National Sports Briefs

Associated Press

RALEIGH — Sergei Samsonov scored his 200th career goal and the Carolina Hurricanes withstood a late rally to beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 Tuesday night.

Ray Whitney and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for the Hurricanes, who extended their winning streak to a season-high four games.

Cam Ward continued his recent surge for the Hurricanes, making 26 saves. The Carolina goalie won all three of his starts last week and posted a 1.33 goals against-average with a .944 save percentage.

Wild 1, Bruins 0

BOSTON — Niklas Backstrom stopped 28 shots for his second straight shutout and fifth of the season.

Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 0DETROIT — Ty Conklin made 23 saves for his eighth career shutout and Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and two assists.

Capitals 2, Flyers 1, SO

WASHINGTON — In a statement game, the Washington Capitals overcame the Philadelphia Flyers — on the ice and in the stands.

Penguins 3, Thrashers 1

PITTSBURGH — Petr Sykora ended Pittsburgh's seven-game drought without a power-play goal while scoring twice and Evgeni Malkin came out of a slump with three assists.

Sabres 4, Senators 2

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Derek Roy had a goal and two assists and the Buffalo Sabres avoided blowing a three-goal lead.

Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 2

TORONTO — Stephen Weiss, Ville Peltonen, Michael Frolik and Gregory Campbell scored for Florida.

Avalanche 2, Predators 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Wojtek Wolski scored both goals for Colorado.

COLLEGE HOOPS

CLEMSON, S.C. — Trevor Booker had 19 points to help Clemson remain unbeaten with a victory over Alabama.

The Tigers (15-0) kept pace with their 17-0 start two years ago when they were the nation's last unbeaten. It took a stellar defensive effort down the stretch to hold off the Crimson Tide (10-4).

No. 1 UConn 61, W. Va. 55

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Jeff Adrien scored 17 points and No. 5 Connecticut beat No. 25 West Virginia 61-55 on Tuesday night.

Arkansas 67, No. 7 Texas 61

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Michael Washington scored 22 points, including a driving dunk with 22.5 seconds remaining, to help Arkansas (12-1) upset another top 10 team with a victory over Texas.

No. 8 Michigan State 67, Ohio State 58

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Kalin Lucas scored 20 points to lead eighth-ranked Michigan State to a win over Ohio State.

Penn State 67, No. 14 Purdue 64

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Talor Battle scored 21 points as Penn State lost an early 15-point lead before rallying to beat Purdue.

No. 18 Villanova 89, Seton Hall 85, OTNEWARK, N.J. — Scottie Reynolds matched his career high with 40 points and Villanova made its last 18 free throws to beat Seton Hall.

TENNIS

HONG KONG — Despite watching some of her biggest rivals hang up their rackets in recent years, seven-time major champion Venus Williams says she still has plenty of goals in tennis."I love my job. I love hitting balls, running, jumping, chasing after that ball. I love what I do, so that's what keeps me motivated," the 28-year-old Williams said Tuesday in Hong Kong ahead of a tuneup exhibition tournament for the Australian Open.

YOW UPDATE

RALEIGH — North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow will not return to the team this season due to health issues related to her long fight against cancer.

In a statement released by the school Tuesday afternoon, the Hall of Fame coach said she just doesn't have the energy to coach the way she always has before.