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Johnson one of many stories at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Jimmie Johnson's drive to a fourth straight Sprint Cup points title will be one of numerous story lines at Sunday's Ford 400 auto race in Homestead, Fla.

Johnson, Friday's pole winner, needs only to finish at least 25th to win an unprecedented fourth straight points title.

I'm glad that we have this late-season push each year, especially with the (Race for the Chase, the season-ending battle for the points title) in play, Johnson said this week on his Web site.

Also, Matt Kenseth drives for DeWalt Power Tools for the last time; Jamie McMurray does the same for Roush Fenway Racing; 50-year-old Mark Martin becomes the oldest driver to finish in the Top 10; Michael Waltrip ends his last full-time season; and Rick Hendrick, for whom Johnson drives, will join Petty Enterprises with his ninth ownership championship when Johnson starts the race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

COL FB: TCU 45, Wyoming 10

LARAMIE, Wyo., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Matthew Tucker rushed for 134 yards with two touchdowns Saturday, leading fourth-ranked TCU to a 45-10 Mountain West Conference win over Wyoming.

Tucker scored on a 3-yard, first-quarter run and a 48-yarder in the third.

Quarterback Andy Dalton completed 10-of-19 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception and also had 88 rushing yards. Jeremy Kerley added four receptions for 87 yards with one touchdown for the unbeaten Horned Frogs, who rose to 11-0 for the first time since 1938 with their sixth straight victory by at least 27 points and 22nd win in 23 games.

Wyoming's touchdown came on Chris Prosinski's 98-yard, second-quarter fumble return.

Austyn Carta-Samuels completed just 4-of-10 passes for 83 yards. Ian Watts kicked an 18-yard, first-quarter field goal for the Cowboys (5-6, 3-4), who have lost four of five.

COL FB: Alabama 45, Chattanooga 0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Mark Ingram rushed for 102 yards with two touchdowns Saturday, leading third-ranked Alabama to a 45-0 non-SEC victory against Chattanooga.

He scored both touchdowns in the second quarter on 25- and 40-yard runs.

Greg McElroy completed 6-of-11 passes for 80 yards and one touchdown while playing just the first half.

Javier Arenas set an SEC record with his seventh punt return for a touchdown on a 66-yard second-quarter run, bettering Kentucky's Derek Abney.

Roy Upchurch and Demetrius Goode gained 70 rushing yards apiece with Upchuch scoring one touchdown for the unbeaten Crimson Tide (11-0), who led 35-0 at the half.

B.J. Coleman threw for just 36 yards with two interceptions for the Mocs (6-5), who lost four of the final six games and made only five first downs.

COL FB: Duke 104, Radford 67

DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Nolan Smith's 20 points and seven assists Saturday fueled eighth-ranked Duke's 104-67 blasting of Radford.

Duke led 59-34 at the half, and equaled a school record by making 18 of its 32 3-point attempts on the way to its 72nd-straight home court victory against a non-ACC opponent.

Reserve Andre Dawkins also scored 20 points with three steals.

Jon Scheyer had 18 points and seven assists, while Kyle Singler added 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the unbeaten Blue Devils (4-0), who have broken the 100-point barrier twice in a row. They beat Charlotte 101-59 last Tuesday.

Artsiom Parakhouski led Radford with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Phillip Martin added 12 points and Blake Smith scored 11 with six rebounds for the Highlanders (2-1), who started their season with victories over Navy and Lynchburg.

COL BKB: Georgetown 63, Savannah St. 44

SAVANNAH, Ga., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Jason Clark's 14 points led four starters in double figures Saturday in a 63-44 win by No. 20 Georgetown over Savannah State.

Greg Monroe scored 13 with seven rebounds, Austin Freeman added 12 points, and Chris Wright had 11 points and four assists for the unbeaten Hoyas (3-0), who overcame 15 turnovers and blocked 10 shots.

Clark sank 4-of-6 3-point attempts and added six rebounds.

GU built a 34-20 halftime advantage, and maintained a comfortable double-digit lead throughout the second half.

Its biggest lead was 50-29 after a 7-0 run concluded with 9:47 remaining.

Darius Baugh's 10 points led the Tigers (2-2), who have lost their three lifetime contests against Georgetown, including 100-38 last season.

