Georgetown

ATLANTA -- With 3.7 seconds remaining in last night's national semifinal game and his team trailing Ohio State by five points, Georgetown center Roy Hibbert returned to the bench and buried his face in his No. 55 jersey. This time, his spot on the sideline was permanent. Of the two imposing 7-foot players pitted against each other in the Final Four, only Ohio State freshman Greg Oden was left on the court when time expired. Oden and Hibbert finished with four fouls each, but Oden's supporting cast was able to compensate, while Georgetown's leading scorer was stifled and the Hoyas' reserves couldn't add any points in a 67-60 loss.

It was one of those occasions when good fortune was much more productive than good planning.Adam Borcz happened to be in the right place to scoop up an errant pass yesterday and fire it past Georgetown goalie Brian Hole with four seconds left in the first overtime to lift the Naval Academy to a stirring 12-11 lacrosse victory before 2,637 sun-drenched fans at Dewey Field.The win over the seventh-ranked Hoyas was a vital one for the 10th-ranked Midshipmen, who were in danger of falling to .500 with four ranked teams remaining on their schedule, including Maryland and Johns Hopkins.

WITH the announcement that there are plans to raze a dozen buildings near the old Stewart's department store building at Howard and Lexington streets for offices, residences, shops and parking, Baltimore can expect to see another battle of two well-known factions.On one side, are those who say that the buildings are uniquely tied to our identity as a city, making them too valuable to lose. Some call such advocates the "romantics." On the other side, are the "realists," who say this plan will revitalize the west side of downtown.

When Georgetown advanced last year past the opening round of the NCAA tournament for the first time, there was a giddy celebration.After the fifth-seeded Hoyas handled Notre Dame, 14-10, yesterday before 2,374 at Towson's Minnegan Stadium and moved on again, there were as many shrugs as handshakes."

WASHINGTON -- UMBC's week of high aspirations came to a crashing end yesterday.Matching the soggy, grass turf of Harbin Field in sloppiness, the No. 9 Retrievers witnessed many of their numerous mistakes compounded by Georgetown, handing the No. 8 Hoyas an 11-6 victory before 1,276 rain-soaked spectators.UMBC (3-2), which stood undefeated this time last week, never established firm footing yesterday as a result of costly blunders among the puddles and mud, and apparently hadn't regained its focus since getting hammered by No. 2 Duke four days ago. Georgetown (4-0)

It's one of the closest rivalries in lacrosse. Scratch that. It's one of the most lopsided.Just pick your point of view.When No. 4 Duke squares off against No. 5 Georgetown in Saturday's NCAA quarterfinals, the Hoyas prefer to remember that four of the past seven annual meetings have been decided by one goal. The Blue Devils, however, will take a different spin, highlighting their 12-0 record vs. the Hoyas and their 10-8 win at Georgetown on March 27."Yeah, it's been close," Georgetown coach Dave Urick said.

Freshman Steve Dusseau had a career-high five goals to lead ninth-ranked Georgetown to a 14-10, win yesterday over Hobart at Harbin Field in Washington.The Hoyas (8-2) also received five points each from Andy Flick (two goals, three assists) and Greg McCavera (one, four).Dusseau converted twice in the last eight minutes of the second period to push Georgetown's lead to 7-3 at halftime.Scott Urick and McCavera each scored and assisted on a goal in the third quarter as the Hoyas held a 10-6 lead entering the final period.

Dave Urick moved from the top of one lacrosse ladder to the bottom of another. When he lived in rural upstate New York, his wife joked that their neighbors were cows. Now she wishes him luck on his commute from their home in Fairfax, Va., to his job in Washington.It's good that Urick has grown accustomed to crowds, because he's going to work before about 25,000 Saturday at Byrd Stadium. The NCAA men's lacrosse final four returns to its customary home at the University of Maryland, but it definitely has a new look in the Georgetown program that Urick built basically from scratch over the past decade.

COLLEGE PARK -- As the final four opened at Byrd Stadium yesterday, the combatants traded backgrounds. Georgetown came out like the team in its 17th straight NCAA men's lacrosse semifinal, and Syracuse looked the part of the jittery rookie.The new-found patience of the Orangemen was nowhere to be found. Their defense was having trouble locating the ball, let alone the Hoyas' shooters. Goalie Rob Mulligan had more blown clears than saves, and Syracuse fell into a 4-1 hole.That's the same deficit the Orangemen faced in their quarterfinal game against top seed Loyola, and yesterday's result was another devastating comeback.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Georgetown opted for cartwheels instead of handshakes.One week after a lethargic effort in the first round, the No. 5 Hoyas rode a five-goal surge over a seven-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to a 17-14 NCAA quarterfinals win over No. 4 Duke yesterday at Hofstra Stadium.The Hoyas (13-2), who showed little emotion following their opening-round victory over Notre Dame, whooped it up in celebration of the first Final Four berth in their 30-year lacrosse history. They'll play the winner of today's Loyola-Syracuse game in Saturday's semifinals.

