Hornets

Seventh-ranked Digital Harbor couldn't have planned a better way to start last night's Class 1A girls state championship game, scoring nine straight points and holding Surrattsville of Prince George's County scoreless for nearly six minutes. It was the way the Rams finished, however, that sealed their first state title. After watching its double-digit lead whittled to one, the Baltimore City team closed with eight straight points over the game's final 40 seconds to pull away for a 50-41 victory at UMBC.

NEW YORK -- The lineup change for the New York Knicks was barely noticed by the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden in the first quarter of Monday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets.Maybe the fans were too busy watching Spike Lee among the famous and just plain rich folks settling into their $1,500-a-game courtside seats. Or perhaps they were too focused on the Knicks' missing 16 of their first 17 shots.More than two hours later, it was hard not to see what had transpired during the course of a 112-109, overtime victory over the Central Division-leading Hornets.

Free-agent center Gheorghe Muresan, who missed all of last season with the Washington Wizards with a foot injury, took a physical with the Charlotte Hornets yesterday.The Hornets are looking for a center, having lost Vlade Divac (Sacramento Kings) and Matt Geiger (Philadelphia 76ers) to free agency. Charlotte last week signed power forward Derrick Coleman, who might be forced to play center.Standing 7 feet 7, Muresan is the tallest player in NBA history. Selected in the second round of the 1993 draft by the then-Washington Bullets mainly as a project, Muresan went on to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award after averaging 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds during the 1995-96 season.

CHICAGO -- In Game 1, the Charlotte Hornets were embarrassed. In fact, they looked so bad that many wondered aloud whether they even deserved to be on the same court as the defending NBA-champion Chicago Bulls."

BasketballHornets: Released F Junior Burrough and C Nate Wilbourne.Pub Date: 10/13/97

The Morgan State Bears may have been caught looking ahead to a televised rematch with crosstown rival Coppin State on Saturday when they dropped a 75-66 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contest to Delaware State at Hill Field House last night.The Bears (4-14, 3-4), who suffered a heartbreaking, last-second loss at Coppin on Saturday, 78-77, sleepwalked through the first half against the Hornets to fall behind 36-25, and played a futile game of catch-up the rest of the way."If you look up the word 'flat' in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of my team," said Morgan coach Chris Fuller.

C LANDOVER -- It should have been a lesson learned by the Washington Bullets, who lost a 17-point halftime lead and the game on Wednesday against the Hornets in Charlotte, N.C.But last night the Bullets had the same opponent and the same lead, only to suffer the same result.Charlotte was a 100-94 victor last night at USAir Arena in a game that left the Bullets 4 1/2 games behind the Hornets, who hold the eighth and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.The Bullets (23-30) lost their third straight and the ninth in their past 10 games.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Welcome to the age of the nasty Hornet.Charlotte owner George Shinn has given Dave Cowens a three-year guarantee and a mandate to "put the stinger back" into the Hornets. Cowens, who rode floor burns into the Basketball Hall of Fame, said he can deliver."We're going to be a little nastier next season," said Cowens, officially named the Hornets' fourth coach Wednesday. "And that comes with superior conditioning."Cowens looked like a man ready to roll up his sleeves Wednesday.

LANDOVER -- For a Washington Bullets team intent on paying back opponents for early season defeats, there still will be a chance later this week to avenge a November loss to the Charlotte Hornets. And to do so Saturday night, the Bullets will have to find a way to contain Charlotte shooting guard Glen Rice.That's because last night Rice had his biggest game of the season, scoring 38 points to lead the Hornets to a 101-92 win over the Bullets before 17,313 at USAir Arena.The Bullets (15-14)

Hornets: Charlotte Hornets forward Scott Burrell will miss the rest of the season after dislocating his right shoulder while reaching over teammate Gerald Glass to deflect a pass during practice Wednesday. Burrell averaged 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 20 games this season.