COL BKB: Kentucky 92, Rider 63

LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Freshman John Wall had 21 points, six rebounds and 11 assists Saturday, leading fifth-ranked Kentucky's 92-63 romp over Rider.

Kentucky bolted to a 51-26 halftime lead, and emptied its bench in the final stanza, with all 11 players getting playing time.

Patrick Patterson scored 19 points with 18 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins scored 18 with six rebounds and five blocked shots.

Daniel Orton scored 14 and Eric Bledsoe added 11 points for the Wildcats (4-0), who forced 20 turnovers and rose to 3-0 lifetime against the Broncos.

Ryan Thompson's 16 points and 10 rebounds led Rider.

Novar Gadson scored 14 and Mike Ringgold 12 for the Broncos (2-2), who have lost two in a row.

COL FB: Florida 62, Fla. International 3

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Tim Tebow accounted for three touchdowns Saturday, guiding top-ranked Florida to a 62-3 non-SEC rout of Florida International.

The former Heisman Trophy winner ran for 102 yards, scoring on a 55-yard, first-quarter run. He also completed 17-of-25 passes for 215 yards with a 27-yard, second-quarter scoring pass to Chris Rainey and an 18-yard touchdown to Riley Cooper in the third.

Backup quarterback John Brantley tossed three touchdown passes.

Rainey had 61 yards receiving and 30 rushing, and Brandon Spikes scored on a 42-yard, first-quarter interception return for the unbeaten Gators (11-0), who face arch-rival Florida State next Saturday and are 11-0 for the second time in school history.

They face Alabama in the SEC title game and, with 21 straight victories, have the nation's longest winning streak.

Paul McCall threw for 134 yards with an interception, and Dustin Rivest kicked a field goal for the Golden Panthers (3-8), who split their final four games.

COL FB: Iowa 12, Minnesota 0

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Daniel Murray kicked two field goals and Iowa's defense forced three turnovers Saturday, leading the 15th-ranked Hawkeyes to 12-0 Big Ten win over Minnesota.

Murray's kicks of 30 and 45 yards were made in the first and fourth quarters.

Backup James Vandenberg, making his second start in place of injured quarterback Ricky Stanzi (ankle), completed 11-of-24 passes for 117 yards with one interception.

Adam Robinson gained 72 yards on 12 carries, and Brandon Wegher scored the game's only touchdown with a second-quarter, 1-yard run for the Hawkeyes (10-2, 6-2), who retained Floyd of Rosedale, a statue of a bronzed pig, with their second straight shutout in the neighbor-states series.

Adam Weber completed just 14-of-40 passes for 153 yards and lost two fumbles. Da'Jon McKnight caught four passes for 63 yards for the Golden Gophers (6-6, 3-5), who ended their regular season losing two of their final three games.

COL FB: Ohio State 21, Michigan 10

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Cameron Heyward's end zone fumble recovery Saturday started No. 8 Ohio State on its way to a 21-10 win over Michigan.

The victory was Ohio State's sixth straight in the Big Ten Conference series.

The touchdown on a fumble by quarterback Tate Forcier came before the contest was 5 minutes old and was one of five Michigan turnovers.

Brandon Saine rushed for 84 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown.

Daniel Herron gained 96 yards on 19 carries and caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Terrelle Pryor, who threw for only 67 yards, but rushed for 74 yards on 19 carries for the Rose Bowl-bound Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1), who held only a 320-309 yardage advantage.

Forcier threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Smith, but also threw four interceptions, and Jason Olesnavage kicked a field goal for the Wolverines (5-7, 1-7), who endured their second straight losing season, with seven losses for the first time in school history.

Westwood ahead by two strokes at Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Lee Westwood had his second 6-under-par 66 of the tournament Saturday and has a 2-stroke lead after three rounds of the European PGA's Dubai World Championship.

Westwood posted a bogey-free round Saturday and is at 15-under 201. Ross McGowan matched Westwood's 66 to keep within sight of the lead at 13-under. Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy each shot 3-under 69 in the third round and are tied with Noren Alexander, who had a 67, for third place at 10-under.

The tournament championship, to be decided Sunday, is worth $1.2 million to the winner but the golfer who leads the European Tour's money list also receives a bonus of $1.5 million. Westwood and McIlroy are battling for that check.

McIlroy was 6-under Saturday going to No. 16 but he hit a shot to the edge of a water hazard and took a bogey 5 there. He followed that with a 3-putt bogey at 17 and found the water again at 18 and ended with a third consecutive bogey.

