Kent State

Colleges Loyola gets Kent State next in CollegeInsider Fresh off its first postseason victory in school Division I history, the Loyola men's basketball team will host Kent State on Sunday in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com tournament at Reitz Arena. Tickets for the game can be purchased online at LoyolaGreyhounds.com/Tickets or by calling 410-617-1420. The Greyhounds (22-11) defeated Boston University, 70-63, on Tuesday night. The Golden Flashes advanced with a 73-71 victory Wednesday night over Fairfield.

Loyola's first game in the CollegeInsider.com tournament required a substantial second-half comeback against Boston University. Nothing of the sort was required in Sunday's second round. The Greyhounds never trailed en route to a workmanlike 73-59 defeat of Kent State before 747 at Reitz Arena to clinch a spot in the CIT quarterfinals. Erik Etherly had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Dylon Cormier added 18 points as Loyola (23-11) advanced to face East Carolina (20-12) in Greenville, N.C., on Tuesday.

For those who wonder how long it will take America to fully recover from the bombing at Oklahoma City 15 days ago, perhaps some lessons can be taken from 25 years ago this day at Kent State.In myriad ways, America has long recovered from the killing of four students on the commons of that northeast Ohio university. Black-and-white pictures from that student showdown with the gas-masked National Guard now seem as distant as daguerreotypes from the Civil War. The nation now has a president who took part in anti-Vietnam war demonstrations.

Colleges Loyola gets Kent State next in CollegeInsider Fresh off its first postseason victory in school Division I history, the Loyola men's basketball team will host Kent State on Sunday in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com tournament at Reitz Arena. Tickets for the game can be purchased online at LoyolaGreyhounds.com/Tickets or by calling 410-617-1420. The Greyhounds (22-11) defeated Boston University, 70-63, on Tuesday night. The Golden Flashes advanced with a 73-71 victory Wednesday night over Fairfield.

A Navy secondary that has been completely revamped gets an immediate test today at home against a team that fills the air with footballs. With cornerback Jeremy McGown out with a broken arm, Navy's starting secondary from a year ago has been overhauled. And up next today is Kent State, which usually struggles early and then is forced to open its passing game. The Golden Flashes haven't scored in the first half since Sept. 10, but they average 288.2 passing yards per game. Quarterback Michael Machen, who at 6 feet 6 "is bigger than anybody we have," said Navy coach Paul Johnson, will play after missing the last game with a strained left knee.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kent State's crusade for acceptance beyond the Mid-American Conference soared to a new level last night when the Golden Flashes bounced third-seeded Pittsburgh, 78-73, in overtime of a South Regional semifinal at Rupp Arena. The victory propelled the 10th-seeded Flashes into tomorrow's South final against Indiana, a team they beat a year ago when they started their run to NCAA tournament prominence. Last night, Kent State (30-5), winning its 21st consecutive game, became the first MAC team to reach the Elite Eight and the first to win 30 games.

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.

Navy is striving to avoid the possibility of getting lax this week after a last-second victory over service academy rival Air Force that was one of the most emotionally satisfying, and draining, in the football program's long history. A 1-4 Kent State team that has defeated only winless Southeast Missouri State comes to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday bent on beating the Midshipmen for the first time, and the Navy coaching staff is issuing constant reminders that this is no time for a letdown.

SAN DIEGO -- By the time Friday's news conference was over, the Cincinnati men's basketball team had had enough of the chiding over its past failures in the NCAA tournament. Four times the Bearcats had earned top-three seeds in the NCAAs, and four times they had been upset in the second round. This wouldn't happen against Kent State. Forward Jamaal Davis hit eight of nine shots for 16 points to go with 10 rebounds as No. 5 seed Cincinnati (25-9) cruised into next week's West Regional semifinals in Anaheim, Calif.

