Albany

Scott Jones finished with two goals in No. 2 seed UMBC's 19-8 loss to No. 3 seed Albany in Wednesday night's America East tournament final, but his impact was barely felt at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville. Jones, who entered the contest leading the Retrievers in both goals (34) and points (38), scored the game's first goal just 27 seconds into the first quarter. But he didn't score his second one until 12:30 remained in the fourth quarter. The Great Danes shadowed Jones with a short-stick defensive midfielder, essentially daring him to dodge - which is not his strength.

Down 7-3 in the fourth quarter, No. 2 Notre Dame put together a 6-0 rally to edge upset-minded Detroit in an NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday, 9-7. Matt Kavanagh, who scored four second-half goals, tied the game at 7 with 10:10 left and then put the Irish (11-4) ahead for good with less than six minutes remaining. The Titans (5-10) were able to keep Notre Dame in check during the first half as Detroit took a 5-1 lead into halftime. Brandon Beauregard led the Titans with three goals.

No. 13 Albany (6-2) at UMBC (3-5) Saturday , noon In a rematch of last season's America East final, the Retrievers look to avenge their 11-4 loss to the Great Danes. Regular-season games between these two have been much closer, with last four decided by three goals or fewer. Last year the Great Danes won, 12-11, in the final week of the regular season; they lead the series 6-5. The Retrievers, who had to rebuild their offense, are within a few goals of a winning record, dropping two of their past three games by a goal.

Denver coach Bill Tierney jokes that it took only four years for college coaches, including himself, to put Eric Law in the best position to succeed. Law has gone from being a backup at Salisbury as a freshman to - after transferring to the Pioneers - a sophomore midfielder to a junior wing attackman to the quarterback of the offense in 2013. And Law has thrived in his latest role, setting both team and personal bests in assists (31) and points (64). “So finally, after three years of playing - one at Division III, one at midfield and one at not his most comfortable position - in his fourth year of college, he gets to do what he does best, and you've seen the results,” Tierney said with a chuckle.

A large, boisterous crowd, a big late-game opposing presence inside and some inability to make plays down the stretch was too much for UMBC to overcome as the University at Albany knocked off the Retrievers, 69-61, in the championship game of the America East Conference tournament Saturday night. The outcome sends the 23-9 Great Danes, making their first appearance in the conference championship game, to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Albany finds out its seeding position and opponent Monday night when the brackets are revealed.

Five Albany players scored at least 10 points Wednesday night in an 85-41 win over UMBC, which shot just 28 percent from the field. Raven Harris won America East Player of the Game for the Retrievers (7-16, 3-7), finishing with seven points, five rebounds and three assists. Shereesha Richards went 10-for-13 for a game-high 22 points for the Great Danes (19-3, 10-0). St. Mary's 94, Frostburg State 85, OT: The Seahawks scored 16 points in overtime to beat the Bobcats after St.Mary's Sophie Pruden scored with four seconds remaining to tie the game at 78. Frostburg State (6-16, 2-7 Capital Athletic Conference)

Mount St. Mary's lost to Wagner, 74-65, on Wednesday night at the Spiro Sports Center.  Rashad Whack paced the Mountaineers with 19 points. The Mount was able to cut its deficit to 70-65 with 14.1 seconds left after a steal and deep 3-pointer by Kelvin Parker, but Wagner went 4-for-4 at the line to close out the win. Parker added 15 points off the bench while Wiggins chipped in 11 points and four assists for the Mountaineers.  Julian Norfleet...

Maryland's 11-point win over Albany last season featured the debut of Alex Len , but was an otherwise unremarkable non-conference game for the Terps. For Great Danes guard Logan Aronhalt , however, the late-December matchup was unforgettable. “It was a fun game to play in,” Aronhalt said. “It was definitely one of those experiences that gave me goose bumps, playing in front of so many people in a nice arena against a program with such a rich tradition.” Aronhalt, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds, thought back to his first and only visit to College Park many times this spring as he considered where he wanted to finish his college basketball career.

UMBC, the No. 2 seed in the America East tournament, has won 10 of 14 contests in this series, including six of the last seven. But Albany, the No. 3 seed, upended the Retrievers, 11-7, in 2010, the last time they played host to a tournament semifinal. The Great Danes (4-10) went 3-2 in the conference, but have dropped their last two contests. UMBC (5-7) also went 3-2 in the league, but edged Albany for the higher seed due to a 17-16 overtime win on April 21. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville Wednesday night.

