Bulldogs

In what may have been a state playoff preview, No. 11 Southern-Baltimore defeated visiting and No. 13 Southwestern, 56-54, for its third straight victory yesterday.So why wasn't Bulldogs coach Meredith Smith smiling?"We turned it over on the dribble, we turned it over on passes," he said. "We had an uncontested layup, and all we had to do was make a fundamental pass, but we lose it out of bounds trying a behind-the-back pass. That has been the problem with this team all season."The Bulldogs (6-5)

BOWIE - Before last night's NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region quarterfinals, everything seemed to being going host Bowie State's way: a large crowd, the governor and lieutenant governor in attendance, and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Somebody forgot to tell visiting and eighth-seeded Tusculum. The Bulldogs had to climb out of a 10-point hole late in the second half and get a buzzer-beater by senior Isaiah Johnson in overtime to defeat Tusculum, 91-88, and advance to the semifinals.

Dunbar High has pretty much proved it has the best team in the country by beating nine nationally ranked opponents in USA Today's Super 25 to maintain its No. 1 ranking.Tonight, the Poets will try to prove that they still are the best team in the area when they put their No. 1 national and local ranking on the line against the area's No. 2 team, Southern, at 8 o'clock at Morgan State.Although Southern is not ranked by USA Today, the Bulldogs (11-3) won't be sneaking up on the Poets (18-0)

In 20 seasons, Southern of Anne Arundel coach Buck Gardner has the dubious distinction of being the only coach in the county to lose 100 games.Now his team is only a victory away from becoming only the second team in the county to win a state championship.The Bulldogs added a chapter in their storybook season last night, defeating visiting and No. 5 Dunbar, 43-24, in a Class 2A semifinal game.Next weekend at Maryland's Byrd Stadium, Southern (11-1), ranked No. 3 and the fifth-seed, will face Damascus, a 21-20 winner over Cambridge in the other semifinal, in the championship.

ATLANTA - Casting a long national shadow, they have become the visitor targeted by every opponent in their league. When they lose on a foreign floor, a wild celebration ensues. Michigan State? Sure, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs fill that description too. The Spartans, the defending NCAA champions, are in search of their third straight Final Four. The Bulldogs, their opponent tonight in the Sweet 16 at the Georgia Dome, reached a regional final two years ago, and the third round last season.

Losses seem to bring out the beast in fifth-ranked Southern.Just as an earlier rout at the hands of Dunbar contributed to the Bulldogs' subsequent 20-point blowout of Lake Clifton, so did a loss two weeks ago to unranked Patterson lead to yesterday's 66-55 Baltimore City East Division victory at No. 2-ranked Mervo.The game meant little in terms of division standings, because both Mervo and Southern are league runners-up with 4-2 records to No. 1 Dunbar (19-2).The Poets play West Division champion Douglass on Tuesday at Poly for the city championship.

BOWIE -- Bowie State learned last night that monumental upsets are usually once-in-a-career occurrences.Virginia Union, the defending NCAA Division II champion,pounded that lesson into the Bulldogs, as the Panthers avenged one of their three 1991-92 losses with a 92-67 rout at A.C. Jordan Arena.Virginia Union made amends for its visit here last February, when Bowie State controlled the tempo and pulled off a 51-48 victory. It was the Panthers' only loss in their last 26 games of 1991-92 and rates as one of the biggest upsets in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association history.

When asked for a pregame scouting report on last night's opponent, Southern assistant coach Ted Gott answered, "Big. Good."Central, indeed, was a big team, but Southern didn't allow the visiting Falconsto look very good.While Southern shot with uncanny accuracy for much of the game, Central forced a pace too frantic even for the athletic Falcons, who bowed, 72-68, in the Class 2A Region III boys basketball quarterfinals.The Bulldogs (14-9) travel to No. 1 Rockville of Montgomery County for a 7 p.m. semifinal game tomorrow.

After the NCAA championship game last season, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski suggested that Butler should be considered a 2011 contender. The perception of the Bulldogs went from favorites to unfortunates after they started the season 4-4 and suffered through a rough winter slump in Horizon League play. Of course, coach Brad Stevens cares as much about perception as Blue the bulldog mascot cares about his appearance. Stevens employs a straightforward strategy to deal with this.