Bucknell

Almost a year removed from Navy's 12-11 overtime loss to Bucknell, senior defenseman Matt Vernam said the Midshipmen had to do a better job of sliding and filling in the gaps. Apparently, Navy did not take that lesson to heart in Saturday's 14-9 setback to the Bison at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Nine of Bucknell's goals came off assists. Four of those assisted tallies occurred when the offense broke a 4-4 tie in the second quarter to enjoy an 8-4 advantage at halftime.

Evan Washburn was a starting defenseman on the Delaware squad that advanced to the national semifinals of the 2007 NCAA tournament before falling to Johns Hopkins. The CBS Sports Network analyst, who can be followed on Twitter via @EvanWashburn, writes a weekly column for Lacrosse Magazine. Washburn offered his opinion on Syracuse as the top seed, the most interesting first-round matchup and the team with the easiest road to the Final Four. What was your assessment of the job the NCAA selection committee had done with the bracket?

Player of the Year candidate Kemba Walker and third seed Connecticut were back at it Thursday, five days after completing five games in five days to win the Big East tournament. Multiple ice baths later, Walker and the Huskies showed no ill effects of their New York marathon as they rolled past 14th seed Bucknell, 81-52, and into the third round of the NCAA tournament. "He didn't look tired at all," Bucknell guard Darryl Shazier said of Walker. The Huskies, who ran their record to 16-1 in opening NCAA tournament games since 1990, will face the winner of Thursday's late game between Missouri and Cincinnati.

Syracuse attacker Michelle Tumolo will undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the first half of Tuesday's game against Cornell. Tumolo, a senior and 2012 Tewaaraton Award finalist, ranks first in assists for the Orange with 24 and third in goals with 22. The Syracuse offense ranks sixth in Division I, averaging just under 15 goals per game. Alyssa Murray leads the team with 40 goals and 60 points, and coach Gary Gait sees an opportunity for other players to step up. "They're all capable," the former Maryland assistant said of his offense.

Loyola's Erik Etherly led four Greyhounds in double figures with 18 points, and Loyola ended Bucknell's 18-game home winning streak Wednesday, defeating the host Bison, 72-67. Bucknell (8-6) won its last 13 home games a year ago and then its first five at home this season. It had the 11th-longest current streak in Division I. The Greyhounds (9-3) held the Bison to just three points in the final four minutes of the game and none in the last 2:20. Bucknell, which was picked to repeat as Patriot League champion, led 64-61 after a free throw by Steven Kaspar with 4:10 on the clock, but Loyola pulled within a point 14 seconds later on a basket by Justin Drummond.

Michelle Kurowski scored 29 points as the UMBC women (3-2) withstood a second-half comeback attempt by host Bucknell (2-4) and held on to beat the Bison, 68-63, Sunday. Kurowski, Carlee Cassidy and Katie Brooks scored all 38 first-half points for the Retrievers, who led by 13 at halftime. Goucher 73, Penn State York 34: Shante Atkinson (Old Mill) scored 15 points, helping the Gophers (2-4) top the Lady Lions (1-3) in the consolation game of the Gallaudet Holiday Tournament.

Kaleo Kina scored 25 points as the host Navy men won their first Patriot League opener in eight seasons by defeating Bucknell, 71-67, yesterday. Kina's free throw with five seconds to play iced the win after Bucknell had rallied from nine points down to within a point. Over the final 3:16, Navy (12-4, 1-0 league) shot 4-for-4 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range to hold off Bucknell and win its fourth in a row. Navy led 55-46 with 5:45 left when Bucknell's G.W. Boon made back-to-back three-pointers and Darryl Shazier hit a jump shot for a 55-54 advantage with 3:45 to play.

Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos has compared Bucknell center Mike Muscala to one of his favorite former NBA players for his hometown Boston Celtics. Muscala is not the second coming of Kevin McHale, but against the Greyhounds on Friday night, the 6-11 senior looked the part of a modern-day mid-major replica. Muscala attracted four NBA scouts to Reitz Arena, as well as plenty of attention from Loyola's big men. He seemed unaffected by both, scoring a game-high 28 points to lead the Bison to a surprisingly easy 66-46 victory.

Navy leads this series between Patriot League rivals, 7-4, but the two sides have split the past four meetings. Seven of the games have ended in one-goal decisions. The Midshipmen (1-2) have won four of five of these contests in Annapolis, but Bucknell (0-3) is the preseason favorite to repeat as league champion. Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Saturday. 1) Sharing the wealth. Of the offense's 29 goals thus far, 13 have been assisted.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Mike Bright scored 22 points and created a 7-0 spurt that broke a tie at 60 and sent a hot-shooting Bucknell to an 85-72 victory over Towson State at Davis Gym last night.The Bison was down 45-31 with 16 minutes remaining before using a barrage of three-point baskets to get back into the game. Senior guard Bill Courtnery hit three, and the team went on to make five in a row within a four-minute stretch.From the tie at 60 with eight minutes, 34 seconds to go, Bright, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, scored seven straight points, including a three-pointer.

