one spot ahead of Toronto star Mitch Marner, but the 6-foot-3 forward has just seven goals and nine assists in 47 career games.

 

Perlini, 22, has two goals and four assists) in 22 games this year. He set career highs with 17 goals and 13 assists in 74 games last season.

 

The deal was announced Sunday night.

Illinois extends Smith's contract 2 years after 4-8 season

Illinois has extended the contract of coach Lovie Smith for two years through 2023 after the Illini finished his third season with four victories.

 

Athletic director Josh Whitman announced the deal Sunday. Whitman hired Smith, the former NFL head coach who led the Bears to the Super Bowl, soon after he was named AD in 2016.

 

Smith is 9-27 in three seasons with the Illini and 4-23 in the Big Ten, but there were clear signs of progress this season for an inexperienced team that went 2-10 and winless in the Big Ten in 2017. Smith's original deal was for six years and $21 million.

Monticello Sages Football Clinch First State Title

The Monticello Sages football team defeated Byron (13-1) and went 14-0 to win the Class 3A state championship in 2018. 

Sages coach Cullen Welter added a fourth state title to his coaching career and his first at Monticello. Welter says the support his team recieved throughout the season makes it special.

 

Welter says his team was tested in the championship against Byron, but when it was time for his guys to make plays, they were able to do it.

2018 is the first state championship in football for the town of Monticello after reaching the playoffs in all 10 seasons Coach Welter has been with the program.

 

Their basketball games can be heard on 95.9 WEZC this winter.

Maroons Fall to Villa Grove in Cerro Gordo Thanksgiving Tournament

The Clinton Maroons fell to Villa Grove-Heritage by a score of 56-42 Friday at the Cerro Gordo Thanksgiving Tournament. The Maroons were led by Ben Nelson with 15 points.

 

Jared Stevens led Villa-Grove Heritage with 15 points.

 

The Maroons fall to 1-2 and Villa-Grove Heritage improves to 3-0.

Monticello Wins State!

Monticello's Alek Bundy made the interception late in the fourth and Monticello goes on to win their first state title in history!

 

Monticello went to Memorial Stadium in Urbana-Champaign to play their first state title against Byron. Byron, who played Monticello last year in the quarterfinals and won 21-20 off a fumble from Monticello. This game would hold a different ending. Monticello getting Byron to throw late in the fourth quarter would help decide that ending as Monticello would win 24-20.

 

Byron who led the game in yards gained with 372 yards and possession time 31:35, couldn't finish out on top. Monticello would have a few huge stops getting Byron to turn the ball over on 4th down. Byron went for it six times on 4th down only succeeding on two. Byron, who ran the ball most of the game established over 314 yards. Issac Stickler ran for 139 yards, and one touchdown led Byron, Ricky Messing ran for 81 with one touchdown, and Drake Snodgrass with 80 yards and one touchdown. Ben Carlson only threw a total of 4 times completing two passes for a total of 65 yards. 

 

Monticello covered all ends with rushing and passing. Braden Snyder, threw over 210 yards with two touchdowns, both going to running Alek Bundy, who had 136 yards receiving, 52 yards rushing, and two touchdowns. Asher Bradd would follow with four receptions for 64 yards. Monticello's defense held out, getting huge stops in the games, as Byron went for 9-16 on 3rd down conversions along with 2-6 on 4th down.

 

Monticello won its first ever 3A Class Football State Final in history and making it Coach Cullen Welters 4th state title. Coach Welter along with Seniors Riley Austin, Braden Snyder, and Asher Bradd received medals at the end of the game honoring them for their efforts in winning the state final. 

 

Play of the Game: Late in the 4th quarter, with 2:05 left on the clock, Benn Carlson threw to Isacc Stickler where Alek Bundy intercepted the pass. 

UPDATE: IHSA State Boys Football Scores

Class 1A:

 

Forreston 44, Camp Point Central 6, F

 

Class 2A:

 

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 35, Maroa-Forsyth 16, F

 

Class 3A:

 

Bryon 20, Monticello 24, F

 

Class 4A:

 

Elmhurst (IC Catholic) 31, Kankakee (McNamara) 21, F

 

Class 5A:

 

Joliet (Catholic Academy) 35, Montini 27, F

 

Class 6A:

 

Cary 35, Crete-Monee 13, F
 

Class 7A:

 

LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy) 31, St. Charles (North) 10, F

 

Class 8A:

 

Wilmette (Loyola Academy) 13, Chicago Brother Rice 3, F

 

Chase Daniel fills in, leads Bears to 23-16 win over Lions

Chase Daniel made the most of his chance to fill in for Mitchell Trubisky, having the best day of his journeyman career.

 

Daniel set career highs with 230 yards passing and two touchdowns to keep the Chicago Bears rolling with a 23-16 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

 

The NFC North-leading Bears (8-3) sealed their fifth straight victory with Kyle Fuller's interception in the end zone with a little more than a minute left.

 

Detroit (4-7) has lost four of five, plummeting to last place in the division.

 

Chicago broke a 16-16 tie on Eddie Jackson's 41-yard pick-6 with six minutes remaining. It was Jackson's second consecutive game with an interception returned for a touchdown. It's also the fifth career defensive touchdown for the 2017 fourth-round pick.

 

The Lions drove to the Bears 11 on the ensuing drive, but couldn't score because Matthew Stafford's pass to Michael Roberts was picked off by Fuller. Fuller's interception was the 20th of the season for the Bears.

 

The 32-year-old Daniel made his third career start and his first in nearly four years, replacing Trubisky, who was out with a shoulder injury.

 

He finished 27 of 37 for 230 yards and two touchdowns, setting career highs in each category. Daniel had a 10-yard touchdown pass to Taquan Mizzell in the second quarter and a 14-yard pass to Tarik Cohen in the fourth.

 

And unlike Stafford, he didn't make any costly mistakes.

 

Stafford was 28 of 38 for 236 yards with two interceptions.

 

Detroit became the first team to lead Chicago in a month when LeGarrette Blount ran for his first of two touchdowns early in the second quarter. Blount had 88 yards and the two touchdowns.

 

The Bears, though, were able to come back and go ahead thanks to their defense.

Cooper, Cowboys join Redskins atop NFC East with 31-23 win

Amari Cooper celebrated his first touchdown with a mock free throw before a 90-yard score that sent him to a Dallas Thanksgiving- record 180 yards receiving, and the Cowboys pulled even with Washington atop the division with a 31-23 win over the Redskins on Thursday.

 

Elliott ran for 121 yards with his TD and cash celebration as the Cowboys (6-5) won their third straight game since their first home loss, to Tennessee in the Dallas debut of Cooper. Dallas' eighth win in nine Thanksgiving games against Washington, and second in three years, earned a season split.

 

The Redskins (6-5) lost for the third time in four games in Colt McCoy's first start in four years coming off Alex Smith's season-ending leg injury.

 

The former Texas Longhorns star threw three interceptions to offset two touchdown passes. McCoy won his two previous starts at the home of the Cowboys, one for the 2009 Big 12 championship and the other his most recent NFL victory with the Redskins in 2014.

 

Cooper had 105 yards after the catch on his two touchdowns.

 

First, Cooper ran away from Quinton Dunbar after the Washington cornerback slipped on a short pass, turning it into a 40-yard TD for a 17-13 lead. Cooper celebrated by mimicking a free throw , shooting the football through the goal post.

 

On the 90-yarder, Cooper made the catch just outside the Dallas 30, spun out of the arms of Fabian Moreau and won the race to the pylon against former Alabama teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who tried to shove him out of bounds around the 5.

 

McCoy looked as if he hadn't started a game in a long time early, throwing into double coverage on his first play and fumbling while trying to scramble on his third, with the Redskins recovering and punting.

 

But McCoy settled in with a couple of third-down passes to Jordan Reed to keep drives going, then hit Vernon Davis in stride on a 53-yard touchdown - the longest Washington completion of the season - for a 7-7 tie.

 

The Cowboys were having all the fun before the Redskins pulled even, with Elliott scoring on a 16-yard run and dropping $21 into a giant Salvation Army red kettle behind the end zone. The cash was handed to him by a team photographer.

 

As a rookie in 2016, Elliott jumped into the kettle on the same part of the field after a touchdown in a 31-26 win over the Redskins. That season's NFL rushing champion, who wears No. 21, was fined for the stunt and later donated $21,000 to the Salvation Army.

 

After scoring on a scrambling 5-yard run for the third Dallas touchdown in less than eight minutes and a 31-13 lead, Prescott let Elliott help him into another kettle on the other end of the field, drawing the same unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Elliott did two years ago.
 

Wade, Heat return to Chicago

When Dwyane Wade spent two weeks away from the team on paternity leave he saw from afar the various problems the Miami Heat are experiencing at consistently getting offense. He returned Tuesday and saw the issue first-hand.

 

On Friday, Wade will make his penultimate appearance in his native Chicago and the Heat hope to get their offense going when they visit the Bulls.

 

Wade is retiring after this season and so far a theme of his 14th full season with Miami is offensive issues during a season where high scores are the norm throughout the league. The Heat are averaging 108.3 points per game, which is 20th this season.

 

As teams routinely crack 120 points, the Heat have only achieved it three times and have been held to 95 points or less three times and under the century mark in four games.

 

The latest instance of Miami's struggles occurred Tuesday in a 104-92 loss to the Brooklyn Nets that pushed its home losing streak to five games. The Heat shot 36 percent and missed 15 of 19 shots in the fourth quarter when the Nets outscored them by a 30-15 margin.

 

As they prepared to face the Bulls, the Heat spent part of Wednesday's practice watching the ugly footage of the fourth quarter on film.

 

Miami heads to Chicago with the league's third-worst shooting percentage at 43.5, only ahead of Boston and Detroit. They shot under 40 percent for the fifth time this season and during a 1-6 slide since Nov. 7, Miami is averaging 103.7 points on 43.3 percent shooting.

 

Miami will attempt to get its offense going in Wade's hometown with a short-handed lineup. Tyler Johnson will miss the game with a strained right hamstring while Goran Dragic will sit with a right knee injury.

 

Johnson averages 11.4 points and Dragic averages 16.3. Both guards did not travel with the team for its weekend trip and will also sit out Sunday in Toronto.

 

Chicago's struggles on offense are similar to Miami's issues. The Bulls are 27th in points per game at 104.2 points and shoot 44.6 percent.

 

Chicago raised those figures slightly on Wednesday when it shot 56.8 percent and recorded a 124-116 home win over the Phoenix Suns. Chicago snapped a four-game losing streak where it averaged 92 points by producing its highest shooting percentage of the season and topping 120 points for the second time this season.

 

Zach LaVine scored 29 points after sitting out Saturday's blowout loss to Toronto with an illness. LaVine is averaging 25.5 points but before making 10 of 20 shots Wednesday, he shot 34.3 percent in his previous five games after getting 41 in New York on Nov. 5.

 

The Bulls will be seeking consecutive wins after Parker scored 20 points for the fourth time this season.

 

Miami won three of four meetings with Chicago last season and Wade enters the game 13 points shy of 1,000 for his career against the Bulls. Wade has at least 1,000 points against six different teams.

Xavier knocks off Illinois 83-74 in Maui

Quentin Goodin scored 15 points, Elias Harden added 14 and Xavier dominated the second half to beat Illinois 83-74 in the Maui Invitational seventh-place game on Wednesday night.

 

The Musketeers (3-3) lost in overtime to No. 8 Auburn and another close game to San Diego State in their first two Maui games. Xavier had 17 turnovers against Illinois' frenetic style of play, but made up for it by shooting 57 percent.

 

Naji Marshall had 13 points for the Musketeers.

 

The Illini (1-4) lost lopsided games against eventual champion Gonzaga and Iowa State to open the Maui Invitational, but held their own in the first half against Xavier. Illinois had trouble with the Musketeers' size inside, though, and was outscored 36-20 in the paint to allow Xavier to stretch the lead in the second half.
 

Redbirds Earn Fifth Place with Win Over Boise State

Illinois State won its second consecutive game in the Cayman Islands Classic on Wednesday afternoon, topping the Boise State Broncos 73-70 to earn fifth place in the eight-team tournament, as Milik Yarbrough was named to the All-Tournament Team.

 

Boise State jumped out quickly, as the hosts on the scoreboard pushed ahead to a 9-2 lead two minutes into the contest and trailed by as many as nine at 19-10 with 14 minutes to play in the opening period. The Redbirds went on an immediate 6-0 run on a pair of Phil Fayne baskets and a Keyshawn Evans lay-in to close the gap to 19-16. Boise State pushed back to a seven point lead at 30-23, before ISU countered with a 12-0 run, starting with a Zach Copeland jumper and ending on a Rey Idowu tip-in with 1:47 to play in the half, propelling ISU to a 36-35 halftime lead.

 

The teams traded baskets to open the second half, with Boise State taking its final lead of the game on its first possession of the second half as Illinois State ran off five straight points on a jumper by Milik Yarbrough and a three-pointer by Evans, and the Redbirds didn't trail again in the contest. A Yarbrough three-point play put ISU ahead by a dozen with 7:25 remaining in the contest. The Broncos closed to within as few as two down the stretch but could not overcome the deficit as the Redbirds held on to improve to 4-2 on the year.

Parker shines as Bulls beat Suns 124-116

Jabari Parker had 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns 124-116 on Wednesday night to stop a four-game slide.

 

Chicago shot a season-high 56.8 percent from the field and placed six players in double figures in just its third win in its last 12 games. Zach LaVine scored 29 points after missing Saturday night's loss to Toronto due to an illness, and Ryan Arcidiacono finished with 14.

 

Phoenix lost for the seventh time in its last eight games. Devin Booker scored 23 points, T.J. Warren had 21 and Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

 

Jamal Crawford's pullup jumper for the Suns tied it at 97 with 10:54 left, but the Bulls responded with a 10-0 run. Parker had a driving dunk before Antonio Blakeney capped the decisive sequence with a jumper with 7:27 remaining.

 

Phoenix pulled within three on Warren's 3-pointer with 1:27 to go, but Arcidiacono found Wendell Carter Jr. for a layup and LaVine made two foul shots to help close it out.

 

Carter and Blakeney also had 14 points apiece for Chicago, which improved to 1-6 against Western Conference teams this season. Justin Holiday made three of the Bulls' 11 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky listed as doubtful vs Lions

Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was listed as doubtful Wednesday for the Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit against the Lions.

 

Trubisky suffered a right shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's 25-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

 

If he can't play, the Bears will turn to backup Chase Daniel, who has not started or played extensively in an NFL game since 2014.

 

At 32, Daniel is the oldest player on the Chicago roster and hasn't thrown more than two passes in a season since 2014 in Kansas City. He does have extensive knowledge of the Bears' offensive system run by former Chiefs assistant and current Chicago head coach Matt Nagy.

 

Earlier this week, Chicago offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said he saw no reason for play-calling to be altered should Daniel play.

 

"They're not that significantly different," Helfrich said. "Certainly, you're going to tailor things to one person or another absolutely, but within the same structure. We're not going to change the offense if something happens. You can't do that."

 

The Bears (7-3) have won four straight games. Detroit (4-6) is coming off a win over Carolina after three straight losses.
 

Hickey leaving Cubs after 1 season as pitching coach

im Hickey is leaving the Chicago Cubs after one season as the team's pitching coach.

The Cubs say Hickey stepped down for personal reasons.

 

Chicago's uncertain situation with its coaching staff could affect its search for a replacement for the respected Hickey. Manager Joe Maddon is entering the final year of his contract, and Epstein has said the club will not be offering an extension before the start of the 2019 season.

 

In Hickey's one season with the organization, Chicago ranked third in the majors with a 3.65 team ERA. The Cubs went 95-68 and lost to Colorado in the NL wild-card game.

 

Hickey was hired a year ago to replace Chris Bosio. Hickey also has been a pitching coach with Houston and Tampa Bay.

Bears could be without Trubisky vs. Lions

Chicago could be without quarterback Mitchell Trubisky when the first-place Bears visit the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

 

The Bears reported Monday evening that Trubisky suffered a right shoulder injury in Sunday night's 25-20 victory over Minnesota, which gave Chicago a 1 1/2-game lead over the Vikings in the NFC North. Detroit (4-6) is last, one-half game behind Green Bay (4-5-1).

 

If Trubisky cannot go, Chase Daniel will get the start. Daniel, 32, is a career backup who began his career with New Orleans in 2010 and has completed 65.4 percent of his 78 passes with one touchdown and one interception.

 

Nagy is still holding out hope Trubisky could start, and it will ultimately be a game-time decision.

Trubisky suffered the injury when he was hit late by Minnesota's Harrison Smith on the left shoulder after giving himself up by sliding, and at the time had his right shoulder pressed against the ground under his body weight.

 

Daniel has more urgency than usual in a week when Chicago didn't really hold an official extensive practice. They had walkthroughs Monday and Tuesday.

 

Daniel hasn't had more than two throws in a season since he was with Kansas City in 2014. But he has extensive knowledge of the offensive system after being in it from 2013-15 while Nagy was quarterbacks coach with Kansas City.

 

Trubisky was 23 of 30 passing for a career-high 355 yards with three touchdown passes in a 34-22 victory over Detroit on Nov. 11, ending a three-game losing streak versus the Lions. The clubs have split 16 Thanksgiving meetings with Detroit starting its tradition of playing on Thanksgiving in 1934, when Chicago prevailed 19-16.

 

The Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 20-19 victory over Carolina on Sunday -- surviving a two-point conversion attempt with 1:07 remaining -- and remain in must-win mode.

Detroit must move forward, though, without rookie running back Kerryon Johnson (team-high 641 rushing yards, three touchdowns). The second-round pick out of Auburn sprained his left knee against the Panthers and is week-to-week.

 

Detroit will try to patch together a running game with LeGarrett Blount, who is averaging a career-low 2.3 yards per carry and is on pace for his worst rushing season since 2012. Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner are other options.

 

The Lions have shored up their run defense, which ranked last in the NFL in the first half of the season, allowing an average of 142.5 yards. In games against the Bears and Panthers in the last two weeks, they've given up a total of 110 yards on the ground.

Monticello Sages rallys in 2nd half, beating Pleasant Plains 57-47

Monticello kept close in the first half trailing by one, as Benton Singleton put up 17 points helping the Sages rally in the second half winning 57-47.

 

Singleton finished the game with a double-double, having 17 points and 18 rebounds. Singleton was also 100 percent from the free throw line shooting 9-9. Ethan Jones chipped in 13 points to help the Sages get a victory along with Garrett Kepley with 8 points. 

 

Pleasant Plains put up no more than 9 points in its first three quarters. They were able to get 22 points in the 4th quarter, but it wouldn't be enough to earn a victory. Chase Schmitt and Justin Guernsey tied for most points with 13. Gage Bartos and Nick Savage would tie in points with 7.

 

The big difference in stats between the two teams was in free throws as Monticello kept theirs above 75 percent (14-18) as Pleasant Plains barely got theirs above 50 percent (11-21).

 

This was the first game for both teams, with Monticello improving to 1-0, and Pleasant Plains 0-1.

 

Catch the next game as Monticello will play home against Riverton on November 27 at 7 pm. Tune into 95.9 FM WEZC or stream at dewittdailynews.com

Clinton Maroons Win Season Opener

In a game heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Heyworth Hornets by a score of 59-54 on Tuesday night at the Cerro Gordo Thanksgiving Tournament. Clinton was led by Ben Nelson with 21 points. Matthew Overton also chipped in with 15.

 

Heyworth was led by Colin McCubbins with 15 and Alex Cilento added 12.

 

With the win, Clinton improves to 1-0 on the season.

 

Tune in Monday, November 26, as the Lady Maroons take on Tolono Unity. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

IHSA State Football Championship Match-ups

1A 
Forreston (11-2) vs. Camp Point (Central) (12-1) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Fri., Nov. 23, 10:00 am

2A
Gibson City (G.C.-Melvin-Sibley) (13-0) vs. Maroa (M.-Forsyth) (13-0) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Fri., Nov. 23, 1:00 pm

3A
Byron (13-0) vs. Monticello (13-0) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Fri., Nov. 23, 4:00 pm

4A
Elmhurst (IC Catholic) (13-0) vs. Kankakee (McNamara) (12-1) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Fri., Nov. 23, 7:00 pm

5A
Lombard (Montini) (12-1) vs. Joliet (Catholic Academy) (9-4) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Sat., Nov. 24, 10:00 am

6A
Cary (C.-Grove) (13-0) vs. Crete (C.-Monee) (10-3) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Sat., Nov. 24, 1:00 pm

7A
LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy) (12-1) vs. St. Charles (North) (10-3) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Sat., Nov. 24, 4:00 pm

8A
Chicago (Brother Rice) (13-0) vs. Wilmette (Loyola Academy) (10-3) at Champaign (Memorial Stadium) Sat., Nov. 24, 7:00 pm

No. 21 Missouri women beat SIU-Edwardsville 59-36

Sophie Cunningham had 14 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 21 Missouri past SIU-Edwardsville 59-36 on Monday night.

 

In the second half, Cunningham moved into sixth in program history with 1,626 points.

Amber Smith and Grace Berg each added 10 points for Missouri (3-1). The Tigers made 13 of 18 free throws compared to SIUE's seven attempts.

 

The Tigers led 27-17 at halftime and Cunningham secured her ninth career double-double in the third quarter as they led 40-23.

 

Coach Robin Pingeton won her 150th game at Missouri, which allowed its fewest points since a 55-35 victory over Nebraska on Nov. 14, 2016.

 

Sydney Bauman had 12 points and eight rebounds for SIUE (2-1). The Cougars shot 28 percent from the floor, turned it over 19 times and were outscored 32-14 in the paint.

Lady Sages fall to Trojans 61-25

The tables turned on the Lady Sages after their win from LeRoy last week 60-25. The turn out for their game against Charleston Trojans, that there is still work to be made, as the Lady Sages lost 61-25.

 

Coach Beery said he was proud of his Lady Sages playing with a tough team. He said it gave them a good look on where they stand right now. Lady Sages struggled to get offensive plays started as Charleston was in full court press most of the game. Monticello just put up 7 in the 1st quarter then just 4 in the 2nd. Sages did come firing away in the 2nd half playing zone defense trapping Charleston on a couple of plays. The Sages then put up 11 in the 3rd quarter and 3 in the 4th making the final score for the Sages 25. Olivia Swanson led the Sages with points with three 2's along with Cloe Clark who had a 3-pointer early in the 1st quarter then a free throw early in the 3rd quarter. 

 

Charleston put pressure all game long as they would be able to make fast break transitions up and down the court on turnovers from the Sages. Trojans put up 22 in just the 1st quarter then 25 in the 2nd quarter. Monticello switched up defenses slowing the Trojans down, holding them to just 8 points in the 3rd quarter then 6 in the 4th quarter. To lead the Trojans in points was Shae Littleford with 17 points. She was followed by Elizabeth Buecher with 13 points and Bernie Jackson with 11 points.

 

This game would make it Monticello's first loss of the season, as Charleston continued to a 5-0 record. 

 

Next game for the Sages is at Mt. Zion on November 27th, at 7:30 pm. 

 

Play of the Game: Lexi Fisher getting a steal in the 2nd half, tipping and pushing the ball towards Rennie Fultz getting her to shoot and draw a foul. 

 

 

WEZC 95.9 To Broadcast Monticello Football State Championship Game

The Monticello Sages football team take their perfect 13-and-oh record into Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign on Friday afternoon at 4, when they play 13-and-oh Byron in the Illinois High School Association Class 3-A State Championship game.

WEZC 95-point-9, the Voice of the Sages, will provide live coverage starting at 3:50.  WEZC will also stream the game live at dewittdailynews-dot-com.

Monticello defeated a strong Carlinville team last Saturday 40 to 14 to advance to the Class 3-A State Football Championship.

Blackhawks beat Wild 3-1

Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad scored first-period goals, Corey Crawford made 39 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks held on to defeat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Sunday night.

 

Dominik Kahun added an empty-netter with 58.5 second left as the Blackhawks improved to 2-2-2 under coach Jeremy Colliton, who replaced Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6. Patrick Kane had two assists for Chicago, 2-0-1 in its last three games.

