as a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Tracy Abrams proved that he was back to top shape -- or even better -- when he scored a career-high 31 points and led Illinois in a 92-73 drubbing of Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon.Abrams scored 23 points in the first half and finished 7 of 8 from 3-point range on a day when he scored his 1,000th career point with Illinois (8-3).Its been a long road for the guard from Chicago who missed the last two seasons with knee injuries. Despite the difficult journey, Abrams had a priority for whom to credit for his on-court success.My teammates for giving me the ball and just the hard work, being in the gym a lot. Abrams said. It just shows that hard work pays off.Illinois shot at or above 50 percent from the field in the first 10 minutes, but a six-minute Central Michigan scoring drought allowed Illinois to go on a 23-3 run and lead by as many as 19 points in the first half.Leron Black played another compete game from the bench, scoring a career-high 21 points.Illinois played its last nonconference game at home of the season, a game in which coach John Groce thought his team continued to grow and find its identity.It was our most complete performance of the season, Groce said. I think its something that we can build upon.Marcus Keene led Central Michigan (8-3) with 25 points and Braylon Rayson added 18.Illinois won the rebound battle 49-25 and outscored the Chippewas in the paint 34-14.We had great attitude, great effort and just got beat by an ever-improving Illinois team, Central Michigan coach Keno Davis said. They were able to expose the weakness of being not as physical, big and strong as they are.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Fighting Illini continue to win during a critical stretch of the season. Two more nonconference wins against BYU and Missouri will help the Illinis tournament resume before the start of Big Ten play.Central Michigan: The Chippewas lost arguably their hardest game of the season. Central Michigan will have a nice break before playing the last two nonconference games of the season.STAR WATCHMalcolm Hill was held scoreless in the first half but finished with 10 points and five rebounds.STAT OF THE NIGHTIllinois held Central Michigan to its lowest first-half points total of the season at 36.ROLE PLAYERD.J. Williams continued to gain more playing time after sitting out two of the previous four games. The sophomore finished with two points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.UP NEXTIllinois will have the week of before the team travels to Chicago to play BYU in the State Farm Chicago Legends game.Central Michigan has an extended break before returning back to action at Montana State on Dec. 21.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Dave Robinson Super Bowl Jersey . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Blake Martinez Super Bowl Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/tramon-williams-youth-jersey.html . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Raven Greene Super Bowl Jersey . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Billy Turner Super Bowl Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Retired Portland Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury will remain with the team as director of business development.Jewsbury retired at the end of this season after a 14-year career, including the last six seasons in Portland. He is one of just 10 players to have played 350 or more games in Major League Soccers history.Affectionately known as Captain Jack during his playing career, Jewsburys new job in the front office will include developing new sponsorship opportunities. He will also help witth the Timbers community outreach platform, Stand Together, and other initiatives.ddddddddddddJewsbury, who was on the Timbers team that won the MLS Cup last year, holds a business degree from Saint Louis University.Ive always been interested in the business side of the sport, and Im excited to begin the next phase of my career, he said Thursday in a statement released by the team. ' ' '