Gwynn Park

For most of the game, the Liberty girls basketball team refused to let Gwynn Park pull away. In the end, however, the Lions gave it away. The Lions weren't used to dealing with the smothering defensive pressure applied by the Yellow Jackets, and they committed 31 turnovers en route to a 64-51 loss in a Class 2A state semifinal Friday at UMBC's RAC Arena. Liberty (21-6), making its first state semifinal appearance since 1983, stayed close until the final five minutes, when the Prince George's County team forced eight turnovers.

All four defending state champions advanced to this weekend's girls basketball regional finals -- Aberdeen, Dunbar, Gaithersburg and Calvert -- and times have been set for the title games. The winners advance to next week's state semifinals at UMBC. Class 3A champ and No. 2 Aberdeen will take on No. 7 City, which is coming off a 66-57 upset of No. 4 Milford Mill, a regional finalist last season. Tipoff in their North region final is 6 p.m. Friday at Aberdeen Class 1A champ Dunbar will host Surrattsville on Friday at 5 p.m. in the North region.

It was no mistake when the public address announcer at Comcast Center introduced defending state champion City College as starting two centers in Saturday's Class 2A state final. On a night when the Knights played far from their best basketball, they used their imposing height in the paint, led by 6-foot-8 Jordan Latham and 6-foot-7 Aron Nwankwo, to frustrate opposing Gwynn Park all night, holding the Prince George's team to 29 percent shooting in a 56-45 win. "I wanted to put our size out there," said City coach Mike Daniel, who has started dual centers for the past handful of games.

It has been said that many of America's future heavyweight boxing champions are hidden on various football fields and basketball courts across the country. Gone are the days of supreme athletes choosing a career between the ropes over one in the NFL  or NBA.  But now, seven knee surgeries later, a former linebacker has gone from the football field and into the ring in an attempt to bring the heavyweight title back to the United States.  ...

The opening minutes of Friday's Class 2A state semifinal gave the North Carroll boys basketball team an early indication of what it was up against in dealing with talented Gwynn Park. The Yellow Jackets from Prince George's County showed quickness with an immediate steal, strength and athleticism underneath the basket and good aim from the perimeter. For the Panthers, who played hard and never backed down, it was simply too much. Mike Hemsley scored 16 points and Brandon Ford added 15 as the Yellow Jackets rolled to Saturday's title game with a 69-36 win over the Panthers.

The opening minutes of Friday's Class 2A state semifinal gave the North Carroll boys basketball team an early indication of what it was up against in dealing with talented Gwynn Park. The Yellow Jackets from Prince George's County showed quickness with an immediate steal, strength and athleticism underneath the basket, and good aim from the perimeter. For the Panthers, who played hard and never backed down, it was simply too much. Mike Hemsley scored 16 points and Brandon Ford added 15 as the Yellow Jackets rolled to today's title game with a 69-36 win over the Panthers.

COLLEGE PARK -- With his team trailing by three and getting beaten badly on the boards early in yesterday's Class 3A state semifinal, Randallstown coach Kim Rivers figured the Rams needed to know the score."

Though Dunbar was making its fourth consecutiv appearance in the state Final Four yesterday, playing on the floor of Cole Field House was new for most of the No. 2-ranked Poets.After a slow start, Dunbar became comfortable with the surroundings, defeating Gwynn Park of Prince George's County, ranked No. 1 in the Washington area, 81-69, in a state 3A semifinal game.Freshman point guard Tim Lyles led Dunbar (20-6) with 19 points and Atman Smith added 17 and five rebounds. Rashard Hart scored 15 points to lead Gwynn Park (21-4)

Down in the southernmost part of Prince George's County, maybe 20 miles below Washington, the confrontation is known as "The Battle of [Route] 301," Gwynn Park and Douglass high schools getting together each autumn to play a football game the likes of which Jock Sutherland, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Walter Camp might have stuck around to see."Truck-stop football," is the way one spectator at Saturday's game described it, which was most appropriate. Imagine a bunch of truckers, on layover, going out for a no-holds-barred exercise.

COLLEGE PARK - Quarterback Josh Brown threw for four touchdown passes and kicked two field goals while running back Alex Herbert scored three times as Urbana of Frederick County rolled to its third straight Class 2A state championship, 49-8, over Gwynn Park of Prince George's County at Byrd Stadium. The Hawks led 32-8 at the half and cruised to their 38th consecutive win to finish 13-0. Brown, who also kicked field goals of 27 and 22 yards, completed 14 of 21 passes for 144 yards, tossing touchdown passes to Harry Boumel, Billy Gaines (six receptions, 66 yards)

Led by Atholton forward Gavin Stephenson and Centennial point guard Keonte Potts, the Maryland All-Stars came away with a 102-94 win over their Pennsylvania counterparts in the Mid-State Roundball Showcase Saturday in Harrisburg, Pa. The Maryland team has won four of the past give games in the longstanding senior game. Stephenson sored 19 points and added seven assists and six rebounds, while Potts finished with 17 points, five assists and five rebounds. Maryland fell behind 15-6 early before going on a 27-5 run to take control for good.

