g half. Whittington is a hulking figure in the lane at 6-foot-1

WASHINGTON -- Troy Perkins wasnt overly pleased with the Montreal Impacts 1-1 draw at D.C. United on Saturday. "Were not happy," Perkins said. "Were not sad." That was the consensus in Montreals locker-room after United forward Eddie Johnsons 84th-minute strike negated a goal from red-hot Impact striker Jack McInerney at RFK Stadium. While Montreal (1-5-4) regretted giving up the lead, a point on the road on short rest gave the Impact reason for optimism as they try to escape the Eastern Conference cellar. The Impact were playing just three days after a 4-2 win over FC Edmonton, which earned them a berth in the Canadian Championship final. Montreals most recent league outing was a 3-0 home loss to Sporting Kansas City last weekend. "It felt a little bit like a disappointment, but its something to build on," Impact coach Frank Klopas said. "It was a question mark with some of the guys, playing midweek and a lot of travel, so it was good to see the effort that they put in as a whole." For McInerney, the 56th-minute goal was his fourth in his past four games in all competitions, and his fifth overall since joining the Impact in an April 4 trade from the Philadelphia Union. Stealing a bad first touch off the foot of United left back Cristian Fernandez, Impact winger Justin Mapp raced down the right side, cut inside and found McInerney in front for the simple finish. With 2013 MVP finalist Marco Di Vaio (20 goals last season) sidelined by a hamstring injury in recent weeks, McInerney has proven to be a more-than-viable backup plan. "Thats a striker for you," Klopas said. "Every two, three games, you want a guy thats going to score. Hes been doing that, so thats something thats very positive. Hes always around the goal, and thats a very good sign." It was the third assist of a McInerney goal for Mapp, who played with him in Philadelphia from 2010 to 2011. "He (Mapp) is getting the ball in good spots and making it easy for me, so hopefully we can keep it going," McInerney said. United (4-3-3) enjoyed 57 per cent of the possession and twice struck the crossbar, while Montreal created a myriad of chances of its own. Speedy winger Sanna Nyassi found himself repeatedly denied by stellar stops from United goalkeeper Bill Hamid. When one of Nyassis rebounds fell to McInerney, the strikers second strike was denied by diving United right back Chris Korb. "Thats the best weve played -- possession, buildup, defending well," Perkins said. Johnson rose to nod home a Fabian Espindola cross at the far post with six minutes remaining. The goal was the first tally since an off-season trade from the Seattle Sounders for Johnson, who was snubbed this week from the U.S. national teams preliminary World Cup roster. The combination of Wednesdays win over Edmonton and Saturdays road draw left the Impact feeling positive heading into a trip to face the Colorado Rapids next Saturday at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. "At the end of the day, if we want to make a little run into the playoffs, we need to put those chances away," McInerney said. "It should have been 2-, 3-0. But I think we came in and we surprised a lot of people, so well take the point and move on." Laurie Boschman Jersey .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. Laurent Brossoit Jets Jersey .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/authentic-blake-wheeler-jets-jersey/ . -- Down to 10 men and behind on the scoreboard, Toronto FC displayed its perseverance. Dmitry Kulikov Jersey . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Logan Stanley Jersey . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. Say goodbye to both. Cooney scored 18 points, fellow guard Tyler Ennis of Brampton, Ont., had 16, and the Orange defence clamped down in a 77-53 victory over Western Michigan on Thursday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Cooney hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and Ennis had six assists with one turnover to spark the Orange, who shot 28 of 57 (49.1 per cent) from the field and hit 7 of 17 from long range. "It was just good to see one go in," Cooney said. "It adds to your confidence a little bit, and I was able to get into a good rhythm and guys found me in good spots. The ball just went in today." Since matching a school record with nine 3-pointers that keyed a six-point win over Notre Dame last month, Cooney had hit just 10 of 51 (19.6 per cent) from beyond the arc. That abysmal shooting came during Syracuses swoon, which included a three-point loss to North Carolina State in the ACC tournament