 

Zach Parise scored for Minnesota, which lost its second straight game and for the third time in four games. The Wild controlled the game after Parise's goal made it 2-1 midway through the second, but Crawford was sharp and preserved the lead.

 

Backup Alex Stalock stopped 25 shots for Minnesota as usual starter Devan Dubnyk got the night off in the second of back-to-back games.

 

Parise has six goals in his last nine games and has scored in two straight. His goal in a 3-2 loss to Buffalo on Saturday was the 341st of his career and made him the highest-scoring Minnesota-born NHL player.

 

Wild forward Marcus Foligno left the game at 7:13 of the second period after getting hit in the right leg by a shot by Chicago's Brent Seabrook. Foligno crumpled to the ice and had to be helped off.

Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the first period.

 

Toews opened the scoring 8:26 in with a power-play tip-in from the left edge of the crease. Toews slipped past Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, then Kane threaded a pinpoint pass from the right circle across the front of the crease to the blade of Toews' stick.

 

Saad made it 2-0 with 2:31 left in the period. When Dumba couldn't handle a wobbling puck near left wing boards, Saad powered past, drove to the net, cut across the crease and beat Stalock with a backhander.

 

Parked in front of the net, Parise deflected Mikko Koivu's feed form the right corner for power-play goal at 7:56 of the second to cut it to 2-1.

 

The Wild dominated the rest of the period, pinning Chicago in its end for stretches and forcing Crawford to make several tough, close-in saves to maintain the lead. Eric Staal shot wide when he slipped in alone midway through the period.

 

Crawford was tested again in the third, as Minnesota outshot Chicago 14-5.

Bears beat Vikings 25-20

No doubt about it now, the Bears really are serious about winning the NFC North.

 

Khalil Mack had a sack and fumble recovery, Eddie Jackson returned an interception for a touchdown and Chicago tightened its grip on the division with a 25-20 victory over the second-place Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

 

Mack and Jackson led a dominant effort by the defense. And Chicago (7-3) took a big step toward its first division championship since 2010.

 

The Bears won their fourth in a row, their longest streak since a six-game run in 2012. Chicago finished 10-6 that year, missed the playoffs and fired coach Lovie Smith after that season.

 

The Monsters of the Midway simply dominated Minnesota on Sunday, taking out the defending division champions after beating three struggling teams - the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.

 

The Bears also have victories the past two weeks over NFC North opponents after dropping 10 in a row against division foes.

 

Chicago suffocated the Vikings (5-4-1), with big advantages in total yards (308-268) and time of possession (34:29-25:31) even though quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had his difficulties.

 

The Bears were leading by eight midway through the fourth quarter when Jackson picked off a pass from Kirk Cousins that was intended for Laquon Treadwell. His 27-yard TD return and a 2-point conversion pass from Trubisky to Adam Shaheen made it 22-6.

 

Cousins then threw a 13-yard TD to Aldrick Robsinon and a 2-point conversion to Adam Thielen, making it 22-14. But Cody Parkey kicked to 48-yard field goal with 2:48 left. And the Bears hung on from there.

 

Trubisky was 20 of 31 for 165 yards and a touchdown. But he was intercepted two times by Anthony Harris.

 

Parkey shook off a performance unlike any other by making all three of his field goal attempts. It was a big improvement over the previous week, when he hit uprights four times while missing two field goals and two extra points against Detroit.

 

Cousins was consistently under pressure and finished 30 of 46 for 262 yards. He threw two touchdowns in the final 4:51 and got intercepted two times.

 

Stefon Diggs had 13 catches for 126 yards and a TD. But the Vikings came up short after winning four of five.

IHSA State Football Playoffs Headed To Memorial Stadium

This weekend saw five central Illinois teams compete for a chance to advance to the State Finals of the IHSA football playoffs in their respective classes.  All winners this weekend move on to Memorial Stadium in Champaign to battle for football supremecy in Illinois.

 

RESULTS:

 

1A
Camp Point (Central) 35 - Argenta-Oreana 22
Forreston 34 - Lena-Winslow 28

 

2A
Maroa-Forsyth 16 - St. Teresa 14
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 14 - Lanark (Eastland) 7

 

3A
Monticello 40 - Carlinville 14
Byron 42 - Herscher 0

 

4A
Elmhurst (IC Catholic) 28 - Richmond-Burton 9
Kankakee McNamara 52 - Rochester 42

 

5A
Joliet Catholic Academy 42 - Country Club Hills 6
Lombard (Montini) 42 - Sterling 20

 

6A
Crete-Monee 38 - Oak Lawn Richards 35
Cary-Grove 28 - Niles Notre Dame 21

 

7A
Lagrange Park Nazareth Academy 47 - Batavia 28
St. Charles (North) 27 - Chicago Mt. Carmel 21

 

8A
Chicago Brother Rice 14 - Chicago Marist 3
Wilmette (Loyola Academy) 24 - Frankfort (Lincoln Way East) 16

 

1-4A championships take place Friday November 23rd, with the 5-8A games slated for Saturday November 24th. All games are at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

Monticello is going to state!

Monticello put 20 up in the first half, and the rest is history, as Monticello would go on to win their IHSA 3A Semifinals 40-14 against #2 Carlinville.

 

Both teams were undefeated coming into the matchup between the #1 and #2 seed. Only one would be able to leave the game victorious. Monticello came up in the first half with Devin Graham catching a 53-yard touchdown pass. Braden Snyder throwing for 12-18 for 277 yards 5 touchdowns and running for 47 yards and one touchdown connected multiple times with Graham. Graham had four receptions for over 115. The Sages wouldn't stop with just Graham, as Asher Bradd who had three receptions for 57 yards, caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Snyder. The catch put Monticello early in the first quarter 13-0.

 

In the second quarter, Monticello stuck to more of a running game handing off to Alek Bundy and Snyder getting a touchdown. Alek Bundy ran for 104 yards, Snyder ran on a 16-yard quarterback keeper spinning off a Cavalier into the end zone putting Monticello up 20-0 in the first half.

 

Carlinville wouldn't get much room to move on offense, All-State Jarrett Easterday struggled throwing for 12-28, 133 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Ethan Wallace struggled with rushing as well, running for just 25 yards. Will Walton led in receiving with five receptions for 54 yards and one touchdown late in the game getting to the final score 40-14.

 

Monticello will travel to state for their first time in history. The first time state finalists will play Byron, whom they lost to last year by one point in the semifinals. 

 

Catch the game on Friday, November 24, at 4 pm  from Memorial Stadium on 95.9 FM WEZC and streamed at dewittdailynews.com.

Bears back K Parkey, expect him to rebound from rough outing

The Chicago Bears continue to back kicker Cody Parkey and expect him to put aside a rough outing.

Coach Matt Nagy says Parkey is confident and "able to rebound." Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor agreed Thursday, saying he knows "what's under the hood with this kid."

 

The NFC North-leading Bears host Minnesota in a first-place showdown on Sunday night. Last week, Parkey hit uprights each time while missing two extra points and two field goals in a win over Detroit.

 

He was lampooned by Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show," and TV news crews shot footage from helicopters when he practiced at Soldier Field on Wednesday. Tabor responded "no comment" when asked what he thought about that.

Seattle rally past Green Bay for 27-24 win

After a shaky beginning, Russell Wilson got hot in the fourth quarter, Bobby Wagner and Seattle's defense stymied Aaron Rodgers and the Seahawks stayed in the middle of the NFC playoff race.

Wilson threw for 225 yards and his 15-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with 5:08 left was the difference in the Seahawks' 27-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

 

In a key matchup in the battle for the two NFC wild-card spots, Seattle (5-5) snapped a two-game losing streak by overcoming an early 14-3 deficit. Wilson was inconsistent at times early, but was outstanding in the fourth quarter, capping the winning drive by recognizing a blitz and hitting Dickson quickly for his second TD pass of the night.

 

Seattle still has not lost three straight games since the middle of the 2011 season and the Seahawks finally closed out a one-score victory after consecutive close losses to the Chargers and Rams. Seattle was 1-8 in its previous nine games decided by one score.

 

Rodgers had a huge first half and threw for 332 yards, but the Packers (4-5-1) had just one scoring drive in the second half, helped by a 57-yard strike from Rodgers to Davante Adams. Rodgers threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, but never got the ball back after Green Bay punted with 4:20 left. Seattle got first-down runs from Wilson and Mike Davis and finished the game kneeling three times.

 

Chris Carson rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, overcoming the mistake of fumbling on the first play of the game and setting up Green Bay's opening score. Tyler Lockett had two key receptions late in the fourth quarter and Doug Baldwin had his first TD catch of the season for Seattle.

 

Rodgers was 21-of-30 passing with 10 of those going to Adams for 166 yards receiving. Backup tight end Robert Tonyan had the first catch of his career go for a 54-yard touchdown to give Green Bay an early 14-3 lead. The Packers led 21-17 at halftime after Aaron Jones caught a 24-yard TD pass from Rodgers in the final minute of the half, but Green Bay's offense was stymied in the second half.

 

Jones finished with 40 yards rushing after going for a career-high 145 a week ago. Rodgers was sacked five times, four of those in the second half. The Packers gained just 114 yards in the second half, half coming on the one throw from Rodgers to Adams. That pass set up Mason Crosby's 36-yard field goal with 8:23 left to give Green Bay a 24-20 lead.

 

Wilson had one more answer. Wilson hit Lockett on consecutive plays for 18 yards - to convert a third-down - and 34 yards to the Green Bay 16. Two plays later, facing another third-and-long, Wilson recognized the blitz and hit Dickson quickly over the middle to put Seattle in front.

 

That proved to be enough. On Green Bay's next drive, Rodgers short-hopped a pass on third-and-2.

Rather than going for it on fourth-down, Green Bay punted and never got the ball back.

Chicago sports teams donate another $1M to curb violence

Chicago's major sports franchises are teaming up to donate another $1 million to programs addressing violence in the city.

 

The Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks announced Thursday they will keep the Chicago Sports Alliance going in 2019 and match the $1 million they donated in its first year. The Alliance was formed to support Choose to Change, a mentoring and advocacy program aimed at reducing violence, and also works with the University of Chicago's crime lab to measure the impact of the teams' efforts.

 

The Alliance will also begin funding a job training program called READI Chicago (Rapid Employment and Development Initiative) for boys and young men at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence.

Monticello trying to make it to state

Monticello's journey has shown great success, and they continue to make it going to the 3A semifinals. The Sages have made the semifinals twice but never to a state championship. 

 

The biggest challenge standing in the way of getting to Memorial Stadium is this Saturday kicking off at 2 pm against #2 Carlinville. Carlinville who has also had a great run through the playoffs is tied with Monticello in a record of 12-0. 

 

The two teams are very similar being tough on both sides of the ball. Carlinville in their season has put up 579 points in all their games just nine points under Monticello. On the defensive side, Monticello has allowed only 104 points just six less than Carlinville. 

 

Monticello and Carlinville will shoot it out to see who will get that chance to go on to Memorial Stadium. Listen in to 95.9 FM WEZC and streamed at dewittdailynews.com. 
 

Blackhawks stop 8-game slide by topping Blues 1-0

Jeremy Colliton got his first win as an NHL coach when Corey Crawford made 28 saves to help the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 1-0 on Wednesday night, stopping an eight-game losing streak.

 

Chicago's slide began with a 7-3 loss at St. Louis on Oct. 27, and Colliton took over after Joel Quenneville was fired on Nov. 6. The Blackhawks then dropped his first three games behind the bench before shutting down the Blues in the opener of a three-game homestand.

 

It was Crawford's first shutout in more than a year and No. 24 for his career. He missed most of last year and the start of this season because of a concussion.

 

Chicago got the game's only goal when it caught a break after St. Louis star Vladimir Tarasenko was penalized for hooking in the second period. Jonathan Toews set up Brent Seabrook for an open look that was stopped by Jake Allen, but Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester kicked it into the net at 4:05.

 

Allen was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:14 remaining, and Crawford turned away David Perron's drive to the net with about 18 seconds left.

 

Allen finished with 18 saves for St. Louis, which has dropped two in a row after a stretch of four wins in five games. Ryan O'Reilly lost a 10-game point streak.

 

Defenseman Colton Parayko had the best scoring opportunity for the Blues, banging a shot off the inside of the left post in the second. Tarasenko also was denied by Crawford on a 2-on-1 opportunity during a mostly dull opening period.

