Dragons

The biggest difference in this and the kids 10 or 15 years ago who played fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and, later, the people who engaged in multiplayer online role-playing games is you can't really characterize current users as geeks or loners. These are people with lives, real friends." - BETH COLEMAN, a professor of comparative media studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on the occupants of popular online fantasy worlds such as SecondLife.com, which has more than 6 million virtual residents

Jake Martin scored four goals, and Chris Condlin added three, helping No. 10-ranked Friends easily defeat visiting Park, 19-6, in the semifinals of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference tournament yesterday.The Quakers (12-3) scored five consecutive goals in the first half and held at least a five-goal margin the rest of the way.John Carroll 12, Archbishop Curley 8: John Mundth scored three goals and added three assists to lead the host Patriots (10-6) over the Friars in the other MIAA B Conference semifinal.

Glenelg Country School can't forget losing to Chapelgate Christian Academy two straight seasons in the MIAA C Division championship game, so a 4-1 payback double-overtime victory yesterday at Alpha Ridge Park in Marriottsville was doubly sweet."

Chris Williams and Skip Victor each scored six points during a decisive, 20-9 first-half run to lead Navy over Holy Cross, 70-55, last night in Worcester, Mass.Williams and Sitapha Savane had 16 points and Victor added 15 for Navy (18-6, 7-3 Patriot League), which forced the Crusaders into 22 turnovers. James Stowers scored 18 points, all on three-pointers, for Holy Cross (5-19, 1-9).Trailing 23-18 with 7: 59 left, Navy took control with an aggressive defense and a strong inside game. The 20-9 run put Navy up 38-32 at the break.

BaseballReds: Agreed to terms with IF-OF Chris Stynes on one-year contract.BasketballNBA: Philadelphia will be awarded 2002 All-Star Game.Richmond Rhythm (IBL): Signed G Kerry Thompson and G-F Korleone Young.Florida Sea Dragons (USBL): Named Rick Barry coach.CollegesBig Ten Conference: Announced extension of men's conference basketball tournament through 2004-05 season. Announced tournament will rotate between United Center in Chicago and Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.Missouri: Extended contract of Cindy Stein, women's basketball coach, through 2004 season.

Glenelg Country School held off John Carroll for 56 minutes of yesterday's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Division field hockey championship. It was the last four minutes that were the problem.The Patriots (7-3-5) scored twice in the final 3: 52 to take a 2-0 victory for the inaugural IAAM B Division championship at Towson University."I don't even know what happened," said Dragons back Megan Reuwer. "We just fell apart. We were worn out, because they have a lot more subs than we do. And I think we panicked."

Kevin Deanstadt scored three goals, and three teammates scored twice each as Annapolis Area Christian School won its second straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference title yesterday.The Eagles defeated Glenelg Country School, 9-2, at Johns Hopkins' Homewood Field, with Dustin Coombe, John Rosacker and Alex Bitzer each scoring twice. Deanstadt also had two assists with his hat trick.The victory was the 15-2 Eagles' eighth straight under coach Dick Bitzer, who said the school plans to move into the more competitive MIAA B Conference next season.

What counts most are the scoreboard's numbers when time expires, a reality that sent Chapelgate's Flames and Glenelg Country School's Dragons home with diametrically opposite emotions last night.Second-place Glenelg Country, hoping to tie the Flames for first in their Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference division, led for all but maybe 20 seconds in this nail-biter. But owning the ball and up by one point, the Dragons saw their dream turn into a nightmare on a switch-back, inbounds play under their own basket that went awry with eight seconds left.

Glenelg Country School had two simple objectives in last night's game with Chapelgate. The Dragons wanted the victory that would clinch a playoff spot, and they wanted to shut down Chapelgate's Chris Davidson.Missions accomplished.Glenelg Country School again played tough defense, limiting Davidson to only six points and Chapelgate to just 12 in the final 12 minutes to win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference game, 49-45.Eric Greenberg scored five of his game-high 18 points late in the fourth quarter to help the host Dragons register the come-from-behind victory.

Glenelg Country School coach John Aquila believes in the popular theory that defense wins basketball games. Last night, his players reinforced that theory.The Dragons frustrated visiting Beth Tfiloh with a tough match-up zone that rarely allowed the Warriors good shots. vTC Glenelg Country School also took advantage of 11 points from both Garth DeAngelis and Eric Greenberg for a 43-34 victory in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference game.Glenelg Country School (14-3, 6-2)

How far should humans go to accommodate the wildlife in their midst? That depends on what kind of wildlife you're talking about: There's a big difference, for example, between animals that are cute and cuddly and those that would gladly eat you for lunch. Take the Komodo dragon, a 10-foot reptile with powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth found only on a couple of tiny islands in the Indonesian archipelago. For centuries, villagers there worshiped the dragons as sacred incarnations of ancestral spirits.