last week. Thats all forgotten now. "Same guy," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "Hes just got to get his looks and take them. Hes definitely stayed up the whole time. Hes played the other parts of the game. Its a big difference when he makes shots." Syracuse (28-5), the third seed in the South Regional, will play 11th-seeded Dayton (24-10) on Saturday. Dayton beat Ohio State 60-59 on Thursday. The Orange won their first 25 games and were ranked No. 1 for three weeks before losing five of seven in that late-season skid. Western Michigan (23-10), the Mid-American Conference champion, had won 14 of 16 games and was in the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade. The Orange forced 11 turnovers in the opening half and scored 13 points off them in running out to a double-digit lead before the midpoint of the period. Syracuse used an 18-4 spurt over 10 minutes to take control and led 40-21 at halftime. The Broncos took care of the ball in the second half, losing it only twice, but the deficit was much too daunting to overcome as Syracuse dominated the glass 41-25 and scored 15 second-chance points. "We ran into a buzz saw today," WMU coach Steve Hawkins said. "We made too many mistakes in the first half. We had 11 turnovers in the first half and thats what staked them out to that lead. I felt like after we started taking care of the ball in the second half, we got a few better looks." Jerami Grant finished with 16 points, while C.J. Fair, double- and triple-teamed nearly every time he touched the ball, finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Shayne Whittington and Tucker Haymond led Western Michigan with 11 points apiece. David Brown, the MAC scoring champion, finished with a season-low nine points on 2-of-12 shooting, 2 of 100 from long range.dddddddddddd Syracuse rode its defence to the Final Four a year ago and the zone was stellar from the opening tip against the Broncos. The Broncos split two games with Eastern Michigan during the season, learning the nuances of the zone defence employed by Eagles coach Rob Murphy, an assistant at Syracuse for eight years before taking over at EMU. "We hope its a help," Hawkins said. It wasnt. Same system, maybe, but different personnel. "Theyre long and athletic, and they make you second-guess where you want to throw the ball," Brown said. "I feel that we were hesitant. We turned the ball over way too much." The Syracuse defence had to focus on WMUs fifth-year seniors Whittington and Brown and did the job. Whittington was hounded in the lane, unable to generate much, taking just seven shots. And while Brown was his usual self at the free throw line, he had only four chances, hitting three. "We came out playing pressure defence," Fair said. "We werent going to let them get comfortable." They didnt. The Broncos committed four quick turnovers as Syracuse took a 7-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Cooney just over 3 minutes in. Brown led the MAC at 19.4 points per game and earned MVP of the conference tournament after scoring a career-high 32 points that included five 3-pointers in the final against Toledo, and he makes a good living at the free throw line. Brown was 196 of 254 (77.2 per cent) from the line, most of the fouls coming while he was attempting one of the 237 shots he took from behind the arc. He found no room to roam against the Orange, missing three times from well beyond the 3-point line before finally hitting near the midpoint of the opening half. Whittington is a hulking figure in the lane at 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, but Grant easily spun around him and slammed home a ferocious two-handed dunk to boost the Syracuse lead to 12-4. Cooneys second 3 and a layup by Ennis had the Broncos 13 points behind and reeling. Fairs three-point play and a 3-pointer from the wing by Ennis off a feed from Grant inside gave Syracuse a 31-13 lead with 4:08 to go in the half. Whittington shook off a foul by Grant and hit a pretty hook in the lane that he turned into a three-point play and Brown followed with two free throws and his first 3 to give the Broncos a glimmer of hope. Syracuse responded with a slam dunk by senior centre Baye Moussa Keita, another 3 from Cooney, and a putback by Fair off a miss by Ennis to gain the 19-point halftime lead. If the Broncos hoped to make a comeback in the second half, that idea was quickly squashed. After a layup by Connar Tava -- Grant was called for goaltending on the play -- and a free throw by Haymond closed the gap to 16 points, Syracuse responded with an 8-2 spurt that Cooney started with a four-point play. ' ' '