Irving scores 17 points, Celtics rout Bulls 111-82

The Celtics returned from a dreadful road trip with a resounding rout.

 

Kyrie Irving had 17 points and seven assists and Jaylen Brown scored 18 as Boston beat the Chicago Bulls 111-82 on Wednesday night.

 

The Celtics were back home for the first time since going 1-4 on a long trip that wrapped up with back-to-back losses in Utah and Portland. After a slow start through the first quarter, Boston started pulling away from the Bulls in the second quarter and never let up.

 

Gordon Hayward scored 11 and Al Horford had 10 points and eight rebounds as all five Boston starters reached double figures.

 

The Celtics capitalized on 22 turnovers by the Bulls, who dropped their second straight and third in four games.

 

Jabari Parker scored 14 in the first quarter for the Bulls, but was shut out the rest of the way.

Shaquille Harrison led Chicago with 16 points. Zach LaVine had 10 points and nine assists, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 11 points and seven rebounds.

 

The Celtics dominated the second quarter, holding Chicago to 11 points on five field goals, and continued to pull away in the second half. They held a 22-point lead entering the fourth quarter and emptied their bench. The reserves stretched the advantage to 33 before it was over.

 

Terry Rozier had 12 points for Boston, and Aaron Baynes finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

After going 9 for 23 in the first quarter, the Celtics outscored Chicago 32-11 in the second and forced the Bulls into seven turnovers.

 

Rozier's free throw after a technical foul on LaVine broke a 28-all tie and started Boston on a 12-0 run. The Celtics shut out the Bulls for 5:14 while pulling ahead 42-30, then closed the period on a 9-2 spurt for a 51-35 halftime lead.

 

Baynes opened the fourth quarter for Boston with a 3-pointer and added a three-point play with 9:46 remaining to extend the margin to 87-64.

 

Hayward followed with a jumper, then converted another three-point play as the Celtics opened a 92-64 bulge with 9:32 left.

Bar scores 20, Childs 15 for unbeaten Bradley in 73-65 win

Koch Bar scored 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting and grabbed six rebounds as Bradley led all the way and defeated Jacksonville State 73-65 Wednesday night, getting off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2013-14 season.

 

Elijah Childs added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Braves, Darrell Brown 11 and Nate Kennell 10. Bradley owned a 31-26 edge on the boards - taking 25 off the defensive glass - holding Jacksonville State to 46-percent shooting. Bradley shot 55-percent for the game (26-47) and converted 17 of 23 free throws to Jacksonville State's 5-of-9.

 

Detrick Mostella led the Gamecocks (0-3) with 13 points, Marlon Hunter 12 and Christian Cunningham 10 with nine rebounds. Jacksonville State came as close as six points, 56-50, on Hunter's midrange jumper with six minutes remaining.

 

Bradley scored the next nine points over three minutes to close the door on Jacksonville State.

Loyola-Chicago pulls away early, beats Niagara 75-62

Cameron Krutwig had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Loyola-Chicago to a 75-62 victory over Niagara on Wednesday night.

 

Krutwig made all seven of his field goals and was 4 of 7 from the free-throw line. Aher Uguak and Marques Townes added 15 points apiece, and Clayton Custer chipped in 14 for Loyola-Chicago (2-1), which shot 52 percent (30 of 58) from the floor.

 

James Towns scored 19 points to lead Niagara (1-1). Marvin Prochet added 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Purple Eagles shot just 19 of 65 (29 percent) from the field and missed 16 3-pointers.

Townes hit a 3-pointer to spark a 25-4 run that spanned both halves and the Ramblers led 51-31 with 15:41 to play. Krutwig scored nine points and Uguak added eight during the stretch.

Georgetown past Illinois 88-80

 Freshman James Akinjo had 19 points, including a key 3-point play, and seven assists, Jamorko Pickett blocked a shot in the closing seconds and Georgetown beat Illinois 88-80 on Tuesday night.

Akinjo sank a floater in the lane with 39 seconds left and was fouled, making the free throw to extend Georgetown's lead to 84-80. Illinois nearly turned it over, called a timeout and then had back-to-back shots blocked by Jessie Govan and Pickett. Govan made two free throws at the other end and Jagan Mosely added two more on their next possession to seal it.

 

Freshman Josh LeBlanc had 14 points and seven rebounds for Georgetown (3-0), which won for the second time in six meetings against Illinois. Akinjo made all seven of his free throws as the Hoyas went 14 of 16.

 

Another freshman played big for Georgetown down the stretch as Mac McClung had a steal and reverse dunk on a breakaway to extend the lead to 75-72 with just under five minutes left.

 

Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois (1-1) with three 3-pointers and 25 points. Andres Feliz had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Illinois State rallies late, tops Chicago State 75-71

Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne scored key late baskets off turnovers as Illinois State finished on a 13-3 run to rally past Chicago State 75-71 Tuesday night.

 

Milik Yarbrough led the Redbirds (3-1) with 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting and seven assists, Fayne added 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and blocked three shots. Josh Jefferson tossed in 13 points and Evans six.

 

Chicago State (0-4) was led by Cameron Bowles' 19 points and nine rebounds. The Cougars used a 13-0 run to grab a 68-62 lead with about four minutes remaining.

 

Evans stole the ball and raced for a layup to cut the gap to 68-66. Yarbrough dropped a 3-pointer to tie at it 70-70 and Fayne followed with a steal and a fast-break layup, lifting ISU into the lead for good at 72-70 with 1:22 remaining.

Thornton's 400th goal lifts Sharks past Predators 5-4

On a night when he reached an impressive personal milestone, Joe Thornton wasn't taking stock of his career accomplishments.

 

Thornton broke a third-period tie with his 400th goal, Joe Pavelski scored twice and the Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators 5-4 on Tuesday after squandering a three-goal lead.

Marcus Sorensen and Antti Suomela also scored to help San Jose win its second straight and fourth in six games. Sorensen had two assists to give him six points (two goals, four assists) over his last three games.

 

The 39-year-old Thornton is anchoring a third line that includes Sorensen (26) and Kevin Labanc (22).

Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist for the Predators, who dropped to 8-1-1 on the road. They lead the NHL with 27 points.

 

Craig Smith added a goal and an assist for Nashville, which scored four straight times after trailing 3-0. Rocco Grimaldi's breakaway goal at 2:43 of the third gave the Predators a 4-3 lead.

 

Pavelski tied it with his second goal, 13 seconds before Thornton put the Sharks ahead 5-4 at 13:18 of the third.

 

Nashville had a six-game point streak snapped.

Lady Sages win first basketball game 60-25

The Lady Monticello Sages had their first game putting up a defensive wall holding LeRoy to just 25 points for their first win of 60-25.

 

The Sages opener to the season did not disappoint as the Sages were able to hold the LeRoy Panthers to just under 20 in the first quarter. Coach Beery said, "he was pleased with how they play for their first game." Monticello had all players get some playing time, Lexi Fisher led the Sages in points with 17 points, Rennie Fultz followed with 13, and Cloe Clark had 12.

 

The Panthers struggled to get points until late in the first quarter thanks to a three-point shot from Charley Warlow who led the Panthers in points with 8, followed by Kiera Spratt with 6, and Layna Spratt with 4.

 

Next game for the Lady Sages is at home against the Charleston Trojans Monday, November 19. 

Mavericks past Bulls 103-98

Harrison Barnes scored a season-high 23 points and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a sluggish performance by prized rookie Luka Doncic to beat the Chicago Bulls 103-98 Monday night.

 

Doncic, the leading scorers among NBA rookies, shot 3 for 12 and finished with 11 points as Dallas won for the third time in four games after a six-game skid. J.J. Barea added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.

 

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points. Jabari Parker scored all but two of his 16 points in the second half.

 

Chicago came up just short on a night when the Mavericks threatened to break the game open several times. It was 87-84 midway through the fourth quarter when Dennis Smith Jr. hit a jumper and Barnes made two free throws to stretch the lead to seven points. Doncic hit a 3 with just over three minutes left to make it 96-88. After the Bulls cut their deficit to four points, Barnes made two free throws with 10.5 seconds left and the Mavericks hung on.

IHSA High School Football Semifinals

1A
Forreston (10-2) at Lena (L.-Winslow) (11-1), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm
Camp Point (Central) (11-1) at Argenta (A.-Oreana) (12-0), Sat., Nov. 17, 1:00 pm

 

2A
Gibson City (12-0) vs. Lanark (Eastland) (12-0) at Lanark (Eastland), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm
Maroa (M.-Forsyth) (12-0) at Decatur (St. Teresa) (12-0), Sat., Nov. 17, 1:00 pm

 

3A
Byron (12-0) at Herscher (8-4), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm
Carlinville (12-0) at Monticello (12-0), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm

 

4A
Richmond (R.-Burton) (11-1) at Elmhurst (IC Catholic) (12-0), Sat., Nov. 17, 4:00 pm
Rochester (11-1) at Kankakee (McNamara) (11-1), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm

 

5A
Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) (12-0) at Joliet (Catholic Academy) (8-4), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm
Lombard (Montini) (11-1) at Sterling (H.S.) (11-1), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm

 

6A
Cary (C.-Grove) (12-0) at Niles (Notre Dame) (10-2), Sat., Nov. 17, 3:00 pm
Oak Lawn (Richards) (12-0) at Crete (C.-Monee) (9-3), Sat., Nov. 17, 2:00 pm

 

7A
Batavia (12-0) at LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy) (11-1), Sat., Nov. 17, 1:00 pm
Chicago (Mt. Carmel) (11-1) at St. Charles (North) (9-3), Sat., Nov. 17, 1:00 pm

 

8A
Chicago (Brother Rice) (12-0) at Chicago (Marist) (11-1), Sat., Nov. 17, 1:00 pm
Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) (12-0) at Wilmette (9-3), Sat., Nov. 17, 1:00 pm

Hurricanes beat Blackhawks 3-2

Sebastian Aho scored 1:16 into overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Monday night, spoiling Cam Ward's emotional return to Raleigh.

 

Teuvo Teravainen and Micheal Ferland scored power-play goals 66 seconds apart late in the second period for Carolina, which has earned points in three straight and beat Chicago for the second time in four nights.

 

Ward stopped 37 shots in his return to PNC Arena, Jonathan Toews scored a deflected goal and Alex DeBrincat added a goal, but the Blackhawks lost their eighth straight.

 

Carolina's Scott Darling made 33 saves against his former team, in regulation coming up with a slick glove save to stop Patrick Kane on a 2-on-1 and making a left pad save to stop Nick Schmaltz on a breakaway.

 

Aho's winner came after he took a pass at the blue line, then skated in before drifting across the net and beating Ward with a wrist shot.

 

For Ward, it was a tough end to his first game as a visitor in the arena where he won the 2006 Conn Smythe Trophy and hoisted the Stanley Cup.

 

He set franchise records with 318 victories, 568 starts and 27 shutouts during 13 seasons with the Hurricanes before he was allowed to leave as a free agent and signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Blackhawks in July while Carolina opted to give Petr Mrazek a one-year, $1.5 million contract.

 

Toews scored the game's first goal with 10:53 left in the first. Parked in front of Darling, he redirected Henri Jokiharju's one-time blast from the point for his third goal in six games. DeBrincat made it a 2-0 game with 9:11 left in the second with a blast from between the circles.

 

Carolina tied it with two rapid-fire power-play goals. Teravainen made it 2-1 three seconds into a delay of game minor on Brent Seabrook, and Ferland followed with his goal 26 seconds into Jokiharju's slashing penalty.

Monday Night Football Giants past 49ers 27-23

Eli Manning threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with 53 seconds left and the New York Giants snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the San Francisco 49ers 27-23 on Monday night.

 

Manning threw two TD passes to Odell Beckham Jr. and then engineered the late game-winning drive with help from a pair of third-down penalties against Malcolm Smith and Ahkello Witherspoon.

Saquon Barkley then had a 23-yard catch to get the ball into the red zone and Manning connected with Shepard on third down to give the Giants (2-7) the win.

 

Matt Breida ran for 101 yards and scored two touchdowns for the 49ers (2-8), who were unable to win consecutive games under third-string quarterback Nick Mullens. Breida's 23-yard run helped set up a 30-yard field goal by Robbie Gould that gave the Niners a 23-20 lead with 2:46 to play.

