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Morning Box Score

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 9, 2008 5:45PM

Cavs Pull Away From Bull
In a game that was tighter than the one they played a few days ago, the Cavs still managed to shake a pesky Bulls team as they downed Chicago, 106-97. Ben Gordon scored 29 and Luol Deng added 20. Rookie Derrick Rose scored 17 and added 9 assists and, once again, LeBron topped 40 points (41) against the Bulls. Some bad news for the Bulls (besides the loss and dropping below .500): Drew Gooden didn't play thanks to an ankle sprain but even worse is the loss of Kirk Hinrich for 12 weeks thanks to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, an injury he suffered Friday night against Phoenix. Apparently getting him back after the February All-Star Break is a bit optimistic.

The area college football slide started by NIU on Wednesday continued on Saturday...

2008_11_09_mbs.jpgWestern Michigan Stuns Illini
With two games left, the Illini are facing the possibility of no bowl game this year as they sit at 5-5 after a stunning 23-17 loss yesterday to Western Michigan. A 17-point second quarter for W. Michigan put Illinois in a hole they would never get out of. Juice Williams threw for 328 yards (1 TD, 2 INTs) and ran for another 68, but it wasn't enough for Illinois, who gave up over 300 yards and 2 TDs to WMU QB Tim Hiller. Down late, the Illini attempted to pull out a win as Juice completed a long 61-yard pass to AJ Jenkins in the final minute to put the Illini in the red zone, but the team couldn't find the end zone from there, securing their fate. The Illini's final two opponents as they try to become bowl eligible? Ohio State and Northwestern.

Northwestern Rolled By Buckeyes
The Illini's final two opponents met in Evanston yesterday and, in spite of a close start, the Buckeyes showed the difference between the two teams in terms of talent and speed in rolling over the Wildcats, 45-10. Mike Kafka did his best to carry Northwestern, amassing 260 of the Wildcats 294 total yards on offense, but the Ohio State defense simply overwhelmed them. As did the Buckeye offense, which ran up 441 yards on offense with Terelle Pryor (197 yds passing, 3 TDs) and Chris "Beanie" Wells (140 yds rushing, 2 TDs) leading the charge. The Wildcats close out their season with a game next week at Michigan and then at home against Illinois.

Notre Dame Shutdown, Shutout by Boston College
On a night when Notre Dame out-gained Boston College 292 yards to 246 yards, the Irish...still lost, 17-0. It was a night Irish QB Jimmy Clausen will want to forget as he threw four interceptions, one of which was returned 76 yards for a touchdown. While the weather didn't exactly provide good conditions for the game, it was still a sloppy performance for the Irish, who had five turnovers in all. While the Irish have now lost two in a row, at 5-4, they need only one win in their final three to become bowl eligible, which is good since the schedule includes Navy and USC. Fortunately, the schedule also includes Syracuse.

AP Photo/Carlos Osorio