Westwood was 1-under after eight holes Saturday before running off three consecutive birdies. He added a birdie at No. 14 and capped the day with a birdie at the 18th hole.

McGowan has gone 46 holes without a bogey to stay in contention.

COL BKB: Washington 80, San Jose St. 70

SEATTLE, Nov. 21 (UPI) --

A big game from Quincy Pondexter Friday kept No. 14 Washington unbeaten with an 80-70 triumph over San Jose State.

Pondexter scored 30 points and claimed 15 rebounds in helping the Huskies fight off the Spartans.

Washington built its lead to as many as 17 points after owning only a five-point advantage with 13:45 to play.

Pondexter made 10-of-18 shots from the field and 10-of-13 from the line. The rest of the team could make only 17 field goals in 47 attempts. Isaiah Thomas added 16 points, but it took him 16 shots to do it.

Washington has opened the season at 4-0. San Jose State fell to 1-1.

The Spartans were led by a 32-point effort from Adrian Oliver.

NBA: LA Clippers 106, Denver 99

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Rasual Butler scored 27 points off the bench Friday and the Los Angeles Clippers survived a fourth-quarter comeback bid to defeat Denver 106-99.

The Clippers beat the Nuggets for the first time in eight tries.

Los Angeles had a 15-point cushion at the start of the final period, but Denver cut its deficit to five with a minute to play on a 3-pointer from J.R. Smith.

Carmelo Anthony had a chance to trim the Los Angeles lead to two, but he missed a 3-point try with 17 seconds remaining and Butler hit two free throws with 9 seconds left to ensure the victory.

Denver had a two-game winning streak snapped and lost for the fourth time this season.

The Clippers, who had dropped their previous two outings, got 18 points from Al Thornton and 13 from Chris Kaman.

Denver was led by Anthony with 37 points. He made 12-of-20 from the field and missed just once in 13 attempts from the foul line.

COL FB: Boise State 52, Utah State 21

LOGAN, Utah, Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Doug Martin scored three of his four touchdowns during a 28-point second period Friday, sending No. 6 Boise State rolling to a 52-21 victory over Utah State.

Utah State answered each of Boise State's first two scores, but the unbeaten Broncos then began pouring it on to improve their hopes of playing in a BCS bowl game.

Boise State (10-0) needs victories over Nevada and New Mexico State to finish off a perfect regular season.

Nevada will take a 6-0 Western Athletic Conference record into its game against New Mexico State Saturday and will meet Boise State next week with the league title on the line.

Martin gave the Broncos a 14-7 lead with a 17-yard touchdown run midway through the second period, then scored on a 2-yard blast to put Boise State in front for good with 4:47 left in the half. His 1-yarder with just 5 seconds to play in the second period gave the Broncos a 35-14 advantage.

Martin added a 6-yard scoring run in the fourth period and finished with 121 yards on 13 carries.

After Martin's second touchdown put Boise State in front 21-14, Utah State's Robert Turbin fumbled the ball away at his own 9-yard line. Jeremy Avery scored on the next play for the Broncos and the rout was on.

Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore completed 15-of-29 passes for 233 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

Utah State fell to 3-8 for the season and to 2-5 in conference play.

NBA: Golden State 108, Portland 94

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Monta Ellis keyed a Golden State comeback by scoring 32 points Friday and the Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 108-94 win over Portland.

The Trail Blazers lost for just the second time in nine games.

Portland took an eight-point lead after one period, but could score just 15 points in the second while falling behind by four at halftime.

Golden State outscored the Trail Blazers 25-19 in the final quarter to end a three-game losing streak and win for only the fourth time this season.

Ellis also handed out seven assists while Anthony Morrow contributed 24 points. Anthony Randolph had 17 and Corey Maggette 13.

Rudy Fernandez scored 17 to lead Portland.

NHL: San Jose 6, Philadelphia 3

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Dany Heatley scored two of his three goals in the third period Friday, helping San Jose race to a 6-3 victory over Philadelphia.

The Sharks snapped a two-game skid and increased their lead over Los Angeles to six points in the Pacific Division.

Heatley scored on a tip-in 50 seconds into the second period to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead and San Jose had a 3-2 advantage heading into the final period.

