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SOUTH BEND, Ind. Portland Trail Blazers Cyber Monday Jersey . -- No surprises this time for Notre Dame. Just a victory that kept them out of an 0-3 hole and showed they can finish a game when they have a lead. The Irish used two touchdown runs from Cierre Wood, an electrifying 89-yard kickoff return from freshman George Atkinson III and a key late interception from Robert Blanton to beat No. 15 Michigan State 31-13 Saturday for their first win. "We wake up every morning and prepare to win," said Blanton, part of an Irish defence that limited the Spartans to 29 rushing yards and only a field goal in the second half. "We just had to show we could go out and get the job done." The Irish also showed they can stop a play off a fake field. The Spartans (2-1) stunned Notre Dame in overtime a year ago with a game-winning TD pass off a fake field goal and tried to surprise the Irish again after lining up for a field goal near the end of the first half. Notre Dame (1-2) was ready this time. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Ethan Johnson broke up a shovel pass attempt and the Irish led 21-10 at the half. "It just looked like a shovel play up inside," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "We had some time to talk about it and just remind our guys to be gap conscious and do their jobs. We just did our job on that and obviously came up with a big play." Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio took the blame for the play failing. "Field goal at the end of the half, my call, didnt work. Three points. But I dont think thats why we lost the game," Dantonio said. "But Ill take the blame for that." Michigan States Kirk Cousins, who had 11 straight completions at one juncture of the second half, was 34 of 53 for 329 yards but he was intercepted at the Notre Dame 6 with just under four minutes left by Blanton, who returned it 82 yards to the 12. The Spartans had just recovered a fumbled punt by Notre Dames John Goodman at the Irish 21 and were ready to set the stage for another frantic finish between the rivals. But with the Spartans trailing 28-13 and having a first and goal at the 3, Blanton came up with a juggling interception and then took off on his long return that sealed the win. "There was a crowd in there and in hindsight, I probably should not have thrown it," Cousins said. Notre Dame was coming off a crushing loss at Michigan, giving up 28 fourth-quarter points and a game-winning TD pass with two seconds to go. Only two previous Notre Dame teams had started a season 0-3 and Kelly didnt want to be part of that history. "We stressed all week that you have to make your own luck. And we did," Kelly said. "Our guys havent lacked confidence, they just needed to finish. At halftime, I think I said, Finish, finish, finish, more times than Ive said anything else. Finish the game and find a way to win." Michigan State was hurt by its own sloppiness -- 12 penalties for 86 yards. Cousins completed 12 of his passes to B.J. Cunningham as the Spartans were forced to go to the air and play catch up. "I think Notre Dames coverage did a nice job of taking the longer stuff away and we didnt always have time to throw deep. If you are giving us 8-10 yards, we are going to take it," Cousins said. "Getting behind early made it harder to execute the running game for us. We will get back on track. We will run the ball better next week. We just came up short. We got to the 5-yard line or closer twice and came away with no points and you cant expect to win doing that." Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees overcame a first-half fumble and interception and finished 18 of 26 for 161 yards. Notre Dame pushed the lead to 28-10 in the third quarter when Rees hit Michael Floyd on a 22-yard pass and then lofted a perfect 26-yarder to TJ Jones for a touchdown. The Irish were penalized on the ensuing kickoff for unsportsmanlike conduct after Jones made a hand signal following his catch. Cousins came right back after a 42-yard kickoff return by Nick Hill gave the Spartans good field position. His 21-yard pass to Todd Anderson and an 11-yarder to Cunningham gave the Spartans a first down at the Irish 8. But after the drive stalled, MSU lined up for a field goal, only to have their attempt at trickery turned away. After Notre Dame took an early 7-0 lead on a Wood TD run, the teams traded turnovers twice. Rees took a hard blindside hit from Kevin Pickelman and fumbled with MSUs Jerel Worthy recovering. But just moments later, Notre Dame freshman defensive end Aaron Lynch drove into Cousins from behind, forcing a fumble and Johnson recovered for the Irish. But three plays later Rees pass was picked off by Kurtis Drummond and returned 34 yards to the Irish 27, setting up Conroys 40-yard field goal that made it 7-3. It was Notre Dames 12th turnover of the season. But 12 seconds later, Atkinson -- the son of the former NFL star defensive back -- took the ensuing kickoff, broke to the sideline and sprinted in for the touchdown. It was Notre Dames first kickoff return for a TD by a freshman since Raghib Ismail returned two against Rice in 1988. "That kickoff return was a huge play for them and I think it kind of deflated us momentarily on the sideline," MSU linebacker Max Bullough said. "When a team can make plays like that in their own stadium, it is tough to beat them." Whether