Following are results from Day 1 of the regional wrestling tournaments held Friday, as provided by the respective tournament directors. (For the story and results from Class 4A-3A Eaast, click here .)   Class 2A-1A South Region Team Scores 1. Glenelg 59.0 2. Patuxent 49.0 3. Oakland Mills 41.0 4. Marriotts Ridge 33.0 5. Southern AA 33.0 6. McDonough 32.0 7. Lackey 30.5 8. Poolesville 26.0 9. Calvert 22.0 10. Gwynn Park 14.0 11. Surrattsville 14.0 12. Forestville Military Academy 6.0 13. Long Reach 5.0 14. Wheaton 0.0 For weight class brackets, click here .   Class 2A-1A North Region 1 93.50 Owings Mills 2 58.00 Loch Raven 58.00 Sparrows Point 4 50.00 Pikesville 5 45.00 Edmondson 6 33.00 Northwestern 7 30.00 Dundalk 8 26.50 Western STES 9 26.00 New Town 26.00 Overlea 11 25.00 Carver 12 22.00 Carver Vo-Tech 13 20.00 Lansdowne 14 11.00 W.E.B.

The C. Milton Wright girls basketball team stayed in the hunt for the championship of the Lady Miller Holiday Tournament at the Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore County with an easy win Tuesday over McDonough, 69-39. Aberdeen had an equally easy win Monday to advance to the championship of the IAABO Board 134 Holiday Tournament at Prince George's Community College. CMW led its game Tuesday, 30-10, at the half. Lauren Haggerty scored a team-high 11 points in the win, while Bridget Neff and Savannah Humphreys both scored 10 points for the Mustangs.

Glenelg earned its first playoff football victory since 2003, defeating visiting Gwynn Park, 17-14, Friday night. Gwynn Park (8-3) scored first, on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jay Adams to Brandon Banks with 26 seconds left in the first half. But Glenelg (9-2) answered on the ensuing kickoff when Ryan Perry fielded the ball inside Glenelg's 20 and handed off to sophomore David Brookhart, who ran up the home sideline for a go-ahead touchdown after Alex Paul's extra point. Glenelg extended its lead with a 1-yard run by Glenn Lucas in the third quarter and a 32-yard field goal by Alex Paul midway through the fourth.

Bowie 28, Hyattsville Northwestern 21 Catonsville 28, Parkville 16 C.H. Flowers 33, Laurel 6 DeMatha 21, Bishop McNamara 8 DuVal 10, Parkdale 6 Eleanor Roosevelt 27, Suitland 20 Forestville 37, Fairmont Heights 6 Fort Hill 50, Alleghany 7 Georgetown Prep 28, Landon 7 Gilman 31, McDonogh 21 Gwynn Park 33, Surrattsville 6 Henry Wise 40, Bladensburg 8 Linganore 33, Urbana 6 New Town...

A gunman opened fire on a Baltimore police officer as he stepped out of his patrol car while responding to a domestic violence call Tuesday night, grazing his hip, according to a statement from a city Police Department spokesman. Police spokesman Detective Kevin Brown said the shooting occurred about 11:40 p.m. in the 1100 block of Cooks Lane, near the southern edge of Gwynns Falls Park and about a quarter-mile from Security Boulevard and Forest Park Avenue. The Southwestern District officer, who has been on the force five years, was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center and released.

BRANDYWINE - Dunbar's players and coaches knew their long winning streak would end at some point. They just didn't expect it to end like this. The top-ranked Poets turned in a mistake-riddled performance in yesterday's season opener against Gwynn Park. Dunbar committed 15 penalties, blew a 10-point halftime lead and gave up 27 second-half points as Gwynn Park rallied for a 33-32 victory. That win ended Dunbar's two-year, 25-game winning streak. The Poets last lost in the 2006 season against Edmondson and have won two state titles along the way. Coach Lawrence Smith gave his team a clear message afterward: The streak is over, and it's time to move on. "There was a lot of pressure on them, [but]

The state girls basketball semifinal between No. 4 Western and Gwynn Park featured the Doves' inside power vs. their opponent's perimeter game. Chalk this one up to inner strength. The 6-foot-2 senior duo of Zhondria Benn and Nikki Matthews combined for 39 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Doves past the Yellow Jackets, 64-50, last night at UMBC's RAC Arena. The Doves (25-1) are headed to the state title game for the first time since 1999. Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at RAC Arena, they will meet No. 8 River Hill, a 54-44 winner over Urbana last night.

John R. Burleigh 2d., a civil rights activist who had been chairman of the employment committee of the Congress of Racial Equality and retired from the city housing authority, died July 9 of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The longtime Hunting Ridge resident was 86. The son of a foundryman and a homemaker, Mr. Burleigh was born in Baltimore and raised in Dorsey. He was a 1943 graduate of Wiley H. Bates High School in Annapolis, and attended Howard University in Washington.