Consolation Game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Parmalat Cup soccer tournament will conclude this afternoon at Giants Stadium.Parma of Italy will clash with Boca Juniors of Argentina for the championship after the U.S. national team meets Benfica of Portugal in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

St. Frances' boys basketball team played tenacious man-to-man defense and the third-ranked Panthers (9-4) knocked off top-ranked Mount St. Joseph, 68-55, in the consolation championship of the Beach Ball Classic Thursday in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Gaels (12-2) have two losses in the past four days. In Monday's opening round, Cedar Hill of Texas beat Mount St. Joseph, 56-53, and St. Frances lost to Scott County of Kentucky, 75-64. The Panthers finished the tournament with a 3-1 record.

Laurel High did all it could to stay with Old Mill, but the determined Patriots broke open a close game in the third quarter and cruised to a 69-51 victory in the third-place consolation game of the 20th annual IAABO Girls Invitational Christmas Basketball Tournament at Parkdale High in Riverdale yesterday."

Jordan Sugars hit his seventh 3-pointer of the game with one second left to lift the host Navy men's basketball team over Coppin State, 78-75, Wednesday. The win ended a four-game losing streak for the Midshipmen (5-8). A free throw by Chris Harris with 3:24 left in the game tied the score at 69-69. Sugars hit a 3-pointer for a 72-69 lead with 2:02 left, but Coppin State battled back to tie the score two more times, the last on a 3-pointer by Kareem Brown with seven seconds left.

Patience is a virtue and haste makes waste -- two pieces of wisdom turned inside out by Broadneck catcher Larry Krzyzaniak in the consolation game of Saturday's Bruin Holiday baseball tournament.With two outs and two men on base in the bottom of the seventh, Krzyzaniak laid into a first-pitch fastball from Old Mill reliever Pat Crawford, blasting it over the center field fence for a three-run homer and an 11-8 victory."I struck out on a curve ball the last time I was up because I let (sophomore starter Jeff Haynie)

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Mount Hebron (3-4) completed two days at the CBOA-Benjamin Hoops Tournament with a 1-2 record by winning the consolation game, 44-29, over Paul IV yesterday at Lake Braddock High.Senior guard Emily Yanero had 13 points and Kristen Lloyd had 12 to lead the Vikings (3-4).On Thursday the Vikings lost a first-round game to Centreville, 50-47, despite 16 points from Yanero.The Vikings lost a consolation game later that day to Bishop McDevitt, 45-36.

Mark Karcher scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds to lead No. 2 St. Frances (10-2) over St. Mark's of Delaware in the third-place consolation game of the Power Series of the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament in Lewes, Del., yesterday.The Panthers held St. Mark's leading scorer, Alex Karlsen, scoreless the entire game.* Dunbar 92, Wilmington 70: Tommy Polley scored 32, Tim Lyles added 25 and No. 8 Dunbar (3-2) advanced to the fifth-place consolation game of the premier division of the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament in Lewes, Del.Dunbar will play today at 2:15 vs. Archbishop Carroll (D.C.

LOS ANGELES -- Damian Johnson scored 23 of his game-high 32 points in the first half last night to lead Central Connecticut State past Morgan State, 87-71, in the consolation game of the L.A. Classic at Loyola Marymount.

Tournament Most Valuable Player Karen Hoffman scored 22 points in 30 minutes yesterday to lead host Johns Hopkins (2-0) to a 78-50 victory over Catholic in the championship game of the Blue Jay Classic.Martha Cleary led Catholic (1-1) with 15 points. Lori Leonard added 16 for Johns Hopkins.Widener edged Roger Williams, 58-50, in the consolation game.

The St. Paul's basketball team defeated Key, 57-34, last night in the second round consolation game of the North Carroll tournament. Denmore McDermott scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for St. Paul's (6-6) and was named to the all-tournament team. He also had 34 points and 10 rebounds in a loss against Westlake two nights ago. Also named to the all-tournament team was Sidney McCray, who led the Eagles with 13 points and 13 rebounds. South Carroll 55, Hereford 49 -- Chris Weitzel scored 21 points for the Cavaliers (1-6)

Hood junior center Tyler Snoots scored a career-high 21 points on 10-for-17 shooting, but the Blazers (2-3) lost, 77-67, to the host Tartans (2-3) in the Radisson/Carnegie Mellon Tournament consolation game. Snoots also had seven rebounds and blocked three shots. Junior Reco Siler finished with 12 points and a Blazers-high nine rebounds. - From Sun staff and news services

