Morning Box Score

By Matt Motyka in News on Mar 12, 2009 3:40PM

'Hawks Edge Hurricanes
The Blackhawks stopped a two-game skid with a 3-2 SO win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. Carolina scored early in the first period to take a 1-0 lead, but Chicago answered with a goal from Kris Versteeg in the second and another from Troy Brouwer in the third to give the 'Hawks the upper hand. With the clock winding down to the final minute of play it appeared Chicago was in line for the victory, but Jonathan Toews got called for hooking and the 'Canes pulled goalie Cam Ward to give them a two-man advantage. The strategy paid off when Tuomo Ruutu tied the score with only 26.5 left in the game and sent this one to overtime. A scoreless overtime led to a shootout, where Versteeg went top shelf against Ward and netted the game winner. The 'Hawks welcomed the return of Nikolai Khabibulin to the roster, as they try to get back to full strength for their playoff push.

Magic Drub Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were run out of town by the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, losing by a score of 107-79. The Magic, who were playing to secure a playoff spot, never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 38 points. The Bulls didn't offer much resistance, shooting under 32 percent on the evening and recording their lowest point total in 36 games. John Salmons had the brightest night for the Bulls with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Brad Miller also cracked double digits in scoring with 11. Chicago remains just outside of the eighth spot and will have a chance to salvage their recent road trip with a win in Philly on Friday.

College Basketball
DePaul—out to prove their Tuesday victory over Cincinnati wasn't a fluke—put up a good fight against the Providence Friars, but ultimately fell 83-74. The Blue Demons led the Friars deep into the second half, but lost their composure around the six-minute mark as Providence rattled off 11 straight points. DePaul suffered from spotty free-throw shooting (53 percent) and poor shot selection and late in the game, both symptomatic of a young team. Will Walker and Dar Tucker both finished the season strong with 31 and 30 points, respectively, and Mario Stula was a pleasant surprise off the bench, adding nine more. DePaul heads into the offseason looking to learn from their mistakes and mature towards a stronger showing next season.

Notre Dame was eliminated from the Big East tourney on Wednesday with a 74-62 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Irish were never really in the mix, as their opponent charged to a 17-2 lead to begin the game and did not look back. West Virginia held a decided advange on the boards, grabbing 17 more than the South Bend squad, and tacked on 17 points from the charity stripe. Luke Harangody notched 27 points for the Irish and the senior Kyle McAlarney finished with 17 of his own (that's a lot of 17s!). Notre Dame will need to replace McAlarney, Ryan Ayers, Zach Hillesland and Luke Zeller for next season, but with Harangody unlikely to declare for the NBA draft, Notre Dame will have a centerpiece to build around.