Indiana

South Carroll High basketball standout Marshall Strickland has verbally committed to Indiana University, according to a report by The Herald-Times in Bloomington, Ind., and a Hoosiers athletic department source. Strickland, who will be a senior this fall, has also reportedly considered Maryland, Wake Forest, Tennessee and Boston College. He could not be reached for comment last night. The 6-foot-2 point guard led the metropolitan area with a 30.5-point scoring average for the Cavaliers last season.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Too many athletes on the other side. Too much quickness to combat. And one effective zone his team couldn't beat. Those elements mixed to saddle Indiana coach Bob Knight with the worst tournament loss of his illustrious career yesterday as St. John's rolled into the NCAA South Regional semifinals with an 86-61 win at the Orlando Arena. The smoothly functioning Red Storm was never endangered after taking command with a 13-0 stretch midway through the first half to vault into a seven-point lead that steadily widened.

INDIANAPOLIS - The Washington Wizards tried desperately to give away last night's contest against the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter, as they've done all season. The Wizards missed foul shots, left the Pacers open on the perimeter, gave them offensive rebounds, and went without a field goal over the final 2:28 - usually the building blocks for a heartbreaking loss. But in sustaining big hits to their foundation, figuratively and literally, the Wizards held on to beat Indiana, 83-78, their first win in nine tries at Conseco Fieldhouse and their first in Indianapolis overall in their past 13 games.

WASHINGTON - The fairy tale that once was the Washington Mystics has slowly evolved into a full-blown film noir. The latest installment of the feel-good story gone bad came last night when the Mystics lost to the Indiana Fever, 64-55, in front of 14,986 at MCI Center. The loss to the Fever (13-15) was Washington's seventh in a row, the fifth straight defeat at home. The Mystics (15-13) must win at least two of their final four games to guarantee that they won't slip out of the four-team Eastern Conference playoff picture.

CARSON, Calif. - The Maryland men's soccer team has ended its previous two seasons with a pair of bitter one-goal defeats in the national semifinals. Last night was perhaps an even more agonizing loss. With 48 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Indiana midfielder Danny O'Rourke sent a cross to the right post. A streaking John Michael Hayden headed the ball past Terps senior goalkeeper Noah Palmer to give Indiana a 3-2 overtime win in the College Cup semifinals at Home Depot Center.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Two nights after Indiana pounded the ball inside to take out the NCAA's defending champion, the versatile Hoosiers banished Cinderella with a hail of three-point shots. Indiana hit a staggering 15 of 19 shots from beyond the arc to beat Kent State, 81-69, in the South Regional final at sold-out Rupp Arena last night and earn the school's eighth trip to the Final Four. "If we'd have had 10 people out there, I don't think we could've stopped them tonight," said an exasperated Andrew Mitchell of Kent State.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana needed an umbrella, a raincoat and galoshes to survive the many fronts Michigan blew its way yesterday."We weathered the storm," said Indiana senior Calbert Cheaney. "We just kept playing."The top-ranked Hoosiers got protection from the elements in what coach Bob Knight called "a total team effort" to beat Michigan, 93-92, at Assembly Hall for their 11th straight victory. The Wolverines, ranked No. 4 going into the game, dropped to fifth in the poll released last night.

ATLANTA - Before getting a grip on the first NCAA semifinal game last night, Indiana's Jeff Newton needed to get a hold of himself. Newton, a reserve power forward, was playing in his hometown for the first time, in front of more than 53,000 fans, in the biggest game of his life. A nervous wreck, the Mays High School alumnus committed two turnovers in his first few minutes on the court and was yanked from the lineup. "I just needed a quick breath," Newton said after recording career highs with 19 points and four blocked shots to lead a superlative bench effort during the Hoosiers' 73-64 victory over Oklahoma.

COLLEGE PARK -- While Ludwig Field has been a virtual house of horrors for most opposing teams, No.5 Indiana marched in and didnt flinch, scoring three second-half goals to salvage a 3-3 tie last night. Jason Garey scored two first-half goals, including one on a spectacular bicycle kick, but the No.3 Terps could not hold the early lead and gave up the tying goal with five seconds left in front of 6,203 spectators the largest crowd to ever watch a mens soccer game in College Park. The Terps (13-3-1)

NEW YORK -- It seemed like everywhere Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller moved for much of the second half yesterday, New York Knicks guard Chris Childs was there. On the rare occasions Miller did shake free, another defender usually picked him up long enough for Childs to recover.So one would have expected Miller to be relieved when, with five seconds remaining in regulation and his team trailing by three, the Pacers shooting guard found himself wide open beyond the three-point arc.He wasn't.