 

But the 49ers allowed the go-ahead score and couldn't pull it out at the end as Mullens' pass from the Giants 20 sailed out of the end zone on the final play.

 

Mullens wasn't nearly as sharp as he was in his NFL debut against the Raiders on Nov. 1 when he joined Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Fran Tarkenton as the only players with at least 250 yards passing, three touchdown passes and no interceptions in the first career game.

 

Mullens threw for 250 yards and had an 11-yard TD pass to Breida that made it 20-10 early in the third quarter. But Mullens also threw two interceptions with the first setting up a 10-yard TD pass from Manning to Beckham .

 

Those two connected again on a 20-yard score in the third quarter as New York rallied from 10 points down to tie the game in the second half.

Lady Maroons Win First Game of Season

In a game heard on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons defeated the Deer Creek-Mackinaw Lady Chiefs on Monday night. The Lady Maroons' leading scorer was Maddie Stevens with 21 points. Mallory Cyrulik also chipped in with 12 points. 

 

The Lady Chiefs were led by Hope McGinnis and Jess Carithers with 6 points each. 

 

With the win, the Lady Maroons improve to 1-0 on the season.

 

Tune in Tuesday, November 20, as the Maroons take on Heyworth. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

IHSA Football Quarterfinals Scores

1A
Argenta (A.-Oreana) 56, Moweaqua (Central A & M) 21
Camp Point (Central) 38, Concord (Triopia) [Coop] 14

 

2A
Decatur (St. Teresa) 27, Downs (Tri-Valley) 14
Maroa (M.-Forsyth) 63, Tuscola 28

 

3A
Monticello 63, Greenville 21
Carlinville 35, Williamsville 21

 

4A
Rochester 64, Taylorville 26
Kankakee (McNamara) 42, Effingham (H.S.) 35

 

5A
Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) 27, Cahokia (H.S.) 0
Sterling (H.S.) 10, Rockford (Boylan Catholic) 7

 

6A
Oak Lawn (Richards) 22, Normal (Community West) 17
Crete (C.-Monee) 35, Washington 28

 

7A
St. Charles (North) 21, Wheaton (W. Warrenville South) 10

Bears beat Lions 34-22

Mitchell Trubisky threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns, and the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 34-22 to snap a 10-game losing streak against division opponents on Sunday.

 

The Bears (6-3) had dropped nine of 10 against Detroit (3-6) and were seeking their first victory over a division opponent since Oct. 31, 2016, against Minnesota.

 

Chicago jumped out to a 26-7 halftime lead with Trubisky and Allen Robinson leading the way. And the Bears surpassed their win total from last year with their third straight victory.

 

Trubisky completed 23 of 30 passes against a short-handed secondary, with standout cornerback Darius Slay sidelined by a knee injury.

 

Allen Robinson caught six passes for 133 yards and two TDs after missing two games with a groin injury.

 

Rookie Anthony Miller added a career high 122 yards on five receptions, including a 45-yard TD and a 55-yard catch.

 

Khalil Mack had two of Chicago's six sacks against Matthew Stafford - both in the second half after missing back-to-back games with an injured right ankle.

 

Bryce Callahan had a sack and an interception.

 

About the only downer for the Bears was Cody Parkey missing two extra points and two field goals. Things were so bad for him that fans cheered sarcastically when he made an extra point late in the first half and let out a loud roar when the Bears went for a 2-point conversion after a touchdown by Robinson in the third.

 

But Parkey's misses didn't stop the Bears from opening a three-game stretch against division opponents on a winning note.

 

Detroit dropped its third in a row after back-to-back victories.

 

Stafford was consistently under pressure again after getting sacked 10 times against Minnesota the previous week. He was 25 of 42 for 274 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

Coming off a 41-9 romp at Buffalo, Chicago immediately took control by scoring on its first four possessions.

 

The Bears went 75 yards on the game's opening drive, with Tarik Cohen running it in from the 3 after Robinson broke a tackle by DeShawn Shead on a 35-yard slant. Parkey hit the right upright on the extra-point attempt.

 

Robinson also had Shead on him when he hauled in a 36-yard pass in the end zone on third-and-15 in the closing minute of the first quarter.

 

Chicago added to its lead early in the second quarter on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Miller, who wriggled free when Glover Quin tried to tackle him at about the 20. Parkey missed another extra point, this time off the left upright.

 

Callahan then intercepted Stafford at the Detroit 30 and got pushed out at the 18. That led to a 4-yard touchdown by Trubisky on a draw, making it 26-0.

 

Detroit scored with just over a minute left in the half when Kerryon Johnson went over the top for a touchdown.

Bulls edge Cavs 99-98

Zach LaVine scored 24 points, rookie Ryan Arcidiacono added 15 and the Chicago Bulls rebounded after blowing an early 16-point lead to edge the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-98 on Saturday night.

Wendell Carter Jr. also had 15 points as Chicago won for the second time in six games.

 

LaVine has scored 20 more points in each of Chicago's 13 games this season and in a career-high 14 straight overall, dating to his final game of 2017-18. The last Bulls player to score 20-plus points in 14 consecutive games was Jimmy Butler, who did it 15 straight times in 2016.

 

Tristan Thompson had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the league-worst Cavs. Rookie guard Collin Sexton scored a season-high 20 points in his second straight start and second of his career.

Rodney Hood also had 20 points and Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score 15, but the Cavaliers lost their fifth straight.

 

Cleveland nearly pulled this one out.

 

With 13 seconds left, Carter couldn't handle LaVine's pass and Cleveland recovered. Coach Larry Drew called a timeout to set up a final play, but Sexton's shot was blocked by Jabari Parker as he drove to the basket at the buzzer.

 

The 23-year-old LaVine was flashy at times, scoring on several highlight-reel dunks. Arcidiacono, making his first career start, scored 10 of his points in the first half.

 

The Cavaliers' only win this season was on Oct. 30 over Atlanta.

 

Cleveland forward Cedi Osman sat out the game with back spasms. He was forced to leave Wednesday's loss to Oklahoma City in the first quarter, becoming the latest Cavs player to join an injury list that includes All-Star forward Kevin Love, point guard George Hill and forward Sam Dekker.

 

The Bulls came out firing, shooting 64 percent from the floor through the first quarter and taking a 37-23 lead as LaVine scored 11 points and Arcidiacono had 10.

 

Then Chicago opened its biggest lead, at 16 points, when Antonio Blakeney hit a running jumper 42 seconds into the second quarter.

 

But Cleveland roared back to tie it 53-all at halftime as it outscored Chicago 30-16 in the second quarter, including a 9-0 run. The Cavs' bench, led by Clarkson with 10 points and Kyle Corver with eight in the quarter, led the comeback.

 

Chicago led 79-77 after three quarters.

Northwestern beats Iowa 14-10

Isaiah Bowser ran for 165 yards and a touchdown and Northwestern upset Iowa 14-10 on Saturday to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship.

 

The Wildcats (6-4, 6-1) will now await their opponent for the league title game in Indianapolis next month.

 

Bennett Skowronek's 32-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter gave the Wildcats a 14-10 lead.

After a first half that yielded just three total points on a field goal from Iowa kicker Miguel Recinos, the scoring ramped up in the second.

 

Bowser hit a hole for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game.

After Recinos missed a field goal to respond, Iowa safety Jake Gervase intercepted Clayton Thorson's pass off a tip.

 

Iowa cashed in just two plays later with Nate Stanley's 28-yard touchdown pass to Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

 

The Hawkeyes had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth, but Northwestern's Cameron Ruiz forced Mekhi Sargent to fumble, and the Wildcats jumped on it.

 

Iowa had one final chance with under two minutes to go, but another fumble by Ivory Kelly-Martin ended the Hawkeyes' chances.

 

Stanley threw for 269 yards and a touchdown for Iowa (6-4, 3-4), losers of three straight.

Monticello flies high in the 2nd half, beating Greenville 63-21

The Monticello Sages traveled south for their away quarterfinals football playoff game, scoring nine touchdowns total in their win over the Greenville Comets 63-21.

 

The first quarter started with Monticello Sage's offense driving down the field, and Braden Snyder walks in for the first score of the game on a 3-yard quarterback keeper touchdown. Then Monticello found themselves in a bit of a slump. On the Sages second drive, Sages Snyder tried pitching to running back Alek Bundy on a read-option and losing the ball where Comets Brian Prater picked up the fumble returning the football for a 76-yard touchdown tying the game 7-7. 

 

Monticello continued to fire away downfield passing the ball more than 15 times. Snyder threw for 15 of 17 for more than 330 yards and rushing for 27 yards. Snyder's first passing touchdown went to Devin Graham on a streak route for a 51-yard touchdown putting Monticello up 14-7 early in the second. Snyder continued to throw on point hitting Graham again on a post route for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Graham would catch 3 for 68 yards total receiving yards. 

 

Comets Will Harnetiaux threw 14-19 for 144 yards. Harnetiaux and Isacc Green connected on multiple passes; Green 3 catches for 102 yards two catches both resulting in touchdowns. One touchdown Green was in triple coverage by Monticello's Graham, Asher Bradd, and Luke Stringer. The ball tipped by Bradd and Graham falling over each other and Green with focus snagged the ball continue to run into the end zone making the first half score 21-13.

 

The second half though would get turned into a one-sided affair. Monticello came out firing away putting five touchdowns in the third quarter. Greenville was able to get one but wasn't enough to stop the running clock from happening later in the fourth quarter. Asher Bradd, who had six catches for 122 yards and one touchdown, put the game away early in the fourth quarter with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Snyder making the final score of the game 63-21 in favor of the Sages.

 

Sages move onto the semifinals to play Carlinville next Saturday at Monticello. Carlinville beat Williamsville in their quarterfinals playoff game 35-21.

 

You can catch the semifinal on Saturday, November 17 on 95.9 FM WEZC and streamed at dewittdailynews.com.

#1Monticello vs. #13Greenville

Monticello continues its journey in the IHSA 3A football playoffs as they will head south to take on Greenville.

 

The Sages will face the unfamiliar foe and away which hasn't affected the Sages this season. Monticello won all four of their away games one of those being against one of their tougher conference rivals Pontiac who went 7-1 of the regular season. Monticello went on to put up a whopping 42 points against Pontiac. 

 

The Comets who are playing well at the right time made upsetting winning games against Farmington 28-14 on the road in the first round of playoffs and then last Saturday 26-14 win over Pleasant Plains. The Comets have kept their dreams alive making it to the quarterfinals, but the difference in scoring is almost 175 points. Overall games Comets have scored 353 points allowing 248 compared to the Sages  525 points scored, allowing just 83 points.

 

The Sages powering defense will be without linebacker Cole Reedy due to a torn ACL but Nic Tackles who filled in recorded 18 tackles against Anna-Jonesboro. The Sages effective defense will look to hold the Comets under in their matchup Saturday, November 10 at 2 pm.

 

You can catch the game on 95.9 FM WEZC and streamed at dewittdailynews.com.
 

Canes hold on to beat Blackhawks 4-3

Goals by Andrei Svechnikov, Jaccob Slavin, Phillip Di Giuseppe and Calvin de Haan gave Carolina a four-goal lead early in the second period and the Hurricanes held on for a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night that spoiled the NHL coaching debut of Jeremy Colliton.

 

Colliton became the 38th coach of the Blackhawks on Tuesday after Joel Quenneville was fired after 10 seasons with Chicago. Quenneville ranked second in NHL history with 890 regular-season victories.

 

Despite the coaching switch, Chicago got off to a sluggish, mistake-filled start and saw its winless streak reach six straight (0-5-1.)

 

Patrick Kane, David Kampf and Nick Schmaltz scored for the Blackhawks after they fell behind 4-0 in a quiet United Center, but the team's comeback came up just short.

 

Colliton, who was promoted from Chicago's American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Illinois, is the NHL's youngest head coach at 33.

 

Lucas Wallmark had two assists for the Hurricanes, who snapped a five-game slide in the finale of a four-game road trip.

 

Scott Darling, traded to Carolina by the Blackhawks in April 2017, made 35 saves in his third start this season.

 

Chicago's Corey Crawford blocked 30 shots as he faced ample tough chances set up by breakdowns in front of him.

