Bergan

The Loyola Greyhounds have left last year's 2-25 season in the dust. Just ask Towson State.The Tigers found out the hard way last night as Loyola equaled its victory total of last season in just its season game, capturing a 90-84 overtime thriller over Towson State before 1,786 at Reitz Arena.Senior point guard Tracy Bergan scored a game-high 28 points, but it was his cold stare and deadly free-throw shooting that Towson State won't soon forget. Bergan went a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line, including 6-for-6 in the last five minutes, as Loyola tied the game in regulation on a three-point shot by Darius Johnson, then pulled away in overtime.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- He stood alone on the Arco Arena floor when it was over, making post-game plans with his deaf relatives in the stands, communicating through sign language.Then Tracy Bergan walked toward the Loyola locker room, and his father, brother and uncle gathered for a picture in the near-empty arena, their backs facing the court.The scoreboard won't be visible in the photograph, which is as it should be. History will show that Loyola's 81-55 loss to Arizona yesterday was a mere footnote in the remarkable saga of Tracy Bergan.

Tracy Bergan, the Loyola College point guard for most of the last three seasons, withdrew from the college on March 26 and will not play for the Greyhounds next season. Bergan, who was granted a leave of absence, said he may return to Loyola in September 1993.A 6-foot-1 junior from Lanham who graduated from De Matha High in 1989, Bergan sat out the second half of his freshman season because of academic difficulties, and struggled again this school year. He stopped attending classes in early March, and personal problems contributed to his decision to leave Loyola, he said.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- CBS is going to love Loyola.The network that turned the Winter Olympics into a 16-day soap opera will need two hours to detail the plot twists that got the Greyhounds their first appearance on The Eye this afternoon (approximately 5:20 p.m., Channel 11). That's when Loyola makes its debut in the NCAA tournament against Arizona, the Pacific-10 Conference champion and No. 2 seed in the West Region.Some oddsmakers have Arizona a 24-point favorite, but the 15th-seeded Greyhounds grew quite comfortable playing the underdog at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

Loyola won a doubleheader yesterday.Not only did the Greyhounds get a lift from their bench and handle Navy, 78-68, at Reitz Arena to add to their best start in seven seasons, but there also was good news involving a player who never shed his warm-ups.Earlier in the day, Loyola (6-3) learned that Tracy Bergan's academic suspension was over, and that the senior point guard could rejoin the Greyhounds. First-year coach Skip Prosser didn't use Bergan last night, but said he could play tomorrow night against UMBC.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament was just like Tracy Bergan's career at Loyola -- a roller coaster ride.Bergan's stay at Loyola appeared over in April 1992, when personal problems led him to withdraw from the school. On two other occasions, most recently at the end of the fall semester, academic shortcomings caused him to miss games. Last night, his team looked finished when it fell 16 points behind Manhattan in the first half.But Bergan got back into school, and now the Greyhounds are going to their first NCAA Division I tournament.

Tracy Bergan is becoming such a drawing card for the Loyola College basketball team that some people admit they go to Reitz Arena specifically to see him.The 6-foot, 165-pound sophomore put on another great show last night as Loyola came from behind once again to beat Manhattan, 81-72. Bergan had 29 points.Bergan has been the driving force as the Greyhounds have won four straight, six of seven, and improved their overall record to 12-11. They're now 5-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Tracy Bergan never has had any difficulty leading others.Being responsible for himself, however, is another matter.Barring a series of upsets in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, Bergan is down to his last weekend as a college basketball player for Loyola.His success has come as a point guard, but Bergan was a leader before he put on a uniform. He is the only hearing member of a family in which his parents, both sets of grandparents and brother were born deaf. Bergan recalls the grown-up tasks dropped on the little child -- ordering in restaurants, straightening out billing errors over the phone.

