UConn almost delivers

Noel Devine’s 56-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes lifted No. 22 West Virginia to a 28-24 win over the Huskies yesterday in Morgantown, W.Va., in Connecticut’s first game since the starting cornerback was fatally stabbed outside a university-sponsored dance a week ago.

Devine ran for 171 of his 178 yards in the second half as West Virginia (6-1, 2-0 Big East) overcame the inspired play of the Huskies (4-3, 1-2).

“That’s what football is all about - making big plays when your teammates need you,’’ Devine said.

The determined Huskies outgained the Mountaineers, 501-387. Sophomore quarterback Cody Endres threw for a career-high 378 yards and two scores. Marcus Easley caught five passes for a career-high 157 yards, including an 88-yard TD.

“We really wanted to go out and get this win for Jazz, but we came up short,’’ Easley said.

Connecticut was done in by second-half miscues. David Teggart missed two field goal tries, and a fumble and three interceptions ended other promising drives.

UConn coach Randy Edsall will fly with his team to Howard’s funeral tomorrow in Miami.

“I just feel empty,’’ Edsall said. “The kids played their hearts out and did what we asked them to do. This is a special group of kids. We’ve got to take this and just learn how to play like this all the time.’’

West Virginia’s Jarrett Brown, returning from a mild concussion sustained last week against Marshall, ran for one score and threw for another. He also threw the lead block that sprang Devine on a 62-yard run late in the third quarter, setting up Brown’s 1-yard TD toss to Tyler Urban.

Kent Richardson returned one of Endres’s picks 47 yards but fumbled the ball away deep in UConn territory. Endres then found Easley on a crossing route and he went down the left sideline for the 88-yard score that put the Huskies ahead, 24-21, with 3:50 left.

Holy Cross 42, Colgate 28 - Dominic Randolph passed for four touchdowns and ran for two more, and the No. 22 Crusaders handed the visiting Raiders their first loss of the season.

Randolph went 20 of 31 for 288 yards, and had 116 yards rushing on 14 carries for Holy Cross (6-1, 2-0 Patriot). He has thrown for at least 200 yards in 36 straight games, a Championship Subdivision record.

The Crusaders have won two of the past three games in the series after 17th-ranked Colgate (7-1, 2-1) won five in a row from 2002-06.

New Hampshire 18, Hofstra 10 - Tom Manning kicked three field goals, including a school-record 54-yarder, to boost the No. 9 Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) over the Pride (4-4, 2-3) in Hempstead, N.Y.

Manning, who also had kicks of 44 and 30 yards, broke the previous record of 53 set by Dave Taggart against Northeastern on Oct. 22, 1977.

Villanova 36, Rhode Island 7 - Matt Szczur ran for one touchdown and threw for another, and the fourth-ranked Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 CAA) cruised past the visiting Rams (1-6, 0-4).

Central Conn. 24, Bryant 23 - James Mallory scored on a 1-yard run with 47 seconds remaining and the Blue Devils (6-1, 4-0 Northeast) escaped with a win over the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-2) in Smithfield, R.I.

On the ensuing possession, Michael Croce threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Matt Tracey with nine seconds remaining to pull Bryant to within a point, but Chris Bird’s extra-point attempt was no good.

Wagner 49, Sacred Heart 28 - Nick Doscher ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and Chaz Legette picked off a Dale Fink pass and returned it 21 yards for the go-ahead score in the third quarter to lead the Seahawks (4-3, 3-1 Northeast) past the visiting Pioneers (1-6, 1-4).

Bentley 24, Assumption 20 - John Malone and Kelley Rowe scored second-half touchdowns and linebacker Matt Zahoruiko led the way on defense, making 10 tackles, recovering a fumble to set up the go-ahead score, and intercepting a pass to seal the win for the first-place Falcons (8-1, 6-1 Northeast-10) over the visiting Greyhounds (5-3, 4-2).

AIC 41, Merrimack 13 - Amadeus Guerrero-Pou rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns and Terrance Holley and Nathaniel Ricks returned interceptions for scores as the Yellow Jackets (5-3, 3-3 NE-10) trounced the visiting Warriors (5-3, 4-2).

Stonehill 31, Saint Anselm 28 - Stephan Neville took the opening kickoff 85 yards for a TD and the Skyhawks (3-5, 2-4 NE-10) were able to hold off Michael Pierce (36 for 74, 390 yards, 3 TDs and 106 yards rushing on 15 attempts) and the Hawks (2-6, 1-5).

New Haven 49, Pace 27 - Sharieff Hall returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score and also hauled in a 30-yard TD pass to lift the host Chargers (4-4, 3-4 NE-10) to the easy win over the Setters (0-8, 0-6).