On June 10, 2006, FRANK G. ALBANY; loving son of the late Viola Albany; dear brother of John J. Albany and his wife Pauline and the late Charles "Bill" Albany, Josephine Grosscupp, Mary Thompson and Thomas Albany. Also survived by thirteen nieces and nephews. Friends are invited to call at the family owned and operated MCCULLY-POLYNIAK FUNERAL HOME P.A., 237 E. Patapsco Avenue (Brooklyn) on Wednesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Funeral Services will be held Thursday, 10 A.M. at the Funeral Home.

The lasting memory Denver players and coaches have of their most recent game was an 11-10 loss to Ohio State that rewarded the Buckeyes with their first Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament and the third seed in the NCAA tournament. The setback did not hurt the Pioneers (12-4) terribly - they still earned the fourth seed and a home game against Albany (13-4) in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday - but the loss has lingered a bit. “Anytime you have a tough loss like that, I think it's going to linger for a couple days, but I think with the quick turnaround to the NCAA tournament, we can't really bemoan that loss or think about that loss,” senior attackman Eric Law said Wednesday.

Top-seeded Albany used a 9-1 run in the second and third quarters to defeat UMBC, 19-10, in the America East Conference men's lacrosse championship game at Stony Brook. UMBC, which entered the game 4-1 in its previous five contests, finished the season 7-8. Joe Lustgarten, Scott Jones and faceoff specialist Phil Poe were named to the All-Tournament team. Jones led the Retrievers with four goals against Albany.   There were four ties and four lead changes in the first half until Albany closed the second quarter on a 5-0 run. UMBC trailed 3-2 after one quarter and 4-2 just 34 seconds into the second, but went on a 3-0 run to take a 5-4 lead with 9:18 to play in the quarter.

After opening the season with just one win in its first five games, UMBC is now one victory away from making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2009. All the the team has to do is knock off No. 10 Albany in Saturday morning's America East tournament final at Stony Brook in Stony Brook, N.Y. Retrievers coach Don Zimmerman said getting to this stage of the year is an objective every program discusses, which makes Saturday's contest that much more exhilarating. “You work hard all year - not just all season - with fall ball, weights, conditioning, and it boils down to this game,” he said Friday.

UMBC has enjoyed some memorable comebacks wins during Don Zimmerman's tenure. Just a couple that come to mind include a five-goal rally to edge Maryland, 8-7, on March 6, 2012 and a 5-1 fourth quarter to nip Albany, 14-13, in an America East tournament final on May 3, 2008. But the longtime coach said that the Retrievers' six-goal explosion in Thursday's 15-13 decision over Hartford in a conference tournament semifinal at Stony Brook may have been one of best he witnessed. “That was a special comeback, especially against a team like Hartford in a championship setting,” Zimmerman said Friday morning.

Three UMBC women's players were named to the All-America East conference teams, including defender Jamie Fahey, who was honored for the third straight year. Fahey (Loch Raven) and midfielder Kirsten Bilney (Mount Hebron) made the first team while midfielder Alyssa Semones (Westminster) made the second team. New Hampshire attacker Nicole Grote (Marriotts Ridge) and Boston University midfielder Sofia Robins (McDonogh) were named to the All-Rookie Team. Stony Brooks' Demmianne Cooke and Albany's Rachel Burek were named Co-Players of the Year and Albany coach John Battaglino was the Coach of the Year.

Navy junior long-stick midfielder Pat Kiernan has been named to the All-Patriot League men's lacrosse first team, the conference announced Tuesday. Kiernan's 26 caused turnovers this spring are the third-most by a player in Navy program history, while he is the school's all-time leader in the category with 51. This is the second straight year Kiernan has garnered All-Patriot League honors; he received second-team recognition as a sophomore. Named second-team all-league were Bucknell senior faceoff specialist Ryan Gutowski (Calvert Hall)

ESPN analyst Mark Dixon, who will be handling play-by-play duties when No. 7 Notre Dame visits Georgetown this Sunday, writes a weekly column for Inside Lacrosse in which he provides his thoughts on results from the previous week. The former Blue Jays midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @Dixonlacrosse, discussed the biggest surprise from last weekend, a team setting itself up well and Albany sophomore attackman Lyle Thompson's candidacy for the Tewaaraton Award. What results from this past weekend stood out to you?

Albany last played in the NCAA tournament in 2007. That drought may end this spring. The No. 19 Great Danes improved to 7-3 after edging No. 12 Johns Hopkins, 10-9, at Homewood Field in Baltimore Friday night. Already 1-0 in the America East, they warrant consideration as the favorite to win the conference tournament and earn the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. But even if an upset were to occur, Albany may have moved closer to getting an at-large berth courtesy of wins against No. 9 Syracuse and the Blue Jays.