Morning Box Score
By Matt Motyka in News on Jan 16, 2009 4:40PM
Bulls Conquer Cavs
The Chicago Bulls gutted it out against the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night, earning them a 102-93 OT victory. The Cavs got the rock into LeBron's hands for a shot to win at the end of regulation, but on an off night for the superstar the ball would not fall. Chicago responded decisively, converting on four consecutive three-point plays to start the bonus period. This run would mark the last of 11 lead changes in the game and lock up the win for the Bulls. Luol Deng had a big night for Chicago with 22 points, including two threes and a won jump ball in overtime. Five other Bulls reached double figures, as Chicago looks to be regaining some balance with the return of Deng, Gooden and Hinrich.
College Basketball
Northwestern suffered a heartbreaker against the no. 19 Purdue Boilermakers, losing 63-61. Tied with under 20 seconds to play, The Boilermakers' JaJuan James drew a suspect foul on Craig Moore with with only two ticks left, and then sank both free throws to give his team the win. Northwestern led comfortably for most of the contest, but with 6:30 to play Purdue put together a 10-3 run to even things up down the stretch. Craig Moore and Kevin Coble each had 16 points for the Wildcats, who now stand at 0-4 in conference play.
Loyola was trounced by the no. 18 Butler Bulldogs, falling 78-55. Butler wasted little time sealing the deal, exploding for 22 unanswered points early in the first. The Ramblers were minus 18 in rebounding margin, and couldn't match the Bulldogs' 50 percent shooting from the field. Ross Forman was good for 13 off the bench to lead Loyola in scoring.
UIC snapped a four game skid against the Valparaiso Crusaders Thursday, and did it in style with a 77-52 win. The game see-sawed deep into the first, but the Flames hit their stride with a 20-5 run to close out the half. That was all she wrote, as Robo Kreps dropped 23 for UIC, only two points fewer than the entire Crusaders' output in the second period. The Flames stay home to host one-loss Butler on Saturday.