Morning Box Score: Blackhawks Losing Streak Continues
By Tim Bearden in News on Feb 12, 2012 3:30PM
The Blackhawks have now lost eight consecutive games following the shutout in Phoenix and are in the middle of their longest losing streak in four years. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith got his third shutout of the season Saturday by stopping 38 shot attempts. The Hawks had some good scoring chances, but Smith was in the zone and stonewalled all of them as Chicago outshot Phoenix, despite the scoreboard results. The Blackhawks have now been shutout six times this season and are finding themselves battling for a playoff position.
Loyola of Chicago 78, Illinois-Chicago 69
Loyola snapped their own 13 game conference losing streak by defeating Illinois-Chicago on Saturday night. Loyola had lost 11 straight contests going into Saturday's game and were 0-13 in the Horizon League. Ben Averkamp scored 17 and led five Loyola players who had double digit points. The Ramblers got off to a commanding 20-6 start at the beginning of the game and the scoring margin remained a seven point difference going into the final minute.
Akron 75, Northern Illinois 51
The Huskies managed to keep the game close against Akron until halftime, but a surge after the break for the Zips sealed Northern Illinois' fate. Akron outscored the Huskies 44-27 in the second half and have now won their seventh straight game improving to 10-1 in the conference. Keith Gray and Abdel Nader both had 13 points for the last place Huskies, but it didn't seem to be enough of a team effort to keep Akron from zipping past them.
The Blue Devils kept it close against the Irish until the final minutes of Saturday's game. Going into halftime Notre Dame and DePaul were tied at 34 apiece. Jeremiah Kelly led the Blue Devils with 17 points, and the game was tied at 68 before DePaul's bench caused a technical foul and a momentum shift. Following the offense the Irish scored seven points with 5:30 left to play. They never trailed after that.