New Orleans is going back to the playoffs, thanks in large part to dramatic plays from Rasual Butler and David West. Butler hit a game-tying three-pointer with no time remaining in regulation, West hit the winning jumper with 8.8 seconds left in overtime, and the Hornets stunned the host Miami Heat, 93-87, on Tuesday night. Chris Paul finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Peja Stojakovic added 24 points for the Hornets (48-29), who not only clinched their postseason berth but also stayed thickly in the hunt for home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Spurs@Cavaliers 1 p.m. [chs. 2, 7] Cleveland is suddenly looking vulnerable after a pair of bad losses, and a victory over San Antonio could help refuel its mojo, as well as keep it ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for best record in the league. The Spurs are trying to hold off the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets for the Southwest Division title.

Seventh-ranked Digital Harbor couldn't have planned a better way to start last night's Class 1A girls state championship game, scoring nine straight points and holding Surrattsville of Prince George's County scoreless for nearly six minutes. It was the way the Rams finished, however, that sealed their first state title. After watching its double-digit lead whittled to one, the Baltimore City team closed with eight straight points over the game's final 40 seconds to pull away for a 50-41 victory at UMBC.

Granted, sports are supposed to represent the ultimate meritocracy - may the best team win and all - but if the NBA Western Conference finals wind up being the Utah Jazz against the New Orleans Hornets, the TV ratings will be so puny you'll be able to count viewers by a show of hands. Both teams have had nice seasons and have outstanding players, but let's face it, these are teams with identity problems. Neither franchise even had the simple creativity to change its nickname when it relocated.

Chris Paul had 23 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds, and the host New Orleans Hornets ran away with their ninth straight win, 117-93, over the Denver Nuggets last night. A jubilant crowd broke into repeated chants of "M-V-P" in recognition of a masterful performance by the Hornets guard, who is the team's best shot at making the All-Star Game in New Orleans next month as a reserve. Even in a game featuring recently elected All-Star starter Allen Iverson, Paul was the best player on the floor.

Pat Riley has no definitive plans to go anywhere, dismissing published reports that he was leaning toward vacating his coaching role with the Miami Heat after the season to focus on his front-office duties. Riley said before Miami's game last night against the Milwaukee Bucks that he was being philosophical when talking about the dual roles he holds, and about potentially stepping aside. "I always re-evaluate," Riley said. "I'm one of those guys, a good old Irish Catholic who worries a lot, so I re-evaluate all the time.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Twice in the regular season, Coppin State hung tough before falling to Delaware State, the class of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Last night the Hornets showed why this is their third straight season as regular season champion and top tournament seed, however, as they used 15 straight points that spanned halftime to rout the Eagles, 68-49, at the RBC Center. It was Coppin State's most lop-sided loss ever in the MEAC tournament, and its worst to a conference foe since Feb. 4, 2002, when it fell, 78-51, at Hampton.

The College of Notre Dame gave up a double-digit second-half lead against the visiting Shenandoah women's basketball team in a 59-53 loss. The Gators (2-1) took a 37-29 lead with 13:37 remaining, but the Hornets (3-1) responded with a 24-12 run and got in front for good with 5:32 remaining. Alexis Hargbol led all players with 20 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for Shenandoah. The Hornets held a 50-39 rebounding advantage as Notre Dame was out-rebounded for the first time this season.

In the showdown for second place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Delaware State easily finished first. The Hornets dominated Morgan State in every phase of football yesterday, routed the Bears, 29-7, at Hughes Stadium, and pulled within a half game of first place when previously undefeated Hampton (5-1 MEAC) lost at South Carolina State. After winning three consecutive MEAC games to climb into the title chase, Morgan (4-4, 3-2) did very little right before a disappointed homecoming gathering of 13,557.

The Harundale boys basketball teams in the 10-11 division remain busy so far this winter. The Hornets play in three leagues, the Heat in two. But one thing remains the same: Both teams have found a lot of success after just a few weeks. They wound up battling each other in last week's "December Madness" basketball tournament, run by the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks. The Hornets won their division tournament with a 4-0 record. They beat out the Heat, who were second with a 3-1 mark.