Drexel? Where did that name come from? There are several national lacrosse polls these days, and they all contain the usual suspects: Virginia, Duke, Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Maryland. But there is a new face. It's Drexel. The Dragons have been in the top 20 before, but not consistently. This season, the Dragons have been ranked just about every week and are at No. 7 in the latest Sun rankings. "It's nice to be in the rankings," Drexel coach Chris Bates said. "Recruits read national rankings, and when they see your school among them, they get excited."

Gerald Brown scored 27 points and made a career-high six steals, and Michael Tuck added 18 points to lead Loyola past visiting Penn, 89-68, yesterday in the preliminary round of the Philly Hoop Group Classic. Loyola (1-1) raced out to a 43-26 halftime lead by forcing 14 first-half Penn (0-2) turnovers. Brown led all-scorers at the half with 19 points and had a game-high eight rebounds. Drexel 86, Navy 70 -- Frank Elegar scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds to power the host Dragons (2-0)

The biggest difference in this and the kids 10 or 15 years ago who played fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and, later, the people who engaged in multiplayer online role-playing games is you can't really characterize current users as geeks or loners. These are people with lives, real friends." - BETH COLEMAN, a professor of comparative media studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on the occupants of popular online fantasy worlds such as SecondLife.com, which has more than 6 million virtual residents

In his first season on varsity, Glenelg Country School sophomore guard Tim Schenk averaged 13 points per game. He scored a season-high 25 points in the Dragons' 52-50 win over Annapolis Area Christian School that gave the program its first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference title Feb. 23. The Dragons trailed by four points with less than two minutes to play when Schenk hit back-to-back three-pointers to give them the lead....

Tiffany Jackson scored 24 points to lead the No. 25 Texas women to a 78-55 victory over UMES in the Basketball Travelers Classic tournament last night in Austin. Jackson was 8-for-14 from the field, Erika Arriaran scored 15 points and Earnesia Williams added 10 for the Longhorns (1-0). Erneisha Bailey had 11 rebounds. Kristi Veltkamp led UMES (0-2) with 14 points. The Longhorns held UMES scoreless for the first 5:28 of the second half. Loyola 66, Drexel 57 -- Brittany Dunn and Jill Glessner (17 points each)

Ryan Simensky scored the game-winner from 15 yards out as host Cortland State edged Wesleyan, 7-6, in overtime in an NCAA Division III men's semifinal yesterday. The Red Dragons (17-3) will face defending national champion Salisbury (20-0) in the final Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Cortland State trailed 12-11 before Kyle Lambert tied the score with 6:09 left and sent the game into overtime. Dowling 16, Mercyhurst 4 -- The Golden Lions (12-1), led by Ryan Campbell and Chris DuPignac with three goals each, jumped to a 5-1 lead in the first half and beat the Lakers (12-3)

Brad Crawford, Glenelg Country SPORT BASEBALL BOYS STATS -- The senior shortstop-pitcher completed a four-year varsity career for the Dragons, batting .488 with 15 RBIs this season. A three-sport standout, Crawford was the cross country team's top runner in his fourth season and a three-year starter at shooting guard for the Dragons' basketball team. SIDELINES -- With a 3.4 grade point average, Crawford plans to attend Vanderbilt University to study political science. Crawford is the treasurer of the community service club at Glenelg Country, has been a coach for Special Olympics and has volunteered in the Christmas in April and Habitat for Humanity programs, which help rehabilitate and build low-income housing.

The game-day routine of Glenelg Country School lacrosse standout Andrew Walls began in his freshman year: Play hard, smart defense, then watch and learn. "My dad has taped just about every high school and club game I've played. So I'll go home and watch the tape to see what I can do to improve," said Walls, a junior defenseman who earned second-team All-County honors last season. "If I get beat one-on-one, I look at it and say, `Where were my feet and where should they have been?' And when I make a good play, it's like, `OK, let's keep that in my head, so when I'm on the field the next time, I can do it again.

Lauren Troupe and Jill Gless- ner helped host Loyola defeat Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader Marist, 62-59, yesterday afternoon. They combined for 32 points to give the Greyhounds (16-9, 11-5) their first win over the Red Foxes (19-6, 14-2) in the past eight meetings. Drexel 63, Towson 61 -- Catherine Scanlon's last-second layup lifted the visiting Dragons (12-12, 7-8 Colonial Athletic Association) over the Tigers (8-16, 3-12). Franklin and Marshall 65, Johns Hopkins 64 -- Dana Johns hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to lead the Diplomats (10-15, 7-11 Centennial Conference)