If at-large teams from mid-major conferences thought they were overlooked in recent years by the NCAA tournament selection committee, they might feel totally ignored when bids are announced next month. Those who seemed invitation-worthy a month ago have put themselves in precarious positions. Take Kent State, a Cinderella team in last season's tournament that reached the Elite Eight before losing to Indiana. The Golden Flashes started this season 17-2 despite losing four of their top five scorers and coach Stan Heath to Arkansas, and were as high as 27th in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI)

A year after leading Towson to its first Football Championship Subdivision appearance in school history, fourth-year coach Rob Ambrose reacted angrily Sunday after his 7-4 Tigers were snubbed by the NCAA selection committee for an invitation to this season's playoffs. Despite finishing the season on a four-game winning streak, including a 64-35 demolition of playoff-bound New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., Saturday, Towson failed to be invited into the 20-team field after losing in the opening round to Lehigh in 2011.

No. 12 Towson (0-1, 0-0 CAA) vs. William & Mary (0-2, 0-0 CAA) Time: 12 p.m. Site: Johnny Unitas Stadium Radio: 1370 AM Television: NBC Sports Network Series: William & Mary leads 7-1 What's at stake: Towson surprised everyone to win the Colonial Athletic Association last year after being picked to finish last in preseason polls. Now the pressure is on the Tigers to live up to their billing as the preseason favorite in 2012. Picking up an early conference win on national television after their season-opening loss at Kent State will be huge.

Maude McCourry Lansdowne, sr., pitcher •Four-year varsity player had two no-hitters, including a perfect game, and 10 shutouts •Opponents batted just .200 against her •All-County selection batted .460 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs   Mackenzie Thompson Liberty, sr., pitcher •Led the Lions to the Class 2A state championship, the first in program history ...

Theodore A. Heun, a retired Baltimore County high school history teacher who was a witness to the shootings of students at Kent State University in 1970, died June 5 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Ellicott City home. He was 69. Mr. Heun, the son of German immigrants, was born in Baltimore and raised in Oliver Beach. After graduating from Kenwood High School in 1959, he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1963 from what is now Towson University.

Maryland senior Hudson Taylor lost a 1-0 semifinal decision to second-seeded Craig Brester of Nebraska in the final minute Friday night at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb. Taylor had already clinched All-America status and is the Terps' first three-time All-American. Taylor would finish third at the NCAAs for the third straight years by winning both of his matches today. He faces Wisconsin's Trevor Brandvold in his first match this morning. Maryland's Steven Bell won his first match of the evening session and also clinched All-America status, while Josh Asper fell short.

Daniel Muir looked out at the field this week where crews were painting " Colts" and "Saints" in the end zone. He surveyed the mob scene of Media Day, cameras and microphones swarming around him and his Indianapolis teammates at Sun Life Stadium. "I'm like a sponge soaking all this in," he said. "You dream about the Super Bowl. To know your hard work and prayers can take you wherever you want to go, it's awesome, man." Muir is a 315-pound sponge, which is fortunate. There is a lot to take in when he reflects on the unlikely trip from Riverdale's Parkdale High in Prince George's County to starting at defensive tackle Sunday in the Super Bowl.

How good is Kent State? Consider that the Golden Flashes are in the Elite Eight despite a horrid shooting slump by one of their best players. To beat Indiana tonight in the South Regional final in Lexington, Ky., Kent State almost certainly will need better shooting from fifth-year senior Andrew Mitchell, who has made only nine of 37 shots (24.3 percent) in three NCAA tournament games. Mitchell, 0-for-14 from the arc, has watched his Mid-American Conference scoring average of 16.4 drop to 11.0 in the tournament.

GREY FERRIS, 62 Mississippi lawmaker Grey Ferris, a two-term Mississippi state senator who devoted his energy to improving the state's public schools and strengthening race relations, died of cancer Friday, said his wife, Jann Ferris. Mr. Ferris, a Democrat, served in the Mississippi Senate from 1992 to 2000. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1999, losing in the Democratic primary. As chairman of the state Senate Education Committee, he worked to reform education in rural and underfunded areas of the state.

Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt said she feels really good about Candace Parker's chances of playing against Louisiana State in a Final Four matchup this weekend. Still, Summitt is taking few chances of further injuring her two-time All-American or wearing out any of her other players before then. The Lady Vols were off yesterday and planned only a light practice for today before traveling to Tampa, Fla. Parker dislocated her left shoulder in Tennessee's 53-45 win over Texas A&M in the Oklahoma City Regional final Tuesday night.