The St. Paul's basketball team defeated Key, 57-34, last night in the second round consolation game of the North Carroll tournament. Denmore McDermott scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for St. Paul's (6-6) and was named to the all-tournament team. He also had 34 points and 10 rebounds in a loss against Westlake two nights ago. Also named to the all-tournament team was Sidney McCray, who led the Eagles with 13 points and 13 rebounds. South Carroll 55, Hereford 49 -- Chris Weitzel scored 21 points for the Cavaliers (1-6)

With leading scorer Kacy O'Brien out of the lineup with an injury, Towson's women's basketball team lost a 72-61 decision to visiting James Madison yesterday, staying winless in the Colonial Athletic Association and extending its losing streak to three games. Freshman Lesley Dickinson led the Dukes (5-8, 1-2 CAA), finishing with 25 points and thwarting a Towson rally with five straight points late in the second half. The Tigers (8-4, 0-3) trailed by double digits much of the first half, but trimmed the deficit to 52-50 with 6:17 left.

Johns Hopkins freshman forward Julie Miller posted team highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds in her first collegiate game to lead the Blue Jays to a 75-66 victory over Widener in the first semifinal of the Blue Jay Invitational yesterday at Goldfarb Gymnasium. The Blue Jays didn't trail in the first half but fell behind with 6:48 left in the second after the Pioneers (0-1) erased a six-point deficit. But Hopkins guard Alissa Burkholder hit a three-pointer to give the Blue Jays a 59-57 lead, and Hopkins was able to pull away.

John Allen scored 22 points and Andre Barrett added 14 points and 10 assists to lead Seton Hall over Morgan State, 89-62, last night in East Rutherford, N.J. Seton Hall overcame a sluggish start to win the season opener for both teams. The Pirates made two of their first 15 shots as Morgan State jumped to a 23-13 lead with 9:12 remaining in the first half. But senior forward Marcus Toney-El scored seven straight points, with four coming on ferocious fast-break dunks, to cut the Morgan State lead to 23-20.

If they build it, will you come? That's the question Microsoft, "The House That Bill Built," and Electronic Arts, the 800-pound gorilla of the video game industry, are asking these days. Each company has created its own virtual field of dreams to lure rabid sports fans into the online console gaming arena. It's the first time these behemoths have gone head to head, and it promises to be interesting. Until now, the pair have had a working arrangement by dint of EA making games for Microsoft's Xbox - which it still does.

Hood junior center Tyler Snoots scored a career-high 21 points on 10-for-17 shooting, but the Blazers (2-3) lost, 77-67, to the host Tartans (2-3) in the Radisson/Carnegie Mellon Tournament consolation game. Snoots also had seven rebounds and blocked three shots. Junior Reco Siler finished with 12 points and a Blazers-high nine rebounds. - From Sun staff and news services

Donnie Carr scored 28 points, including 17 in the second half, as La Salle defeated Mount St. Mary's, 73-64, last night in the season opener for both teams.Terrence Wilson had 20 points and Reggie Harris 18 for the Mountaineers.Mount St. Mary's trailed 62-60 with 2: 04 left, but Carr's three-pointer kept La Salle in front.Xavier 96, UMES 52: Darnell Williams scored 20, including four three-pointers, as the host Musketeers (1-0) overwhelmed the Hawks (0-1).Demetric Reese led the Hawks with 15 points.

Still struggling to shake some rust from the winter break, No. 7 Texas used another strong defensive effort to pull away from Mount St. Mary's for an 80-64 victory yesterday in Austin, Texas. Playing just their third game in the two weeks around the holidays, the Longhorns struggled through another cold-shooting performance but clamped down on defense in time for their fourth straight win. Texas (9-2) forced Mount St. Mary's into 24 turnovers and turned them into 22 points. The Longhorns also dominated the rebounding 52-35 to make up for 37 percent shooting.

With Tim Washington leading the way, the Bowie State Bulldogs picked up their 10th win of the season yesterday with a 74-59 drubbing of Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Virginia State in Petersburg, Va. Washington, a senior center, scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Bulldogs improve to a CIAA-best 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the league. The Trojans fell to 3-6, 1-2. Bowie State did most of its damage inside, with Washington and frontcourt mates Jon Smith and Stephen Kelly combining for 18 of the team's 26 field goals.