Georgetown forward DaJuan Summers, who grew up in Baltimore and played for McDonogh as well as the Cecil-Kirk Amateur Athletic Union team, will get a chance to fulfill his NBA dream after he was drafted 35th overall by the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night in the second round of the NBA draft. "I'm very excited," said Summers, who celebrated draft night with his family and friends with a party in the Inner Harbor at the ESPN Zone. "That's where I wanted to go. Didn't think I'd go in the second round, thought it was the first.

Tim Paul (Loyola) had two goals and three assists, and fellow junior attackman Brendan Connors scored three goals to lead the 17th-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team to a 10-8 win over host Georgetown on Saturday. The win ended the Midshipmen's five-game losing streak to the Hoyas. Navy's previous victory in the series came in 2004. "This was probably our biggest win of the year," Connors said. "The team really worked hard this week, and I think we locked it on and pulled off a big win for our program."

Maryland fans euphorically stormed the court at Comcast Center, Hoyas supporters left early in disappointment at Georgetown, and Wildcats backers looked stunned at Davidson. It's the season of mood swings in college basketball, in which the last few games of the regular season are critical for teams frantically trying to squeeze into the NCAA tournament. Four weeks before the March Madness bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday, here are four teams - in no particular order - that improved their chances with key victories yesterday and four that, after being defeated yesterday, have unfinished business.

Seton Hall celebrated its first Big East victory of the season the same day it honored its team that almost won it all 20 years ago. "We talked for a couple of days with the kids about carving a piece of the pie for themselves," Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez said of the hoopla surrounding the return of the 1988-89 team that lost to Michigan in overtime in the national championship game. "We felt we could get one." They did by gutting out a 65-60 victory over No. 12 Georgetown yesterday to end a six-game losing streak.

Luke Harangody didn't let being in foul trouble against an athletic Georgetown team bother him. Neither did Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. Harangody thought he would spend about 10 minutes on the bench when he picked up his fourth foul with 15:17 left and the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish up by six points. Instead, he sat less than four minutes, then scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds down the stretch to help host Notre Dame beat the ninth-ranked Hoyas, 73-67, last night and end a five-game losing streak to Georgetown.

Georgetown had just finished its eighth win in nine games. John Thompson III was anything but pleased. The No. 15 Hoyas earned a 69-58 victory over Mount St. Mary's yesterday in Washington, but one would have never guessed it from talking to Georgetown's coach. "I'm not sure I'm pleased with anyone," he said. "We did not play well." The Hoyas players are ending a grinding two-week exam period, but Thompson didn't want to attribute this subpar performance to academics, either. "Mentally we had a bad day today," Thompson said.

1 Rhyme is reason: It's being called the Battle in Seattle: No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (4 p.m., chs. 13, 9). They had to play there because nothing good rhymes with Hartford. 2 Gator aid: Speaking of sites: No. 6 Duke plays No. 7 Xavier at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. (2 p.m., chs. 13, 9). Both teams will be required to have little alligators on their jerseys. 3 Oy-a, Hoyas: Mount St. Mary's takes a step up by taking on No. 15 Georgetown (1 p.m., MASN). 4 Eagle eyes: Navy kicks off the bowl season with a rematch against Wake Forest in the EagleBank game from RFK Stadium (11 a.m., ESPN)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - As Maryland and Georgetown played each other for the first time in seven years, the expressions along the respective benches said it all. Georgetown's players jumped up and down on the sideline, clapping and cheering on their teammates. Maryland's players sat still in a somber row. The difference in the game was clear in their faces. The No. 21 Hoyas dominated the Terps for every minute of yesterday's third-place game in the Old Spice Classic at the Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, beating Maryland, 75-48.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - It's neither the championship game nor the game featuring the highest-ranked teams. But the significance of tonight's third-place game in the Old Spice Classic goes beyond that. At 5:30 p.m. today, for the first time during the regular season in 15 years, Maryland and No. 21 Georgetown will play a men's basketball game with nothing on the line but pride. "It's ironic that we're playing them here," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. " ... It should be a good game.

The "other game" is down the street a mile or two, and for the two participants, it has just as much significance. The Georgetown at Loyola game won't draw the crowd of the storied Maryland-Johns Hopkins series at Homewood Field on Saturday, but there will be a lot of anxious moments at Loyola's Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. Georgetown is 7-2 overall, 3-0 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Loyola is 5-4, 4-0 in the conference. The winner takes sole possession of first place and the lead for an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.