Blue Hens

Three years ago, attackman Eric Smith chose Ohio State over the University of Delaware because he wanted a university much bigger than the high school he attended, Boys' Latin. Delaware head lacrosse coach Bob Shillinglaw thought there might have been another reason. Smith's older brother, Alex, played for the Blue Hens and became one of the top face-off specialists in the history of the college game from 2004-2008. Maybe the younger Smith wanted to escape his brother's shadow.

NEWARK, Del. -- It is no shame to lose to Vermont in skiing and maple syrup.It's less palatable for a lacrosse program with serious aspirations. But that's the reality Delaware dealt with two years ago, when a 10-game losing streak bottomed out in an ignominious America East Conference loss to the Catamounts that left the Blue Hens clucking about their future."

NEWARK, Del. -- Want to know just how psyched up Delaware's Mike Pegues was for Towson last night? Pegues nearly broke down the scorer's table on the opening tip-off when he went crashing over two seats in an attempt to get the ball before it bounced out of bounds. He didn't quite get to the ball in time, but it proved to be a bad omen for the Tigers. The Blue Hens' marquee player would spend the rest of the night breaking down Towson to the tune of 32 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals, leading his sluggish teammates to a 79-69 victory in the quarterfinals of the America East basketball tournament before a record crowd of 5,267 at the Bob Carpenter Center.

If not for the opponent, yesterday's scenario would have been a nice one for Towson, needing to bounce back after three consecutive losses on the road.After a week off, the Tigers would return to action at home, and in front of a nice crowd pumped up because of the presence of television.The only problem was, Delaware hasn't been much of a vacation for Towson in recent years. That trend continued as the Blue Hens beat the Tigers, 73-56, their fifth straight win in the series before 1,748 at Towson Center.

NEWARK, Del. -- They watched helplessly as the seconds ticked away on their season. Towson players sat on the bench, hunched over, their chins resting in the heel of their hands, towels draped lazily over their heads, eyes glazed over. For the fourth straight year, Delaware (19-9) ousted the Tigers (12-17) in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament. This time it was a 66-51 decision before 4,294 at Delaware's Bob Carpenter Center. "I'm really proud of the way our team competed," Towson coach Mike Jaskulski said.

Between heavyweight bouts with Wake Forest and Notre Dame, Navy has an intriguing scrap today with Delaware of the Colonial Athletic Association and NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. It's a game that figures to deliver more than its marquee value might indicate. At 6-1, Delaware is ranked eighth in the FCS coaches poll. The Blue Hens beat Navy in Annapolis in 2003 en route to their sixth Division I-AA national title. They have a Division I transfer at quarterback and a durable playmaker at running back.

NEWARK, Del. -- Delaware's Christy Buck may never get used to playing against her sister Amy, but she sure could get used to beating Amy's Towson Tigers this way.With yesterday's 18-9 victory over the No. 13-ranked Tigers at Delaware Field, Christy's Blue Hens won a second straight game against their hottest America East conference rival.Christy, a sophomore, now has a 2-1 edge on Amy, a junior, in head-to-head competition. After losing to the Tigers (5-5) during the regular season last year, the No. 14 Blue Hens (9-2)

A season of broken Towson University basketball dreams has left much pain on the faces of Damon Cason and Brian Barber. Cason, a senior guard from Southern (Baltimore), said he would like to "erase time" and start his Towson career over while Barber, a junior forward from Annapolis, prefers to focus on the "here and now" and wait for the Tigers to arrive as legitimate winners. It's not surprising that the more emotional Cason thinks often about what might have been while the always stoic Barber accepts the hand he has been dealt and moves forward.

Delaware coach David Henderson refused to push the panic button as UMBC bolted to a 14-2 lead in the first nine minutes last night at the RAC Arena. Instead, he and the Blue Hens raised their defensive intensity, shutting down the Retrievers and pulling away for a 74-62 nonleague win. John Zito led four Retrievers in double figures with 15 points and sparked UMBC with eight in the first seven minutes. But UMBC (2-2) watched its early lead vanish as the Retrievers went six minutes without a field goal late in the first half.

He is typically on the field for 10, maybe 15 seconds at a time, but University of Delaware junior Alex Smith has a way of dictating the action. And the 7-0 Blue Hens, who leaped to No. 9 with Saturday's 18-11 victory over Albany and look very much like a threat to win the Colonial Athletic Association championship, are thankful for him. Coming into the 2006 season, Smith was widely considered the best faceoff man in the game. Last year, he topped NCAA Division I players by winning 71.2 percent of his draws.