One potential byproduct of the new rules in men's college lacrosse this season: more disparity in offensive efficiency, a stat that looks at goals per offensive possession and adjusts for strength of schedule. In data from Brian Coughlin , a stats expert who has done analysis for Division I programs and contributes to Inside Lacrosse, Denver has the league's highest adjusted offensive efficiency. The Pioneers score at 51 percent (numbers adjusted for strength of schedule). That's markedly higher than last season's best, Massachusetts' 42 percent.

Sophomore Wes Berg scored six goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as No. 2 Denver beat visiting Air Force, 11-10, in men's lacrosse on Tuesday. Air Force's Erik Smith tied the game at 10 with 17 seconds left in regulation before Berg found the net 1:04 into the overtime period. The six-goal performance marked Berg's fifth hat trick of the season and eighth of his career. Senior Eric Law tallied four points on one goal and three assists, while senior Colin Scott recorded a pair of goals for Denver (6-2, 2-0 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference)

No. 20 Bucknell fell behind early to No. 2 host Cornell in men's lacrosse Tuesday. But Chase Bailey scored the game-winner with one minute left to finish a second-half rally as the visiting Bison upset the Big Red, 9-8, in a game delayed by snow. Sean Doyle led Bucknell (7-1) with three goals in its seventh straight win. Kyle Feeney made six saves for the Bison. The Big Red (6-1) started strong, scoring the first five goals of the game. Bucknell netted five of the next six goals to trail 6-5 at halftime.

ESPN analyst Mark Dixon provided play by play for the Whitman's Sampler Mile High Classic in Denver where he watched No. 14 Loyola defeat Air Force, 13-7, and No. 8 Notre Dame edge No. 3 Denver, 13-12, in overtime. The former Blue Jays midfielder, who can be followed on Twitter via @Dixonlacrosse, offered his perspective on the weekend's most impressive result, No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Cornell's undefeated play, and No. 9 Johns Hopkins' troubles. What result from this past weekend impressed you the most?

Mount St. Mary's coach Tom Gravante admitted that he erred when he didn't give the players the day off after a road game against Virginia. The team followed up that 18-11 loss to the Cavaliers on Feb. 26 with a 13-5 setback to Towson on March 2. Since then, Gravante has adjusted his coaching philosophy, giving the Mountaineers (4-4) a day off after contests. The change appears to be working as the team followed a day off after 19-9 loss to Johns Hopkins on March 5 with a 16-7 rout of Manhattan last Saturday and then a day off after Manhattan with a 14-6 thumping of Georgetown this past Tuesday.

For the second consecutive game, Andrew Scalley recorded six goals and four assists to lead host Mount St. Mary's past Georgetown, 14-6, on Tuesday in men's lacrosse. The win was the first for the Mount (4-4) over the Hoyas (2-3) since 1991. Scalley (Archbishop Spalding), the reigning Northeast Conference Player of the Week, tied career highs with 10 points and six goals. He became just the third player in school history to join the 200-point club with 202 for his career. Cody Lehrer (Dulaney)

COLLEGE PARK -- For six minutes last night, Bucknell befuddled Maryland.The Terps made their first four shots and took an 8-0 lead, but suddenly, the Bison was doing its best Princeton imitation, using most of the shot clock before taking and making three-pointers or layups.After eight minutes, Bucknell had a 15-14 lead and Maryland's attention, but the Terps tightened their defense, got a career-high 27 points and another complete game from junior guard Johnny Rhodes, and blew by the Bison for a 102-64 rout before a crowd of 13,269 at Cole Field House.

Alix Membreno had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Audrey Bauer had 13 points to lead Navy to a 60-48 win over Bucknell in the Patriot League women's basketball tournament semifinals Monday night. The second-seeded Mids (20-11, 11-3 Patriot League) got off to a hot start, doubling up Bucknell (15-16, 5-9) at halftime 26-13. But Bucknell staged a comeback midway through the second half. The Bison pulled to within 39-35 with just under 10 minutes to play on a three-point play by Shelby Romine and back-to-back 3-pointers from Audry Dotson and Tyler Craig.

Navy's 11-2 loss to Patriot League rival Bucknell this past Saturday was exacerbated by a poor offensive showing highlighted by zero goals in the contest's final three quarters. Despite the inability to score a goal in the final 51 minutes, coach Rick Sowell was hesitant to declare wholesale changes in the starting lineup for Saturday's home game against Lafayette. “Everything's under the gun,” Sowell said Tuesday. “We're re-evaluating the situation. I don't know if we have to make drastic changes.