 

Carolina led 3-0 after the first period.

 

Svechnikov opened the scoring 4:46 in, cutting across the crease and using a long reach to tuck in rebound of Jordan Martinook's shot from the left circle.

 

Slavin scored his second goal in two games to make it 2-0 during a power play at 9:09. He poked in a loose puck from the crease after Crawford stopped two point-blank stuff-in attempts by Justin Williams.

 

Di Giuseppe increased it to 3-0 with 4:07 left in the first on a shot from the left circle after the Blackhawks failed clear their zone.

 

Crawford chopped his stick on the crossbar and broke it after de Haan scored from just outside the crease 1:20 into the second to extend Carolina's lead to 4-0. DeHaan, a defenseman, was left open after he pinched in and took a nifty feed from Sebastian Aho from behind the net.

 

Kane cut it to 4-1 just over three minutes later, slapping in a puck that had been fired by Artem Anisimov from the slot and was trickling toward the goal line.

 

Kampf was credited with a deflection at 10:53 of the period that cut it to 4-2. Brandon Saad powered from behind the net to high in the slot, then turned and fired on net to create the chance.

 

Schmaltz narrowed it to 4-3 at 3:33 of the third when he carried the puck into the Carolina zone and beat Darling from the left circle.

Thursday Night Football Steelers rip Panthers 52-21

Ben Roethlisberger's first pass went for a touchdown. His last did the same. And in between the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and his red-hot team put together systematic 52-21 dismantling of Carolina on Thursday night that left little doubt about their depth and their talent regardless of whether Le'Veon Bell ever shows up for work or not.

 

Ten different Steelers touched the ball on offense. Six of them scored. None of them were named Bell. While the three-time Pro Bowl running back tweeted his thoughts from home while waiting - and waiting - to sign his one-year franchise tender, Pittsburgh ripped off its fifth straight victory with stunning ease.

 

Maybe not, but Pittsburgh (6-2-1) looked every bit the part of legitimate contender in the AFC, perhaps for the first time this season.

 

Roethlisberger completed 22 of 25 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns while posting a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. James Conner, who has filled in capably during Bell's self-imposed sabbatical, ran for 65 yards and a score before being evaluated for a concussion late.

 

Antonio Brown added eight receptions for 96 yards - including a 53-yard touchdown in the second quarter - to cap an eventful day that began with the star wide receiver being cited for reckless driving after police clocked Brown's Porsche driving over 100 mph down a busy highway in the northern city suburbs.

 

Bell has until next Tuesday to sign a contract if he wants to play this season. His teammates have long since tired of talking about Bell's status and at this point.

 

And why bother? For three hours on Thursday night Pittsburgh looked every bit as potent without Bell as it did with him. If he returns, they insist they'll welcome him with open arms. If he doesn't, they are intent on keeping the train rolling.

 

The Panthers (6-3) saw their three-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt in a city where they've never won. Carolina fell to 0-4 all-time in Pittsburgh and was never really in it after the Steelers scored 21 points in the game's first 11 minutes.

 

Cam Newton completed 23 of 29 for 193 yards and a pair of flips to Christian McCaffrey that the second-year running back turned into scores, but Newton's showdown with Roethlisberger never materialized. The Steelers sacked Newton five times and rarely let him get comfortable. McCaffrey finished with 138 yards total offense (77 yards rushing, 61 yards receiving) and accounted for all three Panther touchdowns but it wasn't nearly enough.

 

Newton didn't help matters when he threw off his back foot out of the Carolina end zone while trying to avoid getting sacked in the first quarter. Pittsburgh linebacker Vince Williams raced under the floater and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 14-7 lead they never came close to relinquishing.

 

Roethlisberger's rainbow to Brown put Pittsburgh up 31-14 at the half and when Roethlisberger found Vance McDonald in the back on the end zone on the Steelers' first drive of the second half, the competitive portion of the evening was over. Pittsburgh's 52 points matched the most ever surrendered by the Panthers in franchise history. Carolina allowed the same total in a 52-9 loss to Oakland on Dec. 24, 2000.

Jordan scores 19 as Illinois rolls over Evansville 99-60

Aaron Jordan scored 19 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 18 and Illinois beat Evansville 99-60 in the season opener for both teams Thursday night.

 

The Illini played an up-tempo game, utilizing nearly every player on the bench. The Aces turned the ball over 25 times, leading to 32 Illinois.

 

Andres Feliz and Kipper Nichols added 16 and 13 points respectively for the Illini. Freshman center Giorgi Bezhanishvili grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

 

K. J. Riley led the Aces with 14 points, Marty Hill added 13 and Shea Feehan 12 for Evansville.

 

Illinois was in charge from the opening tip, going on runs of 8-0, 16-1 and 18-3 to lead 53-22 at the break. The Aces turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, leading to 18 Illini points.

 

Illinois scored 22 of its 53 first-half points in the paint, including a spectacular cross-court pass from Nichols to Bezhanishvili for a rim-rattling dunk with 30 seconds left in the half that brought the crowd to its feet.

 

Illinois is 34-2 when starting the season at State Farm Center, including an active streak of 22 straight wins.

Mack, Allen Robinson just about ready to return to Bears

Two-time All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack and top receiver Allen Robinson look as if they're just about ready to return after missing the Chicago Bears' past two games because of injuries.

 

Both players practiced without limitations Thursday for the second consecutive day.

 

The NFC North-leading Bears hope to have them back in the lineup against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday.

 

Robinson says he's "100 percent" after missing victories over the struggling New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.

 

Mack, who suffered an ankle injury at Miami Oct. 14 and played the following week against New England, did not make himself available to reporters.

Bar with 19 leads Bradley past Wisconsin-Parkside 74-58

Koch Bar scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Bradley beat Division II University of Wisconsin-Parkside 74-58 on Wednesday night.

 

Elijah Childs added 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals, Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye had 12 points, eight rebounds and four steals and Darrell Brown chipped in 10 points with four rebounds.

 

Bradley outrebounded Wisconsin Parkside 43-25 and had 13 team steals.

 

Bradley jumped to a 12-0 lead early in the first half and led all the way. Wisconsin-Parkside closed to 28-26 on a Cameron Myre 3-pointer with 5:40 left in the half but did not get closer and the Braves stretched it to a 40-28 advantage at the break.

 

Brown sank three consecutive jumpers to open the second half, extending the Braves lead to 46-28 then hit two more back-to-back to make it 52-34 with 14:08 to go.

 

Chavares Flanigan led the Rangers with 11 points.

Pelicans end 6-game skid, beat Bulls

Anthony Davis made a 3-pointer, pulled up to hit a 10-foot jumper and threw down a two-handed reverse alley-oop jam in the span of about two minutes late in the first quarter.

 

That pivotal stretch seemed to mark the end of Davis' recent shooting slump and the end of losing basketball for the New Orleans Pelicans.

 

Davis had 32 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in his best game since spraining his right elbow nearly two weeks ago, and New Orleans ended a six-game skid with a 107-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

 

After missing four of his first five shots, Davis hit his next eight on his way to his first 30-plus point game since New Orleans beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 23.

 

Holiday had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while being guarded primarily by brother Justin. Julius Randle and Wesley Johnson each scored 12 points for New Orleans.

 

Zach LaVine scored 22 and Jabari Parker had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which has dropped five of six games. Justin Holiday and Wendell Carter Jr. each scored 17 points, and Carter also grabbed 11 rebounds.

 

Davis' strong second quarter helped the Pelicans take 58-50 lead into halftime and New Orleans never trailed again, going up by as many as 18 late in the third quarter before Chicago rallied back to within single digits.

 

LaVine's 30-foot 3 cut New Orleans' lead to 94-88 with less than six minutes to go. But the Bulls never got closer.

 

Holiday blocked a shot, hit a turnaround fade and added two free throws to help put the Pelicans up by nine with 1:30 left.

DePaul slams door on Bethune-Cookman with late run, 80-58

Max Struss and Paul Reed threw down back-to-back dunks late in the second half as DePaul emphatically slammed the door shut in a 80-58 win over Bethune-Cookman in a season opener Wednesday night.

 

Struss finished with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, and Reed scored 11 with eight rebounds for the Blue Demons, who shot 44 percent from the floor (25-57) and converted 22 of 30 at the foul line.

 

Struss swooped in from the wing and leaped for a pretty alley-oop pass from Eli Cain for a two-handed dunk with 7:57 remaining, and Cain flicked a pass to Reed on the baseline for a reverse one-handed dunk a minute later, the pair of exclamation points sparking an 11-2 run over the next 3:18.

 

Cain had eight assists to go with eight points.

 

Isaiah Bailey led Bethune-Cookman with 12 points while Malik Maitland and Cletrell Pope added 11 each.

White Sox extend manager Rick Renteria's contract past 2019

The rebuilding Chicago White Sox have extended manager Rick Renteria's contract.

 

General manager Rick Hahn declined to give specifics Wednesday other than the extension goes past 2019, when Renteria's original three-year deal was set to end.

 

Renteria is 129-195 in two seasons with the White Sox, including 62-100 this year. Prior to being hired, he managed the Chicago Cubs to a 73-89 record in 2014.

 

The White Sox haven't had a winning season since 2012. They last made the playoffs in 2008, losing to Tampa Bay in the AL Division Series.

O'Reilly's hat trick leads St. Louis over Carolina 4-1

Ryan O'Reilly saw all the hats flying on the ice and had to think for a moment about what to do.

O'Reilly notched his first NHL hat trick and Robby Fabbri added his first goal in almost two years, lifting the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

 

O'Reilly came to St. Louis as part of a four-player, two-pick July 1 trade with Buffalo. The Blues sent Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, Tage Thompson, a 2019 first-round pick and 2021 second-round pick to the Sabres.

 

O'Reilly has five goals in the last four games. He extended his scoring streak to eight games with seven goals and eight assists.

 

St. Louis goalie Chad Johnson, starting his second game of the season, recorded 38 saves. It was his first victory as a member of the Blues and his first since March 31, 2018, when he was playing for Buffalo.

 

The win was the fourth in the last five games for the Blues, now 5-5-3 on the season.

Carolina goalie Curtis McElhinney fell to 1-6-1 against the Blues in his career. He had 15 saves on 18 shots.

 

The Hurricanes outshot the Blues 39-19. St. Louis had just seven shots after the first period.

The Blues scored three goals in the first period for a 3-1 lead. O'Reilly scored twice and Vladimir Tarasenko recorded two assists.

 

O'Reilly gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 11:57 of the first. From the right side of the crease, Tarasenko passed the puck cross ice to O'Reilly, who one-timed it past McElhinney.

 

Fabbri scored at 16:01 to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. David Perron fed Fabbri, who deked McElhinney and lifted the puck over the prone goalie. It was Fabbri's first goal since Dec. 28, 2016, when he had a hat trick against Philadelphia.

 

Fabbri sustained a torn ACL on his left knee in a Feb. 4, 2017 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and missed the remainder of the 2016-17 regular season and playoffs. During training camp leading up to the 2017-18 season, Fabbri re-injured his left knee, subsequently missing the entire season.

After a conditioning assignment in San Antonio, Fabbri was playing in his third game.

 

Carolina's Jaccob Slavin scored his first goal of the season on a power play at 19:34. Slavin's slap shot from just inside the blue line zoomed past a screened Johnson, who never saw the puck.

St. Louis came right back with a power-play goal with 4.7 seconds left in the period. O'Reilly scored his second of the game on a slap shot from the left circle off a feed from Tyler Bozak from behind the net.

 

O'Reilly got the hat trick with an empty-netter at 16:50 of the third period.

 

The Blues have scored a power-play goal in six consecutive games and have had at least one in 11 of their 13 games this season. St. Louis leads the NHL with 16 power-play goals. The team's longest streak for power-play goals is eight, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 15, 2013.

 

Carolina had five power-play opportunities, scoring on just one.

 

St. Louis improved to 7-2-0 in its last nine games against Carolina, which has lost five straight after starting the season 4-0-1.

Fayne double-double sparks Illinois State past FGCU 74-66

Phil Fayne threw down a key dunk late in the game and he, Milik Yarbrough and Josh Jefferson scored 17 points apiece as Illinois State overcame an early deficit to defeat Florida Gulf Coast 74-66 in a season opener Tuesday night.

