Manhandled

Despite mounting criticism of the Knicks' intimidating style of play, coach Pat Riley says his team won't turn soft and reminds people of the days when New York was considered a pushover.The controversy has intensified since New Jersey Nets star Kenny Anderson suffered a season-ending injury against the Knicks on Feb. 28.Riley, whose Atlantic Division-leading Knicks (40-18) play the last-place Washington Bullets (16-42) at the Capital Centre tonight, was analyzing NBA games for NBC two years ago when the Knicks were manhandled in the playoffs by the championship-bound Chicago Bulls.

All season, their focus been to reach the