Loyola

Just when it looked as if the Loyola Greyhounds were primed to turn the corner, they again last night hit the proverbial brick wall. Loyola shot 35 percent from the field and 58 percent from the foul line, rallying late only to come up short in a 72-65 loss to Manhattan before an announced 1,512 at Reitz Arena. It was the team's second straight loss after a season-high six-game winning streak. "That's two times in a row I just didn't think emotionally or mentally we were ready to play," Greyhounds coach Jimmy Patsos said.

The fans who filed into Reitz Arena last night expected an offensive show from two of the nation's top seven scorers, and they got what they wanted from Towson University senior guard Gary Neal and Loyola junior guard Gerald Brown. But, on a night when the visiting Tigers started strong and never trailed, it was Towson junior guard C.C. Williams who delivered the final blows that put away the Greyhounds, 70-62, before 2,842. Williams, 6 feet 1, stood tallest in the last minute, as Towson (8-9)

In the middle of its men's lacrosse season opener at Loyola yesterday, 12th-ranked Towson University was searching for a spark, and junior midfielder Brian Vetter delivered it. Vetter scored a game-high four goals, including three in the second half, to lead the visiting Tigers to a come-from-behind, 9-8 victory before 1,492 at Geppi-Aikens Field. The victory was Towson's third straight over its Charles Street rival, and it dropped Loyola to 0-2. After taking a 2-0 lead before the Greyhounds had touched the ball, Towson weathered a five-goal outburst in the first quarter that put Loyola in front 5-3. After that, Towson gradually gained control of the contest.

Loyola junior Steele Stanwick got off to a bad start last night when his indecision allowed defender Alex Lyons to check the ball from his stick within inches of an empty Boys' Latin goal. "I was trying for that extra pass. Didn't know I was wide-open," Stanwick recalled. "An open net? My God, you don't miss those. But it's not how you start, it's how you finish." Stanwick steamrollered his way through the top-ranked Lakers, getting four goals and four assists to lead the No. 2 Dons to their 12th straight victory, 10-6, to win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title before more than 4,800 at UMBC Stadium.

The roots run deep between Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos and Vermont coach Mike Lonergan, as they were teammates at Catholic University and worked under Maryland coach Gary Williams. The similarities between the two coaches extend to the court, where both have the same fiery style and like to play up-tempo to force their opponents into turning over the ball. Patsos got the best of his former roommate as the Greyhounds shot 52.2 percent from three-point range en route to a physical 83-79 victory over the Catamounts last night before an announced 1,327 at Reitz Arena.

Collin Finnerty, one of three former Duke lacrosse players falsely accused last year of raping an exotic dancer at a team party, could end up in a Loyola College uniform. Sources at Loyola confirmed that the school is pursuing Finnerty and could receive a commitment soon from the 6-feet-3, 175-pound attackman out of Chaminade High School in Garden City, N.Y. All charges against Finnerty and ex-Duke players David Evans and Reade Seligmann were dropped last month. The incident led to the cancellation of Duke's 2006 season after eight games, and to the resignation of 16-year coach Mike Pressler, who is now coaching at Division II Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I. Finnerty, who has two years of eligibility remaining, appeared in five games last year and had two goals and one assist.

On the morning after recording one of their bigger men's lacrosse victories in recent seasons, the Loyola Greyhounds were not shocked they had taken down top-ranked Duke. In the previous two years, as the No. 20 Greyhounds have been trying to rebuild their program and get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001, Loyola had lost twice to the Blue Devils by a combined three goals. Late Saturday night in the featured contest of the 2007 First 4 event at the University of San Diego's Torero Stadium, Loyola got over the hump in dramatic fashion.

Howard Passe has grown accustomed to the tension, the difficulties, the surprises that come with being a professional wedding photographer. He's experienced camera failure. He's seen brides faint and a groom get cold feet at the 11th hour. Flat tire on the way to the church? That's on the books now, too.Uniformed in his tuxedo and behind the wheel of his minivan the afternoon of Saturday, May 8, Passe felt a bump-and-rumble, followed by a certain sinking feeling in his stomach. On assignment from Rettberg Photography to record the wedding of Kevin Bultman and Nancy Wallace at the Loyola College chapel, Passe found himself pulling off Perring Parkway with a flat tire.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Gail Strumpf scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds as Fairfield downed Loyola, 49-41, yesterday in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's game.Strumpf was the only player to score in double figures for the Stags (5-4, 1-0), who held the Greyhounds (7-2, 0-1) to 25 percent shooting (7-for-28) in the second half.Loyola also missed 12 of 14 three-point attempts in failing to hold a three-point lead at halftime. Loyola led 21-18 at intermission, but Fairfield took control by shooting 59 percent (10-for-17)

The Towson women's basketball team ended its longest road losing streak in three seasons on its shortest trip of the year.After a 15-minute bus ride down Charles Street, the Tigers hit their first five shots and never looked back, downing Loyola, 69-59, to stop a seven-game road skid last night before 372 at Reitz Arena.Towson (2-5) received 14 points each from Mylisa Pilione and Faith Jones, and the Tigers controlled the tempo with their 2-3 zone defense that frustrated the Greyhounds all night.