 

FGCU fought back to within three points, 60-57, with 5:29 left to play, but a dunk by Fayne sparked a 6-0 run that rebuilt the lead. FGCU came within 70-66 with 95 seconds remaining on Schadrac Casimir's 3-pointer, but four straight free throws by Yarbrough and Keyshawn Evans closed out the game. Fayne also corralled a game-high 11 rebounds.

 

Casimir scored 18 points - all 3-pointers - to lead the Eagles. Dinero Mercurius and Haanif Cheatham scored 11 and 10, respectively.

 

FGCU led 6-0 in the early going, but a tip-in by Fayne off an Evans miss put Illinois State in the lead for good, 20-18.

Freshman Kaifes hits 5 3s, scores 19 as Loyola

Freshman Cooper Kaifes hit five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points to help Loyola Chicago beat UMKC 76-45 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.

 

Marques Townes had 13 points and Cameron Krutwig scored 10 on 5-of-5 shooting for Loyola.

 

Kaifes hit a 3-pointer and, after a dunk by Christian Negron, made another 3 to cap a 12-0 run that gave the Ramblers a 15-point lead with 7:43 left in the first half. Kaifes made a layup and then two free throws before back-to-back dunks by Krutwig and Negron pushed the lead to 40-18 going into the break. UMKC trailed by at least 20 throughout the second half.

 

Brandon McKissic hit three 3s and led the Kangaroos with 15 points. Rob Whitfield scored 11.

Prior to tipoff, the Ramblers had a banner-raising ceremony to honor their run to last season's Final Four.

Blackhawks fire 3-time Stanley Cup winning coach Quenneville

The Blackhawks have fired three-time Stanley Cup winning coach Joel Quenneville.

 

General manager Stan Bowman announced the startling dismissal of Quenneville and assistants Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson on Tuesday and appointed Jeremy Colliton the new coach. Chicago was off to a 6-6-3 start and missed the playoffs last season.

 

Quenneville took over as Blackhawks coach early in the 2008-09 season and led them to Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He went 452-249-96 during the regular season, and Chicago made the playoffs in nine of 10 full seasons with Quenneville behind the bench.

 

Quenneville is the second NHL coach to be fired over the past three days. The Los Angeles Kings fired John Stevens on Sunday.

 

Colliton had been coach of the Blackhawks' American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Illinois. Barry Smith was named an assistant on Colliton's staff.

IHSA Football Playoff Quarterfinals

1A
#1 Argenta (A.-Oreana) (11-0) at #13 Moweaqua (Central A & M) (8-3), Sat., Nov. 10, 1:30 pm
#3 Concord (Triopia) [Coop] (10-1) at #2 Camp Point (Central) (10-1), Sat., Nov. 10, 1:00 pm

 

2A
#12 Downs (Tri-Valley) (7-4) at #1 Decatur (St. Teresa) (11-0), Sat., Nov. 10, 2:30 pm
#3 Tuscola (10-1) at #2 Maroa (M.-Forsyth) (11-0), Sat., Nov. 10, 1:00 pm

 

3A
#1 Monticello (11-0) at #13 Greenville (8-3), Sat., Nov. 10, 2:00 pm
#6 Williamsville (10-1) at #2 Carlinville (11-0), Sat., Nov. 10, 2:00 pm

 

4A
#4 Rochester (10-1) at #1 Taylorville (11-0), Sat., Nov. 10, 6:00 pm
#3 Kankakee (McNamara) (10-1) at #10 Effingham (H.S.) (9-2), Sat., Nov. 10, 2:00 pm

 

5A
#3 Rockford (Boylan Catholic) (10-1) at #2 Sterling (H.S.) (10-1), Sat., Nov. 10, 1:00 pm

 

6A
#4 Normal (Community West) (10-1) at #1 Oak Lawn (Richards) (11-0), Sat., Nov. 10, 6:00 pm
#2 Washington (11-0) at #11 Crete (C.-Monee) (8-3), Sat., Nov. 10, 2:00 pm

NFL flexes Vikings-Bears to prime time on Nov. 18

The NFL has moved the Vikings game at Chicago from Sunday afternoon to prime time on NBC on Nov. 18.

 

That bumps Steelers at Jaguars to 1 p.m. EST on CBS. Also moving that days is the matchup between the Eagles and Saints in New Orleans, now a 4:25 p.m. game on Fox rather than at 1 p.m.

 

Chicago currently leads the NFC North at 5-3, a half-game in front of Minnesota, which has a bye this week. The Bears will play the early game at Detroit on Thanksgiving less than four days after the night game with the Vikings.

 

It's the second time this season the league flexed a Sunday game to prime time. Previously it did so to Cincinnati at Kansas City on Oct. 21.

LaVine scores career-high 41 points in double OT win

Zach LaVine scored a career-high 41 points, including the game-winning free throw with 0.2 seconds left, as the Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks 116-115 in double overtime on Monday night.

 

Antonio Blakeney scored 17 points, Jabari Parker had 15 and Wendell Carter Jr. added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls.

 

Enes Kanter led the Knicks with 23 points and 24 rebounds while Allonzo Trier scored 21.

Emmanuel Mudiay's coast-to-coast layup had tied the score with 2.7 seconds left.

 

Lavine, who scored all eight of Chicago's points in the second OT, was then fouled by Mudiay. The Bulls star made the first free throw to give the Bulls the win.

 

He also scored the final points of the first overtime with his fadeaway jumper with 1:13 remaining.

Chicago had taken its biggest lead of the game, 59-49, on his free throw with 7:28 remaining in the third quarter. The Knicks cut the deficit to two, 72-70, on Kanter's short turnaround with 1:47 left in the third but still trailed 78-72 after three.

 

The Knicks scored the first five points of the final quarter to pull within one and finally got even at 93-93 on Trey Burke's jumper with 4:14 remaining.

 

LaVine then hit three consecutive 3-pointers for the Bulls, but Trier hit a pair of free throws and then a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to tie the game 102-102.

 

LaVine missed a pair of shots on Chicago's next possession. Trier couldn't connect on a jumper with three seconds left and Mario Hezonja's offensive rebound and follow-up didn't fall as the game went to overtime.

 

Mudiay gave the Knicks their first lead since the second quarter, 104-102, when he hit a jumper with 4:12 left in the first overtime.

 

Damyean Dotson scored 18 points, Mudiay finished with 16 and Hezonja added 15 for the Knicks.
 

Ohtani, 2 Yankees finalists for AL Rookie of the Year

Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award along with two New York Yankees infielders.

 

The Baseball Writers' Association of America revealed the finalists for its major awards Monday night. The winners will be announced next week.

 

Ohtani figures to be in a tight race with Yankees infielders Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres after a historic first season with the Los Angeles Angels. The two-way Japanese sensation is the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and strike out 50 batters in a season, and he joined Babe Ruth as the only players ever to hit 15 homers and pitch 50 innings.

 

The World Series champion Boston Red Sox might be in line for more hardware. Mookie Betts is a finalist for AL MVP, and Alex Cora is in the final three for AL Manager of the Year in his first season. Los Angeles' Mike Trout and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez are also finalists for AL MVP.

 

Milwaukee's Christian Yelich is the favorite for NL MVP, and Colorado's Nolan Arenado and Chicago's Javier Baez were also revealed as top vote-getters.
 

Steinbrenner, Piniella, Johnson on Hall ballot next month

Late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, former managers Lou Piniella, Davey Johnson and Charlie Manuel, and six players headed by Lee Smith are on the 10-man ballot for the baseball Hall of Fame's Today's Game Era committee to consider next month.

 

Harold Baines, Albert Belle, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser and Joe Carter also are on the ballot for the 16-man committee, which meets Dec. 9 at the winter meetings in Las Vegas. The committee considers candidates from 1998 to the present, and a candidate needs at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected.

 

Any candidate picked will be inducted July 21 along with any players elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in a vote announced Jan. 22. Mariano Rivera and the late Roy Halladay join a ballot with top returnees Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina.

 

The Hall has four committees. Modern Baseball (1970-87) meets in December 2019 and Golden Days (1950-69) and Early Baseball (before 1950) in December 2020.

Flames beat Blackhawks 5-3

Sean Monahan, Michael Frolik and Mikael Backlund scored in the third period, and the Calgary Flames again rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

 

Monahan finished with two goals and Matthew Tkachuk also scored as Calgary got its fifth win this season when trailing after two periods. Anaheim (two) is the only other NHL team with more than one win when behind after 40 minutes.

 

David Rittich had 12 saves to help the Flames win their fourth straight.

 

Jonathan Toews got his 300th career goal, and Jan Rutta and Brandon Saad also scored for the Blackhawks, who went 0-3-0 on a three-game trip to Western Canada. Corey Crawford stopped 36 shots, including 18 of the 20 he faced in the third period.

 

With Calgary trailing 3-1, Tkachuk started the comeback with 1:34 left in the second.

 

After pressing all period, Monahan finally tied it with 6:01 left in the third, when he neatly converted a cross-ice pass off the rush from Johnny Gaudreau. Monahan extended his point streak to six games (four goals, six assists).

 

Frolik put Calgary ahead for good with 4:55 left as his centering pass from below the goal line deflected off a player and got past Crawford. It was the seventh goal for Frolik, who scored only 10 times last year.

 

Backlund capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 59 seconds left.

 

Calgary opened the scoring 4:46 in when a quick passing sequence was finished off by Monahan in the slot on the power play.

 

Chicago tied it with 6:03 remaining in the period after Travis Hamonic's holding penalty put the Blackhawks on a two-man power play fpr 1:10 and they took advantage on Toews' eighth goal.

 

The Blackhawks took their first lead with 27 seconds left in the first as Rutta faked a slap shot to elude the sliding Garnet Hathaway, then put a wrist shot through a crowd and past Rittich high on his blocker side.

 

Saad split the Flames' defense while being harassed from behind by Mark Giordano and sent a shot that squeaked through Rittich's pads to make it 3-1 with 6:19 left in the second.

 

Calgary took over after that.

Chicago Bears beat Buffalo Bills 41-9

Jordan Howard scored two touchdowns and the Chicago Bears' defense had two others in a 41-9 win over the Bills in what proved to be another comedy of errors for Buffalo and its anemic offense Sunday.

 

Eddie Jackson scored on a 65-yard fumble return and Leonard Floyd returned a tipped pass 19 yards for another score some 3 1/2 minutes apart in the second quarter. Howard, set up by Tarik Cohen's 38-yard punt return , then scored on an 18-yard scamper to cap a run in which the Bears scored four touchdowns over a span of 12 minutes, 20 seconds in the second quarter.

 

The Bears won their second in a row and improved to 5-3 to match their best start to a season through eight games since 2013. Chicago also matched its win total from last year.

 

Chicago's defense forced four takeaways, and limited the Bills to 264 yards offense despite missing star linebacker Khalil Mack, who missed his second straight game with an injury to his right ankle.

The Bills continued their bumbling ways in dropping to 2-7. It's Buffalo's worst start since winning one of its first nine games in 2010.

 

Buffalo continued its season-long trend of coughing up the ball on offense and having difficulty finding the end zone.

 

Buffalo turned the ball over four times, including Nathan Peterman throwing three interceptions in his first start since a 47-3 season-opening loss at Baltimore. The Bills had no choice but to return to Peterman with rookie Josh Allen missing his third game with a sprained throwing elbow and Derek Anderson sidelined by a concussion.

 

The second-year quarterback continued playing down to his turnover-prone reputation, though two of the interceptions weren't entirely his fault.

 

Newly signed receiver Terrelle Pryor caught Peterman's pass and lost control as he turned up field, with the ball landing in defensive back Adrian Amos' hands.

 

Three snaps into Buffalo's next possession, Peterman's hard pass over the middle struck receiver Zay Jones in the hand and bounced directly to Floyd, who returned it for a touchdown.

Scoring has also been an issue for Buffalo.

 

Peterman's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:41 remaining ended Buffalo's touchdown drought at 187 minutes and 19 seconds. The string dated to Peterman's 16-yard touchdown pass to Zay Jones with 13 minutes left in a 20-13 loss at Houston on Oct. 14.

 

The Bills have been outscored 103-20 since, and 157-46 in their past six, during which Buffalo has scored just three touchdowns.

