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Orchard Park, NY - Phil Dawson’s 56-yard field goal gave the Browns the lead with 1:39 to play, and Rian Lindell pushed his 47-yard attempt wide right in the final minute of a frenetic fourth quarter as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 29-27 win over the slumping Buffalo Bills.

Dawson made all five field goals he attempted for the Browns (4-6), who had lost two straight and three of four. Braylon Edwards had eight catches for 104 yards, and Brady Quinn completed 14-of-36 passes for 185 yards and picked up his first career win in his second NFL start.

Marshawn Lynch powered the Bills offense, as he rushed for 119 yards on 23 carries and had a career-high 10 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Trent Edwards was erratic, throwing three interceptions in the first quarter for the Bills (5-5), who lost their fourth straight after a 5-1 start.

“When you turn the ball over a little bit, it’s tough,” said Edwards, who has committed 10 turnovers during Buffalo’s losing streak. “You start seeing things that you’re not really seeing, and you start doing things that you’re normally not used to doing.”

Edwards completed 16-of-26 passes for 148 yards with a score through the air, and his first career rushing touchdown, a one-yard sneak, gave the Bills their only lead, 27-26, with 2:35 to play.

Joshua Cribbs’ 25-yard return set Cleveland up at its 33-yard-line, though, and Quinn hit Braylon Edwards on the next play for a 12-yard gain. Quinn found Kellen Winslow for a 16-yard gain, down to the Buffalo 39. The Browns couldn’t draw any closer, though, and after three incomplete passes, Dawson came on for the field goal.

The pressure or November chill didn’t affect Dawson, who sent his kick right down the middle for the lead. The 56-yarder was a career-long for Dawson.

“It’s frustrating as an offense to not score a touchdown, but he’s as clutch as you can be, as consistent as you can be,” said Quinn of his kicker. “Phil talked about the weather not being ideal for a kick of that length, but he did a great job of getting it up and getting it through.”

Dawson’s squib kickoff was returned to the Buffalo 44, and Trent Edwards found Robert Royal for a 22-yard gain to put the Bills in field goal range. Lynch rushed three times to set Lindell up for a 47-yard attempt, but the Bills kicker pushed his attempt to the right with 38 seconds left, and the Bills fell back to .500, and into sole possession of last place in the AFC East.

It was pretty clear early on that Trent Edwards was not at his best. Leodis McKelvin’s 38-yard kick return gave the Bills great field position to start the game, but Edwards’ first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage, and Kamerion Wimbley came down with the ball.

The Bills defense kept Cleveland off the scoreboard, but Edwards’ next interception — a pick by linebacker Andra Davis on the fourth play of the next Buffalo drive — set up Dawson’s 40-yard field goal with 9:29 left.

Edwards threw his third pick later in the quarter, but again the Bills defense kept Quinn and the Browns out of the end zone. Dawson’s 33-yard field goal made it 6-0, as Cleveland failed to take full advantage of Edwards’ awful first quarter.

Cribbs’ two-yard touchdown run, capping a 12-play, 96-yard drive that bridged the first two quarters, put the Browns in front 13-0 with 9:52 left in the first half. The Bills were given a short field thanks to Dawson’s 39-yard kickoff, though, and moved 59 yards on six plays. Lynch’s 18-yard touchdown on a checkdown pass pulled Buffalo within 13-7.

The Bills moved from their 38 to the Cleveland eight on 13 plays to finish the first half, but had to settle for Lindell’s 26-yard field goal as time expired, and a 13-10 deficit at the half.

Dawson and Lindell traded field goals in the third quarter, and the Browns took a 16-13 lead into the fourth.

After a gritty, plodding three quarters, the first minute of the fourth quarter saw momentum shift quickly on two big plays, setting the tone for a 27-point frame.

On 1st-and-10 at the Cleveland 28, Jerome Harrison took a pitch left, broke through the front line and found himself in the open for a 72-yard scoring burst, and a 23-13 Browns lead just 13 seconds into the quarter.

McKelvin continued to haunt the Browns, though, as he took the ensuing kickoff, broke through the wedge, and sprinted 98 yards for the answer. After 14 points scored in 27 seconds, Cleveland clung to a 23-20 lead with 14:33 left.

McKelvin gained 185 yards on his three returns, an average of 61.7 yards per return.

Lindell’s ensuing kickoff was shanked out of bounds at the Cleveland 43, and the Browns drove to the Buffalo five before stalling. Dawson’s 22-yard field goal gave Cleveland a 26-20 lead with 11:32 to play.

Game Notes

Jamal Lewis gained 65 yards on 18 carries for the Browns…Hall of Famer and former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly watched the game from the Buffalo sideline…The Bills played without top pass rusher Aaron Schobel for the fifth straight game with a foot injury. Buffalo safety Donte Whitner, who was questionable with a shoulder injury, started, but then left in the third quarter after aggravating the shoulder injury….Braylon Edwards’ eight catches were a career- high…Dawson’s first FG was the 200th of his career…Lynch’s previous career-high for catches in a game was six.

(Monday, November 17th)

Final Score: Houston 100, Oklahoma City 89

Oklahoma City, OK - Luis Scola led the way for Houston with 23 points and nine rebounds as the Rockets defeated the Thunder, 100-89, at the Ford Center. Yao Ming added 19 points and 12 boards for the Rockets, who have won two straight and three of their last four. Ron Artest chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds before leaving in the final minute after twisting his right ankle. Tracy McGrady had eight points and was also forced from the game with a left knee injury early in the second half. Kevin Durant poured in a game-high 29 points, grabbed seven boards and doled out four helpers for the Thunder, who have dropped eight straight games since their lone win of the season. Jeff Green added 16 points and Russell Westbrook 14 off the bench.

Final Score: Utah 109, Phoenix 97

Salt Lake City, UT - Carlos Boozer and C.J. Miles scored 21 points apiece to lead the injury-ravaged Utah Jazz to an impressive 109-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Utah, playing without star guard Deron Williams (ankle) and center Mehmet Okur (personal), won with a mix-and-match group that hammered Phoenix on the backboards, 47-26. Andrei Kirilenko, who had missed time with a finger injury, scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench. Brevin Knight scored 12 points and dished out six assists, while Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver netted 11 points apiece. The Jazz bench outscored the Suns reserves, 59-16, in the victory. Utah won five straight games to start the season, but went just 1-4 on a road trip before coming home for two games. Amare Stoudemire led all scorers with 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Matt Barnes added 19 points. Steve Nash donated 14 points with eight assists for the Suns, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.

Final Score: San Antonio 86, LA Clippers 83

Los Angeles, CA - Roger Mason scored 21 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 8.4 seconds left in the game, to lead the streaking San Antonio Spurs in an 86-83 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Clippers. Tim Duncan added 20 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the Spurs, who have won a season-high three games in a row. Michael Finley had 19 points in the win. Cuttino Mobley had 18 points for the Clippers, who have dropped three straight and nine of their 10 games this season. Chris Kaman chipped in 17 points and 13 boards in defeat. Baron Davis ended with 11 points and eight helpers.

(Monday, November 17th)

Final Score: (2) Connecticut 99, Hartford 56

Hartford, CT - Craig Austrie scored 21 points, and the second-ranked Connecticut Huskies routed the Hartford Hawks, 99-56, in early- season action at XL Center. Kemba Walker had 21 points, while Jerome Dyson added 18 in the win for UConn (2-0), which opened up its season with a 81-55 victory over Western Carolina. Jeff Adrien contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds, and Hasheem Thabeet had nine points and eight rebounds in the win. Morgan Sabia scored a team-high 13 points for the Hawks (0-2), who dropped a 63-62 decision to Quinnipiac to open the season. Joe Zeglinski had 11 points, while Jaret Von Rosenberg added nine points in the loss.

Final Score: (6) Pittsburgh 82, Miami-Ohio 53

Pittsburgh, PA - Sam Young and Jermaine Dixon led a balanced Panthers attack with 14 points apiece and point guard Levance Fields added 12 points and 12 assists, as sixth-ranked Pittsburgh wore down Miami-Ohio, 82-53, at the Peterson Events Center. Tyrell Biggs and DeJuan Blair reached double figures with 10 points apiece for the Panthers (2-0), who impressively suffocated a RedHawks squad that nearly downed UCLA in its season opener. Kenny Hayes scored a game-high 18 points, including a 9-of-9 effort from the charity stripe, and Tyler Dierkers donated 12 points for Miami-Ohio (1-2), who got just two points on two free throws from Michael Bramos, who poured in 22 last Thursday against the Bruins.

Final Score: (11) Purdue 87, Eastern Michigan 58

West Lafayette, IN - Robbie Hummel netted a game-high 18 points, and the Purdue Boilermakers routed the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 87-58, in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off from Mackey Arena. Hummel hit a trio of three-pointers and doled out four assists, while E’Twaun Moore had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for 11th-ranked Purdue (2-0), which scored a season-opening 82-50 victory over Detroit on Friday. The Boilermakers’ defense, which in their first game forced 20 turnovers and held Detroit to a dismal 32.7 percent shooting effort, again showed their tenacity forcing 22 EMU turnovers while holding the Eagles to 39 percent shooting. Purdue will next take on either Georgia or Loyola-Chicago, as those schools will tangle later Monday in first-round action in the north regionals. Justin Dobbins logged 16 points, and Brandon Bowdry scored 15 and pulled down six boards for EMU (1-1), which rolled to victory in its season opener on Friday, blasting little-known Marygrove 119-48. The 71-point margin of victory set a new school record, shattering the previous mark of 59.

Final Score: (12) Oklahoma 94, Mississippi Valley State 53

Norman, OK - Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, 19 rebounds and six steals, and 12th-ranked Oklahoma cruised past Mississippi Valley State, 94-53, in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Sooners (2-0) will next play 21st-ranked Davidson on Tuesday. Stephen Curry poured in 33 points to lead the Wildcats in a 99-64 rout of James Madison earlier Monday. Ray Willis and Willie Warren scored 14 points apiece for Oklahoma, which opened its season with an 83-54 decision over American University on Friday. Shannon Behling had 16 points and five rebounds for the Delta Devils (0-3), who will face James Madison on Tuesday in a consolation game. Tashan Newsome added 11 points in defeat.

Final Score: (13) Memphis 80, Massachusetts 58

Memphis, TN - Antonio Anderson scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and 13th-ranked Memphis ripped Massachusetts, 80-58, to make John Calipari the winningest coach in program history. The win was Calipari’s 221st at Memphis. Calipari is now one win ahead of Larry Finch, the former Memphis player who coached the team from 1986 to 1997. The second-winningest coach in UMass history, Calipari moved to No. 1 at Memphis with a win over former assistant Derek Kellogg, in his first year as coach of the Minutemen. Kellogg played for Calipari at UMass and spent the last eight seasons as his assistant at Memphis before taking the coaching job for the Minutemen. Blue-chip freshman Tyreke Evans scored 19 points for Memphis (2-0), which has opened its season with two easy wins. Robert Dozier scored 18 points for the Tigers, who have two more tune-ups before a game at No. 22 Georgetown on December 13. Tony Gaffney had 19 rebounds and 16 points for UMass (1-2), which has dropped consecutive games after a season-opening win over Arkansas-Monticello. Ricky Harris added 17 points for the Minutemen.

Final Score: (15) Marquette 106, Chicago State 87

Milwaukee, WI - Wesley Matthews scored a team-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles routed Chicago State, 106-87, at the Bradley Center. Lazar Hayward added 21 points and nine rebounds, while Jerel McNeal had 17 points in the win for Marquette (2-0), which opened up its season with a 95-64 win over Houston Baptist. Patrick Hazel added 10 points, while Dominic James and David Cubillan each had eight points in the win. David Holston scored a game-high 33 points for the Cougars (1-1), who beat Saint Xavier by a 112-83 margin to start their season. John Cantrell was the other big scorer for Chicago State with 21 points on the night.

Final Score: (21) Davidson 99, James Madison 64

Norman, OK - Stephen Curry dropped 33 points, and the Davidson Wildcats routed the James Madison Dukes, 99-64, in opening round play of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The 21st-ranked Wildcats (2-0), which started their season with a 107-83 decision over Guilford on Friday, will next play No. 12 Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated Mississippi Valley State, 94-53, on Monday. Curry, who posted 29 points and 10 assists with nine steals against Guilford, narrowly missing a triple-double, was 14-of-19 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three-point range with nine assists. Bryant Barr logged 12 points, and Andrew Lovedale notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Davidson, which has won 27 of its last 28 games dating back to last season, with its only loss coming in the Elite 8 to eventual NCAA Champion Kansas. The Wildcats shot an impressive 58.5 percent (38-for-65) from the floor. Juwann James led the way with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Kyle Swanston netted 12 for James Madison (0-1), which improved from seven wins in 2006-07 to 13 wins in ‘07-’08. The Dukes have not had a winning season since 1999-2000.

Final Score: (22) Georgetown 71, Jacksonville 62

Washington, DC - Chris Wright scored 16 points, hauled in six rebounds and doled out four assists to lead 22nd-ranked Georgetown in a 71-62 victory over Jacksonville at the Verizon Center. Greg Monroe added 14 points and eight boards for the Hoyas (1-0), who will host Drexel on Saturday. DaJuan Summers and Jesse Sapp scored 13 points apiece for two-time defending Big East regular-season champion Georgetown, which is coming off a 28-win season. However, the Hoyas enter the new year with a chip on their shoulder after being shocked by Davidson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March. Ben Smith tallied 17 points for the Dolphins (0-2), who were coming off a 59-57 loss to Florida State in their season-opener. Marcus Allen gave 14 points and seven boards for Jacksonville, which will play American University on Saturday.

Final Score: (23) Villanova 107, Fordham 68

Villanova, PA - Dante Cunningham scored a game-best 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds, as No. 23 Villanova blasted Fordham, 107-68, in non-conference action at the Pavilion. Corey Stokes collected 17 points with eight rebounds, backcourt mate Corey Fisher also scored 17 points and Antonio Pena added 10. The Wildcats (2-0) took home a 40-plus point victory with its best player, Scottie Reynolds, mustering just 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Brenton Butler scored 17 points, Jio Fontan donated 13 points and Trey Blue netted 11 for the Rams (0-2), who never seriously threatened throughout the contest.

(Monday, November 17th)

Final Score: NY Islanders 2, Vancouver 1 (SO)

Uniondale, NY - Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal in the shootout, and the New York Islanders edged the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1. Joey MacDonald stopped 31-of-32 shots for the Isles, who won their third straight after a three-game losing streak. Doug Weight tallied the lone regulation score for New York. Roberto Luongo, just recently removed from his amazing team-record shutout streak that topped 240 minutes, had 34 saves for the Canucks but let in Nielsen’s score in the shootout. Pavol Demitra scored the only goal for Vancouver, which had won four of five entering play.

Final Score: NY Rangers 2, Ottawa 1 (SO)

New York, NY - Nikolai Zherdev scored the lone shootout goal and the New York Rangers edged the slumping Ottawa Senators, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden. Zherdev was the first participant, and he snapped a wrister between the pads of Alex Auld. Jason Spezza tried the same move, but was denied by Henrik Lundqvist. After Auld made a glove save on Fredrik Sjostrom, who scored in regulation for New York, Jarkko Ruutu fanned on his attempt, but the agitator decided to fire the puck at Lundqvist any way, upsetting the Rangers bench. Auld then stopped Chris Drury, leaving Ottawa’s hopes in the hands of Antoine Vermette, but his backhander was turned aside by Lundqvist, and the Rangers came away with the extra point. Lundqvist made 27 saves for New York, which has won three straight games. The Swedish netminder has allowed two goals or fewer in his last 12 appearances. Daniel Alfredsson was the only player to find the back of the net for the Senators, who have lost five consecutive games. Auld stopped 26-of-27 shots for Ottawa.

Final Score: Boston 3, Toronto 2

Toronto, ON - Tim Thomas made 28 saves and withstood a late Toronto surge as the Boston Bruins edged the Maple Leafs, 3-2, at Air Canada Centre. Phil Kessel, Michael Ryder and Matt Hunwick had the goals for the Bruins, who had a five-game winning streak snapped against the New York Rangers on Saturday. Boston was still able to register a point in that setback, though, losing in the shootout and sit atop the Northeast Division with 26 points. Marc Savard and Milan Lucic added two assists each for Boston, which is 6-2-3 as the visiting club this year. Jason Blake and Mikhail Grabovski had the markers for Toronto, which has struggled of late with losses in three of its last four and six of eight overall. Vesa Toskala has been a big part of that struggle and allowed three goals on 22 shots in the loss. The Maple Leafs opened a three-game homestand Monday and are just 3-3-3 as the host this season.

Final Score: Detroit 4, Edmonton 0

Detroit, MI - Ty Conklin stopped all 21 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, and the Detroit Red Wings blanked the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0, at Joe Louis Arena. Conklin moved to 5-1-0 on the year with his fifth career shutout, while Niklas Kronwall’s first-period power- play goal proved to be the game-winner for Detroit, which has gotten at least a point in six straight games. Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler and Johan Franzen also scored, while Henrik Zetterberg notched two assists in the win. Sheldon Souray had a team-high four shots for the Oilers, who have lost three straight and five of seven. Dwayne Roloson allowed four goals on 41 shots in defeat.

Final Score: San Jose 4, Nashville 1

Nashville, TN - Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau both registered a goal and an assist, as the San Jose Sharks bested the Nashville Predators, 4-1, at the Sommet Center. Jody Shelley and Tomas Plihal also scored for San Jose, which leads the NHL with 33 points. Brian Boucher made 32 saves in his sixth straight start since Evgeni Nabokov suffered a lower- body injury. The Sharks avenged last Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Preds, their lone blemish at the HP Pavilion (10-0-1). Dan Ellis made a franchise-record 54 saves for Nashville in that overtime win but didn’t fare as well this time around, yielding four goals on 32 shots. In addition to losing the game, the Preds watched with heavy hearts as captain Jason Arnott was carried off on a stretcher late in the first period after he crashed head- first into the net. He was taken to Vanderbilt Hospital for precautionary reasons and released prior to the completion of the contest. Arnott will be re-evaluated in the coming days.