Bucknell

Jake Ramage scored seven straight in a 15-2 run as Bucknell ended Navy's four-game winning streak yesterday, 56-51, in Lewisburg, Pa.The loss dropped the Midshipmen (16-5, 5-2) out of a tie for the lead with Lafayette in the Patriot League and into a three-way tie for second with Bucknell and Colgate.Navy, led by Chris Williams' 17 points, took a 38-34 lead with 9: 30 to play. Then Ramage scored twice to tie the score and ignite Bucknell (10-11, 5-2).He hit a three-pointer at 7: 49 to put the Bison ahead for good, 41-38.

Navy capitalized on a suffocating man-to-man defense in the second half and the clutch shooting of acrobatic sophomore forward Chris Williams to squeak past Bucknell, 57-53, in the Patriot League opener at Alumni Hall last night.Trailing 52-47, Bucknell closed to 54-53 on a rebound basket by junior forward Valter Karavanic with 45 seconds remaining. Karavanic was fouled on the play, but missed a chance to tie.Chris Williams, who scored a game-high 24 points, hit two free throws for a 56-53 lead with 22 seconds left.

Coach: Gordy Combs (eighth season)Last year: 5-6Conference: Patriot LeagueRadio: WTMD (89.7 FM)Stadium: Minnegan (5,000)Offense: Pro IDefense: 4-3Top returning players: RB Jason Corle, WR Adam Overbey, C John Tierney, KR Dennis Cliggett, DB Jabari Garrett, LB Aaron Sakevich, DE Andrew Hollingsworth.Top newcomers: DB Madieu Williams, OG Jason Gunning, OT Geoff Waugh.Strengths: The offensive line improved as last season progressed, cresting with a fine performance in the Dayton game in which Towson scored 42 second-half points.

Today's gamesW. Virginia (1-1) at Maryland (2-0)Site: Byrd StadiumTime: NoonTV/Radio: ESPN2/WBAL (1090 AM), WTTR (1470)Outlook: If one listens to West Virginia coach Don Nehlen talk, it would be easy to believe the Mountaineers never ran all over Maryland the past three years by a combined score of 86-34, and his team is the underdog in this matchup. Nehlen said this week: "Maryland is doing it right. They've always been well-coached and now they're getting better players, and they have a lot of players back up front.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Joe Lee's moment arrived yesterday, and he seized it, leading a late 80-yard scoring drive that gave Towson a 27-20 victory over Bucknell and deflated the home fans at Christy Mathewson Stadium.The winning drive was capped by Jason Corle's 4-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining.Lee, who ended up with 407 yards passing on the day, might have been just as happy without the opportunity to play hero. He'd done well enough already with two touchdown passes and more than 300 yards when Noah Read plunged into the end zone from 1 yard to give the Tigers (3-0, 2-0 Patriot League)

Tony Moore and Luke Braham each had three hits yesterday as Navy's baseball team defeated top seed and host Bucknell, 13-9, to capture the Patriot League championship series, 2-1, and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.Navy (27-20) won the opening game on Monday, 10-7, but Bucknell (25-28) won Game 2 on Tuesday, 7-4, to tie the series.In yesterday's clincher, Navy's Pat Klokow had two hits and three RBIs, and Mark Zematis had a two-run homer. Klokow earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors, going 6-for-12 with six RBIs.

Navy capitalized on the wildness of freshman Bucknell starter Kevin McDowell and the shoddy support of his infield to rout the Bison, 11-3, in the opening game of the best-of-three, Patriot League baseball tournament at Max Bishop Stadium yesterday.Despite an hour-and-45-minute rain delay in the second inning, unbeaten Navy sophomore Shane Groover went the distance to earn his seventh victory. He limited Bucknell to seven hits and struck out nine.After spotting the Bison a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Midshipmen (24-15)

There have been a number of early-season disappointments, but Tennessee has probably fallen the farthest of any nationally ranked team over the first six weeks. The Volunteers started the season as a consensus Top 10 pick and right now are barely a blip on the radar screen trolling for potential Top 25 teams.Tennessee's record is still a respectable 6-3, but two of its losses came on the road at Miami of Ohio and St. Joseph's.Preseason expectations were centered on the return of guards Tony Harris and Brandon Wharton, who led the Vols to their first NCAA tournament appearance in nine years.

Navy won a basketball game and a fight at Alumni Hall yesterday, whipping Bucknell, 80-61, to advance to the Patriot League final.The Midshipmen (18-10), who are trying for their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, will play host to the title game against Lafayette Thursday afternoon. The Leopards (19-8) fought off a furious rally to edge Colgate, 83-77, for their 10th straight victory.Playing a physical game and riding a career-high 16 points from lightly played senior guard Ryan Lookabill, Navy jumped to a 53-33 halftime lead over Bucknell.