Notre Dame can build on the victory remains to be seen. On this one, the Irish got some validation for their effort. "Were 1-2 right now and were not happy with it, but its great to get a win," said Johnson, who also recovered a fumble in addition to snuffing the fake field goal. "You have to enjoy the wins and get over the losses." Washington Wizards Black Friday Jersey . Beaulieu has four goals and 10 assists in 32 AHL games and had one assist in five games for Montreal this season. The 23-year-old Nattinen has five goals and six assists in 37 games for the Bulldogs this season. Minnesota Timberwolves Cyber Monday Jersey . So far, his encore is even better. Wainwright became the National Leagues first eight-game winner by dominating Cincinnati again, and the St.NEW YORK -- It wont be this easy on Sunday. Not when the Miami Heat come to town for what suddenly shapes up as a possible playoff preview. The New York Knicks sure look ready. Baron Davis scored a season-high 18 points on his 33rd birthday, JR Smith had 23, and the Knicks surged into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference by routing the Washington Wizards 103-65 on Friday night for their ninth straight home victory. Carmelo Anthony and Steve Novak also had 18 for the Knicks, who could now be looking at a preview of a potential first-round series when they host second-place Miami on Sunday. The Knicks tied Philadelphia after the 76ers lost earlier Friday to New Jersey, and New York holds the tiebreaker for the No. 7 seed. New York held Washington without a field goal for more than 12 minutes -- essentially the length of an entire quarter -- in the second half "We want to protect our home court," Anthony said. "We want to make this one of the toughest places to come in and play and come in and win, and as of late weve been doing that and we want to keep that going." Playing only 29 minutes, Anthony was well off his NBA-leading average of 32.4 points through his first five games in April. That included 43 in an overtime victory over Chicago here on Sunday. A week later, its the same Sunday national TV spot for the Heats first trip to New York of the season. "Its another big game for us, another exciting game," Anthony said. "Itll be fun, the Garden will be rocking. Everybody will be watching. What better game to play in then Sunday evening against Miami?" Davis shot 7 of 9 in just 23 minutes for the Knicks, who won for the fifth time in six games and improved to 14-4 under Woodson, narrowly missing their second 40-point victory since he took over on March 14. They beat Portland by 42 that night. The point guard has battled injuries during most of his first season in New York, but said perhaps being in better spirits on his birthday carried into more relaxed play on the court. "I have the ultimate confidence in myself and in this team, and my teammates have ultimate confidence in me as well," Davis said. "Its just a matter of me just continuing to feel better and play as hard as I possibly can. But I know I can get better and I continue to get better as the seeason progresses and as we get into the playoffs. Cyber Monday NBA Jerseys. quot; Jordan Crawford scored 17 points for the Wizards, who were trying to win three straight for the first time in their miserable season. But they shot 28 per cent and never led in their ninth consecutive loss to the Knicks. "Its embarrassing is what it was," coach Randy Wittman said. "Our effort tonight was uncharacteristic of what we have been doing. I dont know. It looked like we were overwhelmed from the jump ball when we walked in the arena. Maybe that happens to young guys." Washington had only 47 points after three quarters and was stuck there for a while in the fourth as fans chanted "forty-seven!" John Wall shot 2 of 12 and finished with eight points. His last basket was an impressive alley-oop dunk on the break that cut it to 62-45 with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter. But the Wizards managed just two free throws from then until the end of the period, then didnt make a basket in the fourth until Shelvin Macks layup with 6:43 to play. "The thing in this league is youve got to bring it every night," Wizards guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "That team we played against today, theyre fighting for playoff position and were fighting for our pride. They came out and just completely humiliated us. Thank God we have a game tomorrow and try to make up for it." New York solidified its hold on eighth place with a victory in Milwaukee on Wednesday, but quickly showed it isnt looking to settle for the lowest seed. The Knicks led 26-13 after one quarter. They closed the first half with an 18-5 burst to take a 54-33 lead after Washington had closed within eight, and gave everyone plenty of rest before the early start Sunday. The only bad news in the Knicks ninth straight home victory was Iman Shumpert leaving with a sprained right ankle after 23 minutes. NOTES: The Knicks have won the last eight meetings at Madison Square Garden. Their winning streak against the Wizards is their longest current streak against an opponent. ... Woodson said Amare Stoudemire, out with a bulging disk in his back, took contact while playing in a pickup game during Thursdays off day. He isnt expected to return until mid to late next week. ... Knicks PG Jeremy Lin had the stitches from his left knee surgery removed. ' ' ' |