Vince Snarski rushed for three touchdowns as No. 10 Loyola ended a rare losing streak with a 35-0 rout of host Mount St. Joseph in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play Saturday. The Dons (6-2) were outscored 77-7 the past two weeks in losses to McDonogh and Gilman. Before that, they had won 19 straight. Snarski scored on touchdown runs of 6, 3 and 21 yards. Matt Hnatiuk scored on a 30-yard interception return, and Conor Bruns added a 2-yard touchdown run. No. 3 River Hill 48, Oakland Mills 3: : The host Hawks (8-0)

Gilman quarterback Darius Jennings runs for one of his five touchdowns during the No. 6 Greyhounds' 56-7 rout of No. 4 Loyola in an MIAA A Conference game. Led by Jennings' 326 rushing yards, Gilman came back strong after an upset loss to Calvert Hall last week. Loyola has lost two straight and been outscored 77-7 after 19 consecutive victories. PG 7

Varsity football Top-ranked Loyola, No. 2 Gilman go down No. 7 McDonogh, left, shuts down No. 1 Loyola's potent offense and ends the Dons' 19-game winning streak with a 21-0 victory. Loyola entered the contest averaging 41.6 points per game. Elsewhere, unranked Calvert Hall records its first win over No. 2 Gilman in six years, 21-12. The Greyhounds had been averaging 40.2 points. McDonogh and Calvert Hall are the only MIAA A Conference teams still unbeaten in league play. PG 10 Baseball NLDS Dodgers complete sweep of Cardinals Manny Ramirez, above, and the Dodgers advance to the NLCS for the second straight year, defeating the Cardinals, 5-1, to complete a three-game sweep.

Each time top-ranked Loyola called a running play or quarterback Connor Bruns dropped back into the pocket, a swarm of McDonogh players converged on the ball, forcing the Dons to stare at the first-down marker 8 or 9 yards down the field. On offense, Eagles quarterback Rudy Johnson showed why he is one of the top playmakers in the metro area by throwing a 39-yard touchdown pass and running for a 52-yard score to lead No. 7 McDonogh to a 21-0 upset over the visiting Dons. The Eagles broke Loyola's 19-game winning streak dating to Oct. 19, 2007.

In a topsy-turvy season in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, fourth-ranked Calvert Hall remained steady with a complete performance Friday against No. 13 Loyola. The Cardinals suffered two losses earlier in the week but dominated the visiting Dons for a 4-0 victory. Pete Caringi led the Cardinals with two goals, and he said his team is formidable when it plays hard for 80 minutes. With the victory, Calvert Hall took over sole possession of second place behind McDonogh.

After missing six games and nearly four weeks because of a chest injury, McDonogh defender Marquez Fernandez returned to the lineup Wednesday against No. 7 Loyola and showed why he is the reigning All-Metro Player of the Year. Fernandez scored two second-half goals to lead the top-ranked Eagles to a 3-0 victory in Towson. One day after becoming the nation's No. 1 high school boys soccer team, McDonogh also extended its unbeaten streak to 38 games in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference.

Et cetera Goal by Bulls carries UMBC over Loyola on Tuesday Sophomore forward Andrew Bulls (McDonogh) scored on a free kick in the 44th minute and freshman goalkeeper Phil Saunders (Perry Hall) made three saves in the final two minutes, as UMBC (8-0-0) edged Loyola (3-3-2), 1-0, before 1,505 on Tuesday night at UMBC Stadium. Bulls, the nation's leading scorer entering this week, scored his 10th goal of the year. Loyola men's basketball: : The Greyhounds will open the 2009-10 regular season at home against Vermont at 7 p.m. Nov. 13. Other home opponents include Morgan State and Howard.

David Sears had high hopes for his first year leading the fundraising office at Loyola College. An $80 million capital campaign had just concluded successfully, and he had all sorts of fresh plans for reaching out to alumni. Then, the stock market plummeted. Nine months later, at the end of its fiscal year, Loyola is confronting a 20 percent drop in annual fund donations. "We experienced a tough year," said Sears, Loyola's vice president for advancement. "It was very much an educational experience.

J. Paul Melanson, former chief financial officer and vice president of administration and finance at Loyola College, died May 22 of congestive heart failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The former longtime Homeland resident was 82. Mr. Melanson was born in Manchester, N.H., and was raised there and in Providence, R.I. During World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1949 from what is now St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa. He also held two master's degrees, one in higher-education administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a second in business administration from Loyola.

The Loyola Greyhounds can complain all they want about not making the 16-team NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament, but they shouldn't. They don't have anyone to blame but themselves. The 2009 season was one of near misses for Loyola (9-5), a team that couldn't get over the proverbial hump. Entering the selection committee meeting Sunday night, Loyola and Brown were fighting for the final playoff berth, and it basically came down to which team had the most wins against teams in the field.