NIU to take on Marshall in Boca Raton Bowl .... battle of champions!

Northern Illinois is headed to South Florida for bowl season for the second time in the past three years.

The Huskies officially accepted an invitation Sunday to play in the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl. The Huskies (11-2) will take on Marshall (12-1) at 5 p.m. Dec. 23.

The Thundering Herd, who defeated Louisiana Tech in Saturday's Conference USA Championship, were in the running for the Group of Five bid for a New Year's Six Bowl before suffering a 67-66 loss Nov. 28 to Western Kentucky.

"I've got to say, our leadership was phenomenal. Jon Steinbrecher, our commissioner, has done a fantastic job of putting together bowl agreements that put us in a position of national conversation. Kudos to him and his staff, he's done a fantastic job. As I've always said, it's a relationship business," NIU athletic director Sean Frazier said. "I think it's extremely important to note that the Boca Raton Bowl is a part of our primary agreements, so it just fell in nicely, and I would say that the matchup is critical for us at NIU to continue to have that, based on the body of work and what we have done historically. I did have something to do with it, I take ownership of that, good, bad or indifferent. So folks that are upset with that, bring it on. But I haven't heard any, so that's a great thing. Read more here: http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2014/12/07/1169024f49b94ed7819fe65c5bcc5dbf/index.xml

Herd to play in Boca Raton Bowl.. Yes we placed some bets!

HUNTINGTON — The state of Florida has been good to Marshall coach Doc Holliday through recruiting over the years.

As it turns out, he hopes Florida is just as good to him in bowl season.

On Sunday, Marshall accepted a bid to play Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference champion, in the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl, which will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.

Tickets for the Boca Raton Bowl are $40 each and can be bought online through Herdzone.com. They can also be purchased during normal ticket office hours at the Cam Henderson Center.

Conference USA's bowl tie-ins could've had Marshall the Conference USA Champion heading to the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl to take on a bowl-eligible Big Ten team.

Unlike many conferences, Conference USA no longer denotes a "home bowl" for its champion an aspect which dissolved two years ago when the conference and the Liberty Bowl cut ties. Read more here: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/x1753192382/Herd-to-play-in-Boca-Raton-Bowl

Park Vista Beats Boca in Overtime.. Winning is wining

By: Jihad Shatara

Park Vista has been a very streaky and inconsistent team since the new head coach Edwin James took over. With five new starters from last year, that is what you would expect to happen. Both Boca and Park Vista have been trying to adjust to a few changes from last season.

This would be an important game for two teams looking for an all important win. Late in the game, the score was 81-81 when senior guard Kamil Williams hit the go ahead 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. Then, after the timeout, Williams fouls the Boca shooter on a 3-pointer that would send Boca to the Line. Boca would sink all three free throws and send the game into overtime. Read more here: http://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2014/12/park-vista-beats-boca-in-thrilling-overtime-victory/

Bowl projections: Michigan State to Fiesta Bowl? ... or Peach Bowl?

Missing out on the Big Ten Championship Game may not stand in the way of Michigan State making it to a marquee bowl game.

Some experts around the country have the Spartans, ranked 10th in the Associated Press Top 25 this week, going to the Fiesta Bowl, which takes place Dec. 31 in Glendale, Ariz.

Others see them going to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 in Arlington, Texas or the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 in Atlanta, Ga.

Meanwhile, Central Michigan and Western Michigan are bound for lesser bowl games as both are bowl-eligible. They've primarily been matched up in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 23 in Boca Raton, Fla., and the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 24 in Nassau, Bahamas.

Read more here: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2014/11/25/michigan-state-bowl-projections/70112542/

Women’s Basketball Lassos the Cowgirls; Improves to 3-0... They came a long way.

Lynn University’s women’s basketball improved to 3-0 on Monday night with a 72-66 win over the University of Puerto Rico Bayamon (1-2). The Fighting Knights were led by Charla Nelson-Jameswho had a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds. This marks the third straight year the Blue & White have started off with a 3-0 record and the fourth win over the Cowgirls in program history.

Lynn jumped off to an early 10-4 lead which forced UPRB to use its first timeout. Bayamon brought the score within one, 18-17, with 11:07 remaining in the first half when Fabiola Cosme drained a three-point shot. Lynn led by as many as seven throughout the final minutes of the frame and held on for a 39-36 halftime lead. Read more here: http://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2014/11/womens-basketball-lassos-the-cowgirls-improves-to-3-0/

Park Vista and Boca battle to 1-1 draw... If you missed it.. YOU MISSED IT.

Park Vista and Boca Raton took to the field Wednesday night in a battle of two District rivals. Park Vista was on the road looking to end their winless streak against Boca.

The game was aggressive and physical earlier. Boca opened up the scoring when a Bobcat player was tackled in the box. Senior captain Lucas DeCarvalho scored on the penalty kick and made it 1-0 in the 47th minute. Park Vista would then miss two wide open nets after the ball was deflected off the Bobcat Goalie. Park Vista then scored on a Penalty Kick with just six minutes left. The game would end in a 1-1 draw. Read more here: http://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2014/11/park-vista-and-boca-battle-to-1-1-draw/