Steckbrief » nce June 24 and had won seven straight until a

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- V.J. Beachem had the bounce-back game he needed Monday night for No. 25 Notre Dame.Beachem scored 20 points to help the Fighting Irish snap a two-game slide with a 77-62 win over Colgate.Beachem, who averages 15 points per game, returned to form after a four-point performance in a loss to No. 1 Villanova, followed by an ineffective second half in which he took just one shot during a loss to No. 15 Purdue. Beachem knocked down six 3-pointers against Colgate after going only 2 of 8 in the previous two games.It was big for me to finally knock down some shots and get into a rhythm, he said.Bonzie Colson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Matt Farrell added 13 points and six assists for the Irish (10-2).Will Ryman had 18 points and Nathan Harris scored 17 for Colgate (2-10), which lost its sixth in a row -- all in December.In the losses to Villanova and Purdue, the Irish led by double digits in the first half of each game, but were outscored by an average of 16 points in the second half.Against Colgate, they again took a comfortable lead in the first 20 minutes, but struggled to put away the Raiders. Steve Vasturias 3-pointer with 7:23 to play gave Notre Dame its largest lead at 21 points, but Colgate went on a 12-1 run to cut it to 10 with 4 minutes to go.Consecutive baskets by Colson and a 3 by Beachem with 2:48 left got the Irish back on track, part of a 9-2 run in response.(Beachem) needed to see some shots go in, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. Were not going to get another NCAA bid without our seniors playing well.Notre Dame came in leading the nation with just 8.4 turnovers per game, but committed 10 in the first half alone. Colgate contributed to the early sloppiness with 13 turnovers of its own while shooting only 21 percent from the floor as the Irish built a 16-point halftime lead.We turned it over way too many times in the first half, Colgate coach Matt Langel said. We didnt adjust quick enough.Notre Dame finished with a season-high 14 turnovers.BIG SURPRISEFarrell received an early Christmas gift from the Irish after the game. His older brother, Bo, a First Lieutenant with the Army who had been stationed in Afghanistan for seven months, walked out onto the court to surprise Matt.Brey and his staff had conspired for six weeks to set up the surprise, and even went so far as to prepare a fake video greeting that made it appear Bo was still overseas, just before he walked out to greet his brother.He got me, said Matt, who hadnt seen Bo since May. We dont ask for much for Christmas, so this is the best present Ive ever gotten.Matt joked that he was mad at Brey and the coaching staff for keeping the secret from him for so long.He is very upset with me, Brey said with a smile. What a neat family celebration.TIP-INSLangel was recruited by Brey to play at Delaware, his first head coaching position before coming to Notre Dame. ... Notre Dame freshman guard T.J. Gibbs wore No. 25 for the second half because his normal No. 2 was drenched with Gatorade after he dove over the Irish bench for a loose ball in the first half.BIG PICTUREColgate: In the Raiders two wins, theyve knocked down 25 3-pointers while shooting 49 percent from long range. Against the Irish, Colgate hit just one of its first nine 3s and finished 6 of 19.Notre Dame: The Irish enter their holiday break with a win but plenty to work on after an uninspired effort against Colgate.UP NEXTColgate: The Raiders end nonconference play at Duquesne on Thursday, then begin Patriot League play on Dec. 30 at Lafayette.Notre Dame: The Irish have one more nonconference tuneup at home against Saint Peters on Dec. 28 before beginning ACC play at Pittsburgh on Dec. 31. Matt Breida Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Tom Rathman Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Matt-Breida-Jersey/ . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Steve Young Youth Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Patrick Willis Youth Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Joe Maddon isnt surprised by the Chicago Cubs recent slump.Weve lost some games, and things arent going well right now, the Cubs manager said Thursday prior to a trip to Pittsburgh for a three-game series against the Pirates. Its just our turn, and weve got to fight through it. Like Winston Churchill once said, when youre going through hell, just keep on going.The Cubs opened the season with the best start in more than a century, climbing as high as 27 games above .500 and building a 12 1/2-game lead in the National League Central at one point.Since June 5, however, the Cubs are 13-18 with seven losses in eight games following a rain-delayed, 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday at Wrigley Field.I think there are long-term dividends attached to all of this stuff, Maddon said. A lot of the young guys getting more at-bats than we had thought at this time in the year -- guys like (catcher Willson) Contreras being forced into a more significant moment in July as opposed to maybe in September. Its just going to benefit him and us.The Cubs have used five rookies in recent weeks, all of whom joined the team in roughly the last month.Outfielder and leadoff batter Dexter Fowler, the catalyst to many first half wins, is on the disabled list along with backup catcher David Ross, who was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list this week.Cubs starting pitching -- notably the big three of Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and John Lackey -- have struggled of late, but they look to close the first half with positive performances.Arrieta (12-3, 2.33 ERA) gets the first crack in the series opener Friday when he faces left-hander Francisco Liriano (5-8, 5.34 ERA). Arrieta is 9-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 career starts against Pittsburgh.Liriano is 0-2 against Chicago this year. He lost a 9-4 decision at Wrigley Field on May 13 and a 6-0 decision to Arrieta on June 17. He is 5-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 13 all-time starts against the Cubs.ddddddddddddLester goes on Saturday, and he will have Contreras behind the plate after Ross went disabled list. Lackey wraps up the series on Sunday.Chad Kuhl will start for the Pirates on Saturday, and Jon Niese will pitch Sunday.The Cubs division lead is hardly in jeopardy at eight games over the St. Louis Cardinals and 8 1/2 over Pittsburgh. However, the race could tighten further against a surging Pirates team.Three weeks ago, the Pirates were 15 games behind Chicago following a three-game Cubs sweep at Wrigley Field. Pittsburgh appeared on the verge of slipping out of contention, generating speculation it would write off the season and sell off players to contending teams.The Pirates instead turned the season around. Pittsburgh is 10-3 since June 24 and had won seven straight until a 5-1 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday at Busch Stadium.However, even the series-ending defeat was encouraging, as rookie Tyler Glasnow impressed in his big league debut. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits, struck out five and walked two.He became the second Pirates pitcher to make his major league debut in three days, joining Steven Brault, who had a four-inning no-decision on Tuesday.The Cubs wont see either during the series.Pirates pitching had the lowest ERA (2.64) in the major leagues between June 25 and Wednesday. An improved bullpen has also been a significant element, led by closer Mark Melancon, who has converted each of his past 22 save situations dating back to April 27.The bullpens been incredible, thats tremendous, left-hander Jeff Locke said after he worked four innings Wednesday in the Pirates 7-5 win over the Cardinals. To hand the ball over to those guys -- youd like to go further into the game than that, but every day cant be Christmas. ' ' '