 

Peterman finished 31 of 49 for 187 yards and the second-year player has now thrown 13 interceptions on 133 career attempts, including playoffs.

 

Howard opened the scoring on a 1-yard run 1:56 into the second quarter, and the route began some six minutes later on Jackson's fumble return. Bills tight end Jason Croom bobbled a pass before securing it along the right sideline. He was initially struck by linebacker Roquan Smith. Jackson then pried the ball loose, picked it and returned it for a score.

 

Chicago's Mitchell Trubisky finished 12 for 20 for 135 yards with a 2-yard touchdown to tight end Trey Burton and an interception.

Vikings: Pro Bowl fullback Bill 'Boom Boom' Brown dies at 80

Bill Brown, the Minnesota Vikings fullback who was a four-time Pro Bowl pick in 14 seasons in the NFL, has died. He was 80.

 

The Vikings announced the death Sunday, before a moment of silence for Brown prior to their game against Detroit. 

 

Drafted in the second round by the Bears in 1961 out of Illinois, Brown was traded to the Vikings after his rookie year. Nicknamed "Boom Boom" for his punishing running style, Brown is fourth in Vikings history with 5,757 rushing yards. His best season was 1974, with 1,569 total yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 games.

IHSA Football Playoffs 2nd Round Scores

1A
 Argenta (A.-Oreana) 44, Fisher 23
Moweaqua (Central A & M) 27, Albion (Edwards County) 0
Camp Point (Central) 31, Carrollton 6
Concord (Triopia) [Coop] 42, Arcola 0

 

2A
Decatur (St. Teresa) 48, Athens 7
Downs (Tri-Valley) 35, Pana (H.S.) 31
Maroa (M.-Forsyth) 49, Chester 12
Tuscola 42, Bismarck (B.-Henning-Rossville-Alvin) 21

 

3A
Monticello 49, Anna (A.-Jonesboro) 14
Greenville 26, Pleasant Plains 14
Carlinville 40, Paxton (P.-Buckley-Loda) 7
Williamsville 42, Fairfield 16

 

4A
Taylorville 45, Columbia 23
Rochester 47, Pontiac 28
Effingham (H.S.) 30, Paris 14
Kankakee (McNamara) 49, Murphysboro [Coop] 14

 

5A
Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) 40, Decatur (MacArthur) 7
Highland 56, Mattoon 35


6A
Normal (Community West) 26, Palos Heights (Shepard) 17
Washington 23, Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 21

 

7A
St. Charles (North) 24, Rolling Meadows 17

Monticello Sages vs Anna-Jonesboro

As heard on WEZC the Monticello Sages defeated Anna-Jonesboro by a score of 49-14.

Barden Snyder had 7-13 for 164 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, Alek Bundy had 5 catches for 108 yards and 8 carries with 1 touchdown, Asher Bradd had 2 touchdowns, 1 recieving and 1 rushing.

 

Anna-Jonesboro finished 10-3.

 

Monticello improves to 11-0 and Anna-Jonesboro falls to 8-3.

 

Tune in next week as Monticello takes on Greensville at tba on 95.9 FM WEZC.

#8 Anna-Jonesboro travels to #1 Monticello

10-0 Monticello looks to battle it out in the 2nd week of IHSA Football playoffs with 8-2 Anna-
Jonesboro Saturday.

 

Last week, Anna-Jonesboro beat West Frankfort 56-28, and Monticello beat St. Joseph-Ogden
50-7.  Monticello has a playoff record of 32-20 compared to Anna-Jonesboro 30-21. 

 

Monticello's average margin of victory for the 2018 season is 40.4 points, that is second to
Carlinville's 42.6 points. The Sages have only allowed 69 points while putting up 476 compared to
Anna-Jonesboro's 182 points allowed and putting up 355. The most points in a game Monticello
allowed was 28 points against Class 4A Pontiac. Anna-Jonesboro lost their first two games of their
regular season then won eight straight.

 

Players to watch out for; Monticello's quarterback Braden Snyder throwing for over 2,200 yards,
and 26 touchdowns. Snyder has also rushed for 480 yards and ten touchdowns. For Anna-
Jonesboro, Damien Crisp fullback rushing for more than 990 yards. 

 

The winner of this game will then play in week 3 against either Greenville or Pleasant Plains.

Monticello vs. Anna-Jonesboro will take place in Monticello, Saturday, with kick off at 3 pm.

You can catch the game on 95.9 FM WEZC or streamed at dewittdailynews.com.

Oilers blank Blackhawks 4-0

Mikko Koskinen made 40 saves for his first career NHL shutout, Drake Caggiula scored twice and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Thursday night.

 

Jason Garrison and Alex Chiasson also scored for the Oilers (7-4-1), who have won four of five.

The 30-year-old Koskinen became the sixth goaltender in franchise history to record at least 40 saves in a shutout performance.

 

Cam Ward made 25 saves for the Blackhawks (6-5-3), who have lost four straight.

 

Koskinen made 15 saves during a scoreless first period and Edmonton jumped in front 18 seconds into the second. Caggiula showed some deft hands in front, spinning around and then shoveling home his third of the season while being knocked to his knees from behind.

 

Koskinen made some exceptional stops to keep Edmonton in front, denying Jonathan Toews on a short-handed breakaway with six minutes left in the middle period, and then Alex DeBrincat in tight later on during the same sloppy Oilers power play.

 

Edmonton went up 2-0 with 37 seconds left in the second. Garrison scored on the power play for his first goal with the Oilers.

 

Edmonton added to its lead with a short-handed tally in the third. Jujhar Khaira did a good job to get it to Caggiula, who froze Ward on a deke before scoring at 6:49.

 

Edmonton got another midway through the third when Chiasson scored his fifth goal in his last six games.

Cubs' Jason Heyward, Giants' Mark Melancon keep contracts

Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward and San Francisco reliever Mark Melancon let the deadline pass for exercising opt-out provisions in their contracts.

 

Doing the same were two Cuban outfielders who have been major disappointments and spent all of this season in the minor leagues: Boston's Rusney Castillo and Arizona's Yasmany Tomas.

 

Heyward keeps the $184 million, eight-year deal that pays him $106 million in the next five seasons. The others all have two years left in their contracts: Melancon is owed $28 million, Tomas $32.5 million and Castillo $24.5 million.

 

They all had to make their decisions by Wednesday night.

Pedro Strop, Brandon Kintzler stay with Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have exercised their $6.25 million option for Pedro Strop, and fellow reliever Brandon Kintzler has picked up his $5 million player option.

 

The 33-year-old Strop, one of the baseball's most consistent relievers since he was acquired in a July 2013 trade with Baltimore, went 6-1 with 13 saves and a 2.26 ERA in 60 appearances last season. He can earn $750,000 in performance bonuses next year based on games finished: $250,000 each for 45, 50 and 55 games. He would have received a $500,000 buyout if the option had been declined.

 

Kintzler had a 7.00 ERA in 25 games with Chicago after he was acquired in a July 31 trade with Washington. The Cubs declined their $10 million team option on Tuesday.

 

Chicago also claimed outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from Minnesota on Thursday. Field made his major league debut this year and hit .222 with nine homers and 21 RBIs in 83 games with the Twins and Tampa Bay Rays.

Canucks beat Blackhawks 4-2

Jake Virtanen scored twice and Brendan Gaunce got the go-ahead goal midway through the third period to lead the Vancouver Canucks past the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Wednesday night.

 

Antoine Roussel also scored for the Canucks, and Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves. It was the first career two-goal game for Virtanen, a 22-year-old right wing.

 

Gaunce also had an assist in his first game with the Canucks this season. He was called up Tuesday from the Utica Comets of the AHL to help fill out a roster riddled by injuries early this season.

 

Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews scored for the Blackhawks. Corey Crawford turned away 24 shots.

 

Chicago got on the scoreboard first with Saad scoring his third of the season midway through the first period.

 

The left wing beat Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson in Vancouver's end and put a hard shot on net. Markstrom seemed to get a piece of it but the puck trickled in underneath him.

 

Virtanen responded in the 15th minute after the Blackhawks turned over the puck in the neutral zone. He picked up speed on a breakaway and put a high shot past Crawford.

 

The Blackhawks went back on top with a power-play goal early in the second after Canucks defenseman Michael Del Zotto took a cross-checking penalty late in the first.

 

Toews fired in a wrister from the top of the faceoff circle to give him 299 goals for the Blackhawks, sixth-most in franchise history.

 

Chicago is 30th in the NHL on the power play. Wednesday marked the sixth time this season the Blackhawks have scored with the man advantage.

 

Virtanen followed with his second of the night just more than 12 minutes into the second period. He scooped up a pass just inside the blue line and fired a quick shot past Crawford to tie it 2-all.

Virtanen has five goals and two assists this season.

 

Gaunce scored at 9:23 of the third after he snatched up a Blackhawks pass. The goal was the sixth of his NHL career, with the last one coming on Feb. 1. He also assisted on Roussel's late goal.

Nuggets 108-107 win over Bulls in OT


Paul Millsap knows nobody is perfect in the NBA. The key to being a good team is finding ways to win when not everything is clicking.

 

The 13-year veteran believes that's exactly what the Denver Nuggets did Wednesday night.

Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Millsap's putback with 0.1 seconds left in overtime gave the Nuggets a 108-107 victory against the Chicago Bulls.

 

Trailing by a point, Denver inbounded the ball with 3.5 seconds remaining. Jokic missed, but Millsap grabbed the rebound and converted a layup off the glass for the winning basket as the Nuggets improved to 6-1.

 

Zach LaVine had 28 points and rookie Wendell Carter Jr. scored a career-high 25 for Chicago.

LaVine has at least 20 points in a career-best nine straight games, a streak that dates back to last season. It was Carter's second consecutive game establishing a new high. He had 18 points Monday against the Golden State Warriors.

 

After the Nuggets took a 106-104 lead on a 3-pointer by Jokic - he had eight of Denver's 10 points in overtime - Justin Holiday answered with a 3 to put Chicago on top 107-106 with 1:26 to play.

 

After giving up 92 first-half points to Golden State on Monday, the Bulls allowed just 51 in the first two quarters but still trailed by three at halftime.

 

Chicago held a 96-90 edge with three minutes left before Denver went on an 8-2 spurt to tie it at 98 with 1:07 left.

 

Neither team could convert multiple opportunities in the final minute, sending the game to overtime.

Bears may place Kyle Long on injured reserve

Chicago Bears right guard Kyle Long has a tendon injury in his right foot, and the team is deciding whether to put him on injured reserve.

 

Coach Matt Nagy says the three-time Pro Bowl lineman is "week to week." The Bears could place him on IR with the intent to return in eight weeks if they don't think he could be back sooner.

 

Long was hurt in the closing minutes of the Bears' 24-10 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

 

Tight end Dion Sims rolled into him while the two were blocking for Jordan Howard on a run.

Nagy said the injury was not the same as the severe injury to his right ankle in 2016 that required surgery.

Cubs exercise $10.5 million option for 2019 on Quintana

The Cubs have exercised their $10.5 million option on pitcher Jose Quintana.

 

The 29-year-old left-hander was 13-11 with a 4.03 ERA in 32 starts in his first full season with the Cubs. He was acquired from the White Sox in July 2017 as part of a deal in which they sent two top prospects to their crosstown rivals: pitcher Dylan Cease and outfielder Eloy Jimenez.

 

Quintana's deal had a $1 million buyout. It also includes an $11.5 million option for 2020 with a $1 million buyout.

 

The Cubs also claimed left-handed pitcher Jerry Vasto off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. He debuted last season with Colorado and had an 8.31 ERA over six appearances with the Rockies and Royals.

Former big league pitcher Bill Fischer dies at 88

Former big league pitcher Bill Fischer, who spent more than seven decades as a player and coach in professional baseball, died Tuesday. He was 88.

 

The Royals announced Fischer's death in a statement Wednesday. No cause was given.

 

Fischer was 17 when he signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1948. He was fresh out of high school and played until 1951, when he was drafted by the Marines. He returned to the White Sox in 1954 and wound up playing for nine organizations and making 281 major league appearances.

 

He retired from playing in 1968 and moved into coaching with stops in Cincinnati, Boston, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Kansas City, where he spent the past eight seasons as a senior adviser.

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