Greyhounds

Loyola's lacrosse seniors are going to miss graduation.They couldn't be happier.Commencement exercises will be held Saturday, but Tim McGeeney, Matt Dwan and company have other important business on Charles Street, where they'll face top-ranked Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.That assignment -- and a more private graduation ceremony Friday -- was made possible by the Greyhounds' 17-11 thrashing of North Carolina in the first round of the tournament yesterday before 2,200 at Curley Field.

The Gilman boys lacrosse team was given an improbable opening with a one-of-a-kind comeback win over Boys' Latin in Tuesday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference semifinal. In Friday's championship game against No. 1 Calvert Hall, the No. 2 Greyhounds made the most of the opportunity. Unlike Tuesday's win, in which they scored three man-down goals in the final 1:08 of regulation to force overtime, the Greyhounds started fast Friday. And every time the Cardinals made a push, they pushed back.

It wasn't a work of art, but, to a head coach, every victory looks like a masterpiece. Coaches would much rather win ugly than look good and lose.That's how it was for Loyola College's Tom Schneider yesterday after the Greyhounds defeated Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rival Fairfield, 74-58, at Reitz Arena for their fourth straight victory and seventh in the past nine games.Not since the 1978-79 season have the Greyhounds had a more productive stretch."I think they're starting to believe in themselves," Schneider said of his team.

No. 2 Loyola once again showed that it's easier to contain the Greyhounds than defeat them.Hofstra took Loyola out of its fast-break offense for three quarters, used the same one-on-one offensive set that it used to beat Loyola last year and had 11 man-advantage opportunities to keep the game at its slow tempo.Scoring four straight goals in a 2:19 stretch late in the fourth quarter, Loyola turned away No. 14 Hofstra, 13-10, before 1,521 at Curley Field. With top-ranked Princeton losing yesterday, Loyola (7-0)

Siena point guard Doremus Bennerman apparently took great satisfaction during his team's blowout win over Loyola last week -- and wasn't bashful in letting Greyhounds point guard Tracy Bergan know it."They were winning and he did a lot of jawing," Bergan recalled of the game in Loudonville, N.Y. "I couldn't say anything because they won. But I knew playing him again, there would be extra incentive."And Bergan's payback was sweet: He had 22 points, 10 assists and five steals -- all while holding Bennerman to 10 points -- as the Greyhounds ended a four-game losing streak with a 76-68 victory over Siena, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference leader, before 576 at Reitz Arena.

Three weeks remain until Loyola's men's basketball team opens its season against William and Mary, but first-year coach Brian Ellerbe's era begins unofficially tomorrow night at 8, when the Greyhounds play host to the Converse All-Stars in their first exhibition game.The Greyhounds feature several key returning players, such as senior forward B. J. Pendleton and sophomore guard Milton Williams, although one Greyhound will be firing shots from the other side. Kevin Green, who racked up 2,154 points between 1988 and 1992 to become the second-leading scorer in Loyola history, plays for Converse.

Brett Harvey poured in a career-high 34 points, the final two coming on a pair of free throws with four seconds left for a three-point lead, as Loyola beat Tennessee State, 73-70, yesterday at Reitz Arena. Harvey scored 12 of Loyola's final 13 points to carry the Greyhounds (1-1) to the win. He tallied nine field goals - six from three-point range - and made 10 of his 12 free-throw attempts. The first of the 12 were three-pointers and the final six came at the charity stripe. After sophomore guard made just one of his two free-throw attempts with 28 ticks left to give Loyola a 71-70 lead, Tennessee State's Parker Smith lost the ball on the baseline out of bounds with four seconds left.

Three years ago, Luke Skywalker was an unwanted dog, a survivor of the greyhound racing industry but a failure as an adoptive pet.On Friday, he trotted eagerly from one set of loving hands to another, nuzzling residents of the Lorien Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Hickory Ridge, bringing joy to humans whose illnesses have left them as confined as Luke once was.With Luke was Whisper, another dog that had outlived his usefulness as a professional greyhound,...

The window opened and Darius Johnson saw nothing but baskets before him.With Loyola's leader, B. J. Pendleton, hobbled by a strained hamstring and foul trouble last night, Johnson took over the Greyhounds' offense with a passion.The sophomore guard from Cincinnati burned winless American U. for 23 first-half points and finished with a career-high 27 in Loyola's 81-68 victory before 1,025 at Reitz Arena."Basically, I knew I had to step up," said Johnson, whose late three- pointer in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game was one of the biggest shots in Loyola history.

Loyola realized what was at stake. The No. 6 Greyhounds knew a win over No. 4 Syracuse would mean a chance to gain the inside edge on a top four seeding and a first-round bye in the NCAA lacrosse tournament -- and to be considered among the season's elite teams.With so much to play for, no one could say why Loyola looked so listless as the Orangemen trampled the Greyhounds, 23-13, yesterday in front of 3,307 at Curley Field.Loyola's players had no explanations for the school's worst loss in four seasons; no explanations why its normally athletic defense became stationary, allowing the most goals since 1983 and more than 20 for the first time in five years.