Morning Box Score
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 4, 2008 3:45PM
Blackhawks Skate Past Ducks
It was home sweet home for the Blackhawks last night as they made their return home from the annual Circus Trip and beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. The win also stopped a three-game losing streak. Patrick Sharp gave the 'Hawks in early lead, scoring on a power play goal late in the first but Anaheim answered with two goals of their own in the second to take a 2-1 lead. The young Blackhawks team then showed what they're capable of, ripping of three goals in the game's final six minutes to grab a victory. Havlat, Toews, and Bolland all notched goals and Kris Versteeg had two assists in the third. Huet played a solid game in net, stopping 30 of 32 shot. After the game, Versteeg said, “This is a huge win. It’s good to come out on top against a team like Anaheim; it shows our character.” Chicago remains two points up on Nashville for second place in the division and travel to Detroit to take on the rival, first-place Red Wings on Saturday.
Bulls Slip Up Against Bucks
The Bulls fell behind by 12 at halftime and, in spite of making a run to cut the lead down to as little as five points late, were never able to get themselves out of the hole and fell to the Bucks, 97-90. Ben Gordon scored 22 points for the Bulls and Derrick Rose added 18 with 9 assists but also had five turnovers as the Bulls struggled to find a way to shut down the Bucks' bench.
College Hoops
Northwestern out-hustled the Florida State Seminoles for a 73-59 victory Wednesday night. The Wildcats dominated the glass while their pesky defense forced 21 turnovers. Forward Ivan Peljusic provided a spark off the bench early in the second half, scoring eight points in just over a minute. This quick spurt gave the Wildcats the lead, and they managed to stay a step ahead the rest of the way.
DePaul suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of the California Golden Bears by a score of 77-67. Dar Tucker scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to boost the Blue Demons out of a 14-point hole, but it wasn't enough. With DePaul down only one in the final two minutes, the Bears' Jerome Randle nailed a key three-pointer. The Demons were ultimately forced to foul, and Cal secured the win by refusing to miss a free throw down the stretch.
UIC picked up a road win against the Vanderbilt Commodores, cruising 74-55. The Flames' Josh Mayo was indeed on fire, going eight for 10 from behind the arc and turning in 30 points. UIC took control for good with 7:20 left in the first half, as Vandy's shooting woes (33.9% from the field) made it tough for them to stay competitive.
Additional reporting by Matt Motyka, AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh