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(Thursday, November 20th)

Final Score: Pittsburgh 27, Cincinnati 10

Pittsburgh, PA - Ben Roethlisberger didn’t let a bitter, snowy night bother his throwing or running, totaling 243 yards passing with a passing and rushing touchdown, as Pittsburgh methodically wore down Cincinnati, 27-10, at Heinz Field.

Roethlisberger completed 17-of-30 passes, with five of those passes going to Santonio Holmes, who was shaken up on a a helmet-to-helmet hit and did not return after amassing 84 receiving yards.

Willie Parker found little running room with 37 yards on 14 carries, but Mewelde Moore had more success with 56 yards on 15 carries to go along with four catches for 41 yards. Heath Miller caught four passes for 44 yards and a score for the Steelers (8-3), who won their fifth straight in the series for the first time since 1993.

Pittsburgh now leads the AFC North by 1 1/2 games over Baltimore, which plays Philadelphia on Sunday.

“It is what is,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said about his team’s position in the division and AFC playoff picture. “We are not over-evaluating at this point. We are living week to week. As long as we continue to live in a tunnel, we will be fine.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20-of-37 passes for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception in defeat. Cedric Benson ran for 35 yards and Glenn Holt caught a touchdown pass for the Bengals (1-9-1), who played without star wideout Chad Johnson, who was suspended earlier in the day Thursday for violating team rules.

“We need to be able to run the football more effectively. We need to be able to convert. It’s disappointing,” stated Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.

After a late game in the snow last Sunday, it took awhile for the Steelers to get into game action on a early winter night at half-full Heinz Field.

After two Pittsburgh punts and one on the Bengals side, Cincinnati marched down the field to take the lead. Third down conversions were the key, as the Bengals were successful on three third downs, including the 10-yard slant for a score from Fitzpatrick to the little-used kick returner Holt.

Each team punted before the Steelers offense finally gained traction in the light snow. Roethlisberger found his tight end Miller on a hot read for 14 yards and zipped a strike across the middle to Hines Ward, who weaved his way across the field for 37 yards to the Bengals 13-yard line. Later in the march, Roethlisberger’s eight-yard pass to rookie Limas Sweed ended a yard short of the marker. Mike Tomlin rolled the dice, and Gary Russell’s second effort picked up the first down. The gamble proved genius as Roethlisberger located Miller in the flat for a three-yard score and a tie game.

Pittsburgh then rode Jeff Reed’s right leg to the lead. A 27-yard strike followed by a 22-yard dart to Holmes highlighted a march that ended with Reed’s 37-yard field goal.

The Steelers defense stiffened late in the half after a Bengals punt hit off the hand of Sweed, giving Cincinnati the football inside the Pittsburgh 40-yard line. It didn’t manage any points, however, before intermission.

Reed’s second field goal of the game, a 38-yard boot that hugged the right upright, pushed the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter. Roethlisberger’s 19- yard third-down conversion to Holmes was the big play on the possession.

The Steelers added a little more cushion to their edge late in the third stanza. The seven-play march included plenty of Moore, who ran for five and 15 yards before taking a screen pass 22 yards down the right sideline. Roethlisberger’s 19-yard pass to Miller preceded Russell’s two-yard touchdown walk into the end zone out wide to the right.

During the fourth quarter, Cincinnati put together an 11-play marathon that knocked on the doorstep of the Steelers end zone before stalling inside the 10-yard line. Fitzpatrick’s 15-yard completion to Andre Caldwell kick started a drive that ended with Shayne Graham’s 26-yard field goal.

Roethlisberger converted a big 3rd-and-10 on the next series, breaking out of a would-be sack deep in the backfield, slipping to the left and firing across his body to Sweed for 17 yards. Moore then handled the bulk of the work until Roethlisberger barreled his way into the end zone from eight yards out for a 27-10 edge with 2:22 to go.

Game Notes

Troy Polamalu’s fifth interception of the season ended a late fourth- quarter Bengals drive into the Steelers red zone…LaMarr Woodley registered the lone Pittsburgh sack…Chris Kirkpatrick, of N’Sync fame and a Pennsylvania native, sang the national anthem…The Bengals converted just 4- of-15 third downs, while Pittsburgh was successful on 6-of-14 third-down tries…The Steelers outgained the Bengals, 364-208.

(Thursday, November 20th)

Final Score: Georgia Tech 41, (23) Miami-Florida 23

Atlanta, GA - Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Georgia Tech rolled up 472 yards on the ground in a 41-23 romp of 23rd-ranked Miami-Florida.

Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for 93 yards and a score for Georgia Tech (8-3, 5-3 ACC), which beat the Hurricanes for the fourth straight time. Georgia Tech now has a lead over the Hurricanes in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Despite being atop the division and having already finished their conference schedule, the Yellow Jackets are not guaranteed a spot in the ACC title game. North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Virginia are all 3-3 and all three hold the tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets with head-to-head wins earlier in the season.

Georgia Tech plays Georgia next Saturday in its regular season finale. UNC has NC State and Duke left on its ACC schedule, while Virginia plays Clemson and Virginia Tech. The Hokies play Duke this Saturday before the game against the Cavaliers.

“Well, we’ve done all we can do tonight,” said Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson. “It’s like I told our guys, when we wake up in the morning, we’ll be in first place, because we finished our games. We’re 5-3 and the best anybody else can do is 5-3. Who knows how it’s going to work out with all the tie- breakers and with everything involved. But I know this. At the end of the year, we’ll at least be co-champs, tri-champs, quad-champs, we’ll be something. Nobody’s going to have a better record. We might lose the tie- breaker, but we’ll have a piece of the championship in our division.”

The Yellow Jackets, on the strength of their option offense, had four players with at least 75 yards on the ground. Roddy Jones had 97 yards and Lucas Cox ran for 78 more and a touchdown.

Jacory Harris connected on 13-of-18 passes for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns against one interception for the Hurricanes (7-4, 4-3), who had a five-game winning streak broken. Robert Marve completed 10-of-20 passes for 121 yards with a TD and was picked off once.

“Guys weren’t playing assignments,” said Miami coach Randy Shannon. “We had a guy on the fullback all the time. Early in the game, we were stopping the fullback. Like anything, when you have some success, guys start taking chances because they think they’re not going to run that play. All week long, we preached to them that you have to stay assignment football. Big plays come from assignment football when guys don’t do their jobs. When big busts happen, big plays come on the option.”

Scott Blair kicked a 21-yard field goal with 5:53 left in the opening quarter. Defensive end Michael Johnson then picked off Marve early in the second and his 26-yard return made it 10-0.

Matt Bosher nailed a 24-yard field goal with 6:19 left before halftime, but only 18 seconds later Dwyer scored on a 58-yard run. Nesbitt’s 54-yard run, followed a short time later by Dwyer’s six-yard TD rush moved the advantage to 24-3 with two minutes left in the half.

Blair split the uprights from 30 yards out early in the third before Marve threw 18 yards to Dedrick Epps to account for Miami’s first touchdown.

The Yellow Jackets kept rolling, though, as Nesbitt scored on a four-yard run and Cox found the end zone on a 32-yard scamper for a 41-10 cushion with 2:07 remaining in the third.

Harris hit Leonard Hankerson with 13-yard score early in the fourth, and Kayne Farquharson caught a 25-yard TD pass with 1:16 remaining.

Game Notes

The Hurricanes are on the road against North Carolina State in their last regular season contest next Saturday…The Jackets lead the head-to-head series with Miami by a 10-4 count…Georgia Tech’s 472 rushing yards were its most ever in an ACC game and the second-most allowed by the Hurricanes.

(Thursday, November 20th)

Final Score: Boston 98, Detroit 80

Boston, MA - Rajon Rondo had 18 points and doled out eight assists to help the Celtics to a 98-80 victory over the Pistons in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. Kevin Garnett added 15 points in his return from a one-game suspension for hitting Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut during Boston’s 102-97 overtime win on Saturday. Tony Allen chipped in 13 points and Ray Allen 12 for Boston, which has won three in a row. Allen Iverson scored 16 points and had four assists for the Pistons, who have dropped two of three. Rasheed Wallace had 13 points and Richard Hamilton 12 in defeat.

Final Score: LA Lakers 105, Phoenix 92

Phoenix, AZ - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92. Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 points and Andrew Bynum posted 10 points and seven boards for the Lakers, who have won nine of 10 to open the season. Jordan Farmar donated 11 points off the bench and Trevor Ariza added 10. Amare Stoudemire scored a team-high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Shaquille O’Neal netted 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in defeat. Steve Nash dished out 10 assists to go along with eight points, and Grant Hill scored 11 off the bench for the Suns, who have dropped two in a row.

(Thursday, November 20th)

Final Score: Michigan 55, (4) UCLA 52

New York, NY - Manny Harris scored 15 points, hit two big free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. DeShawn Sims scored 18 for the Wolverines (3-0), who will take on Duke in the final Friday night. The Blue Devils beat Southern Illinois in the other semifinal. The Friday final will be a preview of a regularly-scheduled meeting on December 6. Stu Douglass tallied 10 points for Michigan, which beat a ranked opponent on a neutral court for the first time since 1998. Darren Collison and Jrue Holiday each scored 13 for the Bruins (2-1), while Nikola Dragovic scored 11 in defeat.

Final Score: (10) Duke 83, Southern Illinois 58

New York, NY - Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 20 points while Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler added 13 points apiece, as No. 10 Duke shook off a sloppy first half to roll Southern Illinois, 83-58, in semifinal action at the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Brian Zoubek did provide some frontcourt help with 10 points and six rebounds for the Blue Devils (4-0), who will meet Michigan in Friday’s final at Madison Square Garden. Ironically enough, the championship bout will be a preview of a regularly-scheduled meeting between the two teams on December 6. Carlton Fay donated 17 points and Kevin Dillard added 10 points for Southern Illinois (2-1), which will get another crack in the Big Apple during the consolation game on Friday.

Final Score: (13) Memphis 83, Chattanooga 71

San Juan, PR - Doneal Mack scored 19 points and doled out four assists to lead 13th-ranked Memphis past Chattanooga, 83-71, in opening round action of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Robert Dozier added 18 points, eight rebounds and four helpers for the Tigers (3-0), who advance to play Seton Hall on Friday. Shawn Taggart gave 16 points and 11 boards in the win. Stephen McDowell poured in a game-high 27 points for the Mocs (0-3), who will play Southern California on Friday. Nicchaeus Doaks ended with 15 points and a game-best 16 boards.

Final Score: (18) Florida 64, Southern Utah 50

Gainesville, FL - Nick Calathes scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists to lead 18th-ranked Florida over Southern Utah, 64-50, at the O’Connell Center. Dan Werner added nine points for the Gators (3-0), who won despite making just 1-of-16 three-point attempts. Alex Tyus picked up eight points and six boards for Florida. Davis Baker led all scorers with 23 points to go with eight rebounds for the Thunderbirds (1-1). Eules Thompson contributed six points in the loss.

Final Score: Seton Hall 63, (19) Southern California 61

San Juan, PR - Jeremy Hazell hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:20 left in the game and finished with 15 points, as Seton Hall upended No. 19 Southern California, 63-61, in opening round action of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic. Eugene Harvey added 18 points and five assists for the Pirates (3-0), who advance to play Memphis on Friday. John Garcia chipped in 11 points and 18 rebounds in the win. Taj Gibson ended with 19 points and 18 boards for the Trojans (2-1), who will play Chattanooga on Friday. Dwight Lewis had 12 points in defeat, while Daniel Hackett doled out eight assists.

(Thursday, November 20th)

Final Score: New Jersey 3, Florida 1

Newark, NJ - Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta each had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Florida Panthers, 3-1, at Prudential Center. Paul Martin scored the other goal while Scott Clemmensen made 23 saves for the Devils, who have won two straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak. Michael Frolik scored his first goal in the NHL and Tomas Vokoun was tagged for three goals on 19 shots for the Panthers, who have dropped two of their last three games.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 2

Atlanta, GA - Petr Sykora’s power-play goal late in the third period was the difference, as Pittsburgh topped Atlanta, 3-2, at Philips Arena. Sidney Crosby picked up a goal and two assists while Miroslav Satan also scored for the Penguins, who have won seven of their last eight. Dany Sabourin needed just 21 saves to earn his third win in four starts. Slava Kozlov and Jim Slater tallied for the Thrashers, who have dropped two in a row after winning five straight. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 28 shots in defeat.

Final Score: Montreal 3, Ottawa 2 (SO)

Ottawa, ON - Alex Tanguay notched the game-winner in the shootout as Montreal clipped Ottawa, 3-2, at Scotiabank Place. After Ottawa’s Antoine Vermette missed his opportunity wide of the net, Tanguay skated at an odd angle down the center of the ice on his chance, showing backhand all the way. Despite Sens goaltender Alex Auld sliding in the crease, the veteran winger was able to push his shot through the pads for the winner. Saku Koivu and Andrei Markov scored in regulation for the Canadiens, winners in two of three. Carey Price made 23 saves for his ninth win of the year. Dany Heatley and Nick Foligno lit the lamp for the Senators, who have dropped a season-worst six games in a row. Auld took the loss despite a 19-save performance.

Final Score: Vancouver 3, Minnesota 2

St. Paul, MN - Pavol Demitra had a goal and an assist to help his new team, Vancouver, defeat his old team, Minnesota, as the Canucks took a 3-2 win over the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Demitra had spent the previous two seasons with Minnesota, but signed as a free agent with the Canucks in the offseason. Daniel Sedin scored the game-winning goal with 8:19 left in the third period while Curtis Sanford made 28 saves for the Canucks, who are 6-0-2 in their last eight games. Mikko Koivu tallied both goals and Niklas Backstrom stopped 24 shots in the loss for the Wild, who had a three-game winning streak stopped.

Final Score: Chicago 6, Dallas 3

Dallas, TX - Patrick Kane scored twice to pace the Blackhawks to a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars as Chicago continued its successful six-game road trip. Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists, while Brian Campbell and Ben Eager each scored and had a helper for the Blackhawks, who opened the swing with a 3-2 shootout win at Phoenix on Tuesday. They still have games against Toronto, San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles before returning to the United Center on Dec. 3. Nikolai Khabibulin made 31 saves for the Blackhawks, winners in six of their last nine overall. They also won at Dallas for just the second time in the last 12 encounters. Mike Modano, Brenden Morrow and James Neal had the goals for the Stars, losers in four of their last five games. Marty Turco made 24 saves in defeat.

Final Score: Calgary 1, Colorado 0

Denver, CO - Miikka Kiprusoff needed to make just 18 stops to post his second shutout of the season as the Calgary Flames edged the Colorado Avalanche, 1-0, at the Pepsi Center. Daymond Langkow scored the only goal of the game on assists from Mike Giordano and Jarome Iginla for the Flames, who have won three of their last four games. Kiprusoff’s shutout was the 28th of his career with both of his zeroes this season coming against Colorado. Peter Budaj made 32 saves in the loss for the Avalanche, who have dropped their past two games after a three-game winning streak.

Final Score: Detroit 4, Edmonton 3

Edmonton, AB - Jiri Hudler tallied a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner, as Detroit scored early and often before staving off a late Edmonton rally for a 4-3 victory. Pavel Datsyuk had a goal for Detroit, which has won four in a row and six of seven overall. Tomas Kopecky lit the lamp for the Red Wings, who improved to an NHL-best 9-1-1 on the road. Chris Osgood stopped 31-of-34 shots for the win. Lubomir Visnovsky registered a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who have dropped four of five. Andrew Cogliano and Sheldon Souray scored in defeat. Dwayne Roloson let in three goals on 10 shots and was yanked with 9:49 left in the first. Mathieu Garon came in and stopped 24-of-25.

Final Score: Los Angeles 5, Washington 2

Los Angeles, CA - Dustin Brown and Michal Handzus each had a goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat Washington, 5-2, handing the Capitals their first regular loss since November 1. Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and Patrick O’Sullivan also lit the lamp for the Kings, who won for the fifth time in seven games. Erik Ersberg stopped 19 shots in the victory. Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich scored for the Capitals, who were 5-0-2 in their previous seven games. This was their first regulation defeat since being blanked at Buffalo. Brent Johnson stopped 28 shots in the loss. The Caps were without their top offensive weapon in Alexander Semin, who was out with an upper body injury. Defenseman Mike Green was also sidelined.