Curry 20, Plymouth St. 9 - Zach Cavanaugh ran 13 yards for a TD and hit Jeff Hubbard for a 48-yard score to lift the Colonels (6-2, 5-0) past the visiting Panthers (6-2, 4-1) and into sole possession of first place in the NEFC’s Boyd Division.

Maine Maritime 49, Framingham St. 21 - Jim Bower ran for 154 yards and a touchdown and became the fourth Mariner to top 3,000 yards as Maine Maritime (6-1, 4-1 NEFC) rolled past the visiting Rams (4-4, 2-3) and into first place in the Bogan Division.

Westfield St. 28, Bridgewater St. 19 - Luke Johnson rushed for 101 yards and a TD and quarterback Kyle Anderson scored on two 1-yard scores to help the host Owls (5-3, 3-2 NEFC) knock off the Bears (5-3, 3-2).

Coast Guard 17, Worcester St. 14 - Eric Gerkin caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Jesse Karr and the visiting Bears (3-4, 3-2 NEFC) recorded the program’s 300th win by downing the Lancers (1-7, 1-4).

Salve Regina 28, MIT 17 - Jeff St. Onge passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, boosting the visiting Seahawks (4-4, 2-2 NEFC) past the Engineers (1-6, 1-4), who were led by DeRon Brown’s 246 rushing yards and two TDs.

Nichols 13, UMass-Dartmouth 10 - Sean Smith-Vaughan capped a 10-play, 98-yard drive by throwing a 16-yard TD pass to Mike Seiger with 4:27 left, lifting the visiting Bison (4-4, 3-2 NEFC) past the Corsairs (0-8, 0-4).

WNEC 26, Endicott 21 - Justin Walz threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and ran 24 yards for the winning score with 3:55 left to boost the visiting Golden Bears (4-4, 3-2 NEFC) past the Gulls (3-5, 1-4).

Fitchburg St. 57, Mass. Maritime 37 - Jonathan Emond caught 10 passes for 178 yards and three TDs and Douglas Dyke and Matt White combined to rush for 251 yards as the host Falcons (4-4, 2-3) held off the Buccaneers (3-5, 2-3) in the highest-scoring game in NEFC history.

Trinity 45, Bowdoin 31 - The Bantams scored two TDs in the final eight minutes and Craig Drusbosky passed for 381 yards and four scores to help the Bantams (5-0) pull away from the Polar Bears (2-3) for their 15th straight win overall and 34th in a row at Jessee/Miller Field.

Oliver Kell led Bowdoin by passing for 358 yards and four TDs, making him the Polar Bears’ all-time leader in touchdown passes with 32.

Amherst 23, Wesleyan 0 - Aaron Rauh ran for two short TDs in the fourth quarter, helping the host Lord Jeffs (5-0) finish off the Cardinals (2-3).

Williams 30, Tufts 7 - Matt Coyne threw a pair of TD passes to Bryce Williams and also ran for a score as the host Ephs (4-1) blasted the Jumbos (2-3).

Middlebury 28, Bates 18 - Donald McKillop passed for 252 yards and three touchdowns and the visiting Panthers (2-3) broke open a close game with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to down the Bobcats (0-5).

The third-ranked Terriers (1-2-0) took a 2-0 lead into the third period at Agganis Arena on power-play goals by Zach Cohen and Colby Cohen but the Wolverines (2-2-0) weren’t done.

Robbie Czarnik beat Kieran Millan (33 saves) at 10:04 and Matt Rust evened things at 14:30 as No. 5 Michigan dominated the third period, outshooting the Terriers, 21-4.

But Pereira saved the day, striking for an unassisted goal, and BU held on for the win.

New Hampshire 5, Maine 2 - Mike Borisenok had a goal and two assists and Stevie Moses scored twice to lead the host Wildcats (2-2-1, 2-0-0 Hockey East) past the Black Bears (1-5-0, 0-2-0).

Providence 3, Bowling Green 1 - Eric Baier scored the winner with 3:46 to go and Justin Gates made 33 saves as the visiting Friars (4-1-0) swept a pair of games in Bowling Green, Ohio, outscoring the Falcons, 11-3. Providence is 4-1 for the first time since 2003.

Holy Cross 3, Canisius 2 - Everett Sheen and Erik Voss each had a goal and an assist during a three-goal first period and Thomas Tysowsky made 24 saves as the Crusaders (1-2-0, 1-0-0 Atlantic) hung on to beat the host Golden Griffins (1-4-0, 0-1-0).