Sophomore right fielder Luke Braham went 5-for-5 and Scott Kozink pitched into the ninth inning for the win on his mother's birthday as Navy claimed the Patriot League championship with an 8-6 victory over Bucknell yesterday in Annapolis.Braham homered, hit two doubles and had three RBIs in taking tournament MVP honors. Kozink (11 hits, four strikeouts, three walks) got the first batter to face him in the ninth, but needed help from reliever Dave Self. Self struck out Joe D'Orazio with a man on first to end the game after the Bison had scored twice.

Mark Veazey scored four points in overtime, and free throws by Chris Harris and Kaleo Kina in the final minute of the extra period were the difference as Navy defeated host Bucknell, 62-60, last night. Kina had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Harris finished with 14 points, and Veazey scored 12 for Navy (16-7, 5-3 Patriot League), which squandered a 12-point lead in the second half. Patrick Behan had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Bryan Cohen scored 15 points, and Justin Castleberry added 13 points for Bucknell (5-18, 2-7)

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.

1 Money, honey: Baseball free agency begins today, so call the Orioles and tell them you can swing by the warehouse after stopping at the ATM. 2 Fear what?: Maryland opens its men's basketball season at home against Bucknell (8 p.m.) - located in the same town as a federal prison known for housing white-collar criminals. Perhaps that information is helpful. 3 Mount up: Local rivals Mount St. Mary's and Loyola meet in basketball at 7 p.m. at Reitz Arena. And, unlike the Terps, they're on television (MASN)

Towson men's lacrosse coach Tony Seaman sees a season slipping away, and he's understandably not happy. Minutes after the Tigers lost their fourth straight in a 12-10 defeat to No. 16 Bucknell before an announced 1,136 at Johnny Unitas Stadium last night, Seaman's pained look of frustration spoke nearly as loudly as his words. "It's frustrating. This whole season has been frustrating," Seaman said. "We've got to score more goals than the other guy in one of these games. Once again, we didn't use our heads on a couple defensive possessions, and that gave them a couple easy ones."

What began last night as a celebration of newly crowned Patriot League Player of the Year Greg Sprink ended in utter disbelief for host Navy in the opening round of the league tournament. Moments after the Midshipmen seemingly won the game on T.J. Topercer's put-back with two seconds left in triple overtime, Bucknell's John Griffin sank a 42-foot desperation shot - from just beyond half court - at the buzzer to send the Midshipmen to an agonizing 87-86 defeat before 2,158 stunned spectators at Alumni Hall.

From any perspective, Greg Sprink's senior season has been a satisfying experience. This week, he became the first Navy player ever chosen as the Patriot League's Player of the Year. He led the conference in scoring with an average of 21.2 points, shot 87 percent from the free-throw line and rose to No. 1 all-time among three-point shooters at the academy. Just as importantly, he matured into the type of leader who fortified his team even when his shots weren't falling. Moreover, with Sprink at the helm, the Midshipmen developed into a legitimate contender in the league, with only a 73-62 loss in the final game at Colgate preventing them from taking the regular-season championship.

Towson coach Pat Kennedy looked across the scorers' table at the Bucknell bench last night at Towson Center and saw a team that would serve as a good model for his Tigers. The Bison are one of the more successful mid-major programs, winning at least 22 games in each of the past three seasons and reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2005 and 2006. The Tigers were able to control small stretches of last night's game with their athleticism, but Bucknell's clutch shooting was the difference in the Bison's 71-57 victory before an announced 2,097.

ANNAPOLIS -- Navy is nine years removed from its last appearance in the NCAA tournament. Bucknell won a game there 11 months ago. Two programs that recently have viewed the Patriot League from opposite ends met at Alumni Hall last night. Despite having one of their premier players out indefinitely with a broken hand, the Bison posted a 78-63 win over the Midshipmen. Navy (11-12, 1-7 Patriot League) lost its fifth consecutive game, while Bucknell (14-8, 8-1) won its sixth straight since a loss at Holy Cross, the Patriot League leader.

HIGHLIGHTS TOP PERFORMER Patrick O'Bryant, Bradley -- The sophomore center scored a career-best 28 points and neutralized Pitt center Aaron Gray. THEY SAID IT Bradley coach Jim Les, who played for the Braves --"Being part of this program spanning 30 years ... to see the jubilation on the faces of those people, and getting the calls and text messages from people enjoying this run, that gives me tremendous pleasure." Pitt guard Carl Krauser --"This has been the best five years I've ever spent.

DALLAS -- Take whatever message you want from Memphis after two games in the NCAA tournament, because the Tigers care only that you understand this: They're still playing, and they like the way they're doing it. The Tigers reached the regional semifinals with yesterday's 72-56 handling of Bucknell at American Airlines Center, a triumph that provided ever more evidence why they deserved the No. 1 seed in the Oakland Regional. Up next is Missouri Valley upstart Bradley on Thursday at the Arena in Oakland.