The Loyola Greyhounds head into their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule with a satisfying 3-3 record, but perhaps the area's most unsettled roster.Junior forward David Credle underwent arthroscopic knee surgery just before Christmas and probably will be lost at least for the rest of the month. Senior forward Michael Reese has just returned to the lineup after missing last season for disciplinary reasons.The biggest blow could come next week. That's when the school's academic committee will decide the fate of senior point guard Tracy Bergan, who has sparked Loyola to an encouraging start.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Darrell Barley scored 20 points and Micheal Meeks added 18 to lead Canisius to an 87-72 victory over Loyola in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game yesterday.Craig Wise contributed 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Canisius (9-5, 3-2). Binky Johnson scored 15 points.Tracy Bergan scored 23 points for Loyola (8-5, 2-2). Michael Reese added 21 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Greyhounds. Bergan also became the 24th player in Greyhounds history to score 1,000 career points.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- B. J. Pendleton planned to get some && revenge this winter, but he never dreamed it would be this sweet.Pendleton, a junior, plays power forward for Loyola. He's the one who smooched the championship trophy after the Greyhounds won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, but he figures to be more forceful tomorrow (5:20 p.m., Channel 11), when Loyola makes its NCAA tournament debut in a first-round West Region game against Arizona at Arco Arena.The best turnaround in the nation was fueled by the addition of first-year coach Skip Prosser and three freshmen and the return of Tracy Bergan and Michael Reese.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- So what if Loyola was 2-25 last year?So what if the Greyhounds entered the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament with a fifth seed and a six-year winless drought in the postseason?So what if Manhattan, the MAAC defending champion, put Loyola in a 16-point hole in the first half of the championship game?So what if Loyola played the final 1:21 without Tracy Bergan, its senior point guard and MVP?The rest of the MAAC could line up all the obstacles it wanted, and nothing was going to stop Loyola.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament was just like Tracy Bergan's career at Loyola -- a roller coaster ride.Bergan's stay at Loyola appeared over in April 1992, when personal problems led him to withdraw from the school. On two other occasions, most recently at the end of the fall semester, academic shortcomings caused him to miss games. Last night, his team looked finished when it fell 16 points behind Manhattan in the first half.But Bergan got back into school, and now the Greyhounds are going to their first NCAA Division I tournament.

Tracy Bergan never has had any difficulty leading others.Being responsible for himself, however, is another matter.Barring a series of upsets in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament, Bergan is down to his last weekend as a college basketball player for Loyola.His success has come as a point guard, but Bergan was a leader before he put on a uniform. He is the only hearing member of a family in which his parents, both sets of grandparents and brother were born deaf. Bergan recalls the grown-up tasks dropped on the little child -- ordering in restaurants, straightening out billing errors over the phone.

COLLEGE PARK -- Skip Prosser's first trip to Cole Field House came earlier this week, when the first-year Loyola College basketball coach had to scout the University of Maryland.Prosser was impressed with the atmosphere that surrounded the Terrapins during their 81-58 blowout victory over Wake Forest. And he was even more impressed with the Terps themselves."They're even better in person than they are on tape," Prosser said the following day.Prosser's second trip will come tonight, when his Greyhounds (12-10)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Darrell Barley scored 20 points and Micheal Meeks added 18 to lead Canisius to an 87-72 victory over Loyola in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game yesterday.Craig Wise contributed 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Canisius (9-5, 3-2). Binky Johnson scored 15 points.Tracy Bergan scored 23 points for Loyola (8-5, 2-2). Michael Reese added 21 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Greyhounds. Bergan also became the 24th player in Greyhounds history to score 1,000 career points.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- He stood alone on the Arco Arena floor when it was over, making post-game plans with his deaf relatives in the stands, communicating through sign language.Then Tracy Bergan walked toward the Loyola locker room, and his father, brother and uncle gathered for a picture in the near-empty arena, their backs facing the court.The scoreboard won't be visible in the photograph, which is as it should be. History will show that Loyola's 81-55 loss to Arizona yesterday was a mere footnote in the remarkable saga of Tracy Bergan.

When Loyola guard Tracy Bergan wins the game in the final seconds, which is how most Loyola basketball games seem to end these days, his mother and father don't hear the buzzer sound. Neither does his brother. If his uncles were on hand, they wouldn't hear it either. And neither would any of his grandparents.They wouldn't hear the wild applause or the P.A. announcer delivering the final score or the hum of excitement at the sound of Bergan's name.They wouldn't hear any of it because they are deaf.

Loyola continued its early-season surge last night, but the Greyhounds had to work surprisingly hard to subdue a struggling UMBC team.Sparked by the return of senior point guard Tracy Bergan and led by the torrid second-half shooting of freshman guard Darius Johnson, the Greyhounds turned back an early rally by the Retrievers and earned a 69-57 victory before 1,060 at Reitz Arena.The evening showcased two programs going in opposite directions.Loyola, under first-year coach Skip Prosser, improved to 7-3, marking its best start after 10 games since the 1980-81 season.

Loyola won a doubleheader yesterday.Not only did the Greyhounds get a lift from their bench and handle Navy, 78-68, at Reitz Arena to add to their best start in seven seasons, but there also was good news involving a player who never shed his warm-ups.Earlier in the day, Loyola (6-3) learned that Tracy Bergan's academic suspension was over, and that the senior point guard could rejoin the Greyhounds. First-year coach Skip Prosser didn't use Bergan last night, but said he could play tomorrow night against UMBC.