Heatley made it 4-2 by scoring shorthanded 8:41 into the third, after which Claude Giroux scored his second of the game to bring the Flyers within one. Heatley, however, added a power-play goal with 7:16 to play and Ryane Clowe finished the scoring with 4:38 remaining.

The hat trick boosted Heatley's goal total for the season to 17.

Evgeni Nabokov made 27 saves to get the win. Ray Emery gave up all six goals on 33 shots.

NHL: Vancouver 5, Colorado 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 21 (UPI) --

Christian Ehrhoff's second score of the game Friday touched off a four-goal third period that rallied Vancouver to a 5-2 victory over Colorado.

Vancouver moved within five points of the division-leading Avalanche by beating them for the third time in their four meetings this season.

Colorado took a 2-0 lead after one period and could not score again against Roberto Luongo.

The Vancouver offense got going when Ehrhoff scored on the power play 4:22 into the second period and the Canucks then erupted in the final stanza against goaltender Craig Anderson.

Ehrhoff tied it with a wrist shot 5:12 deep into the third, after which Henrik Sedin, Steve Bernier and Mikael Samuelsson scored to turn the game into a rout.

Vancouver picked up an 8-2 win at Colorado last weekend and this contest was the opener of a five-game homestand.

Luongo made 22 saves. Anderson stopped 27-of-32 shots.

NBA: Orlando 83, Boston 78

BAGHDAD, Mass., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Vince Carter scored 26 points Friday and Orlando turned in an outstanding defensive effort to defeat Boston 83-78.

In a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals, Orlando limited the Celtics to 34.5 percent shooting from the field.

The Magic won Game 7 in Boston last spring to earn a spot in the NBA's title series. They eventually fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals.

Orlando overcame a strong defensive performance by Boston, shooting just 41.4 percent. Carter made only 10-of-29 from the field.

Rashard Lewis helped Orlando win its fourth straight game by scoring 16 points. Dwight Howard had 15 and Mickael Pietrus scored 14.

Boston, which has dropped three out of four, was led by 21 points from Paul Pierce.

Lewis made two free throws with 58.4 seconds remaining to give Orlando a four-point lead. Boston could not score another point and Jason Williams added a free throw with 10.5 seconds to go for the final margin.

NHL: Minnesota 3, N.Y. Islanders 2

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Owen Nolan completed a third-period rally Friday by scoring with 1:07 remaining in Minnesota's 3-2 win over the New York Islanders.

It was Nolan's second goal of the game and came on a wrist shot that eluded Martin Biron, who has lost three of his last four starts.

The Wild snapped a four-game losing streak.

New York took a 2-1 lead into the third period, but Mikko Koivu scored a power-play goal 6:58 into the stanza to tie it. Nolan also scored in the opening period and ran his season goal total to six.

Jon Sim and Josh Bailey produced goals for the Islanders in the second.

Niklas Backstrom stopped 27 shots to get the victory.

NBA: Toronto 120, Miami 113

TORONTO, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Chris Bosh scored 29 points Friday and Toronto fought off a Miami comeback attempt to down the Heat 120-113.

Toronto had a 20-point lead at halftime, but Miami closed to within 100-99 on a jumper by James Jones with 3:44 remaining. Toronto's lead was 105-103 with 2:49 left before the Raptors ran off 10 straight points to take control.

Bosh made 10-of-14 shots from the field and also grabbed 12 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani contributed 24 points and Hedo Turkoglu had 19 for the Raptors, who had lost their previous three games.

Mario Chalmers scored a career-high 30 points for Miami and Dwyane Wade had 30 as well. Miami has lost three in a row and four out of five.

Wade has scored at least 20 points in 24 straight regular-season games, a franchise record.

NBA: Oklahoma City 127, Washington 108

OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 20 (UPI) --

Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City to a hot shooting performance Friday and the Thunder ran away in the fourth quarter for a 127-108 win over Washington.

Durant scored 35 points, the fourth time in Oklahoma City's 13 games this season he has reached the 30-point mark. The Thunder shot 53 percent from the field and made 11-of-21 3-point tries.

Russell Westbrook chipped in 26 points and James Harden had 25 for Oklahoma City, which climbed one game above the breakeven mark.

Washington was led by 24 points from Caron Butler and 23 from Gilbert Arenas.

Oklahoma City owned a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Wizards stayed within striking distance until the final 2 minutes, but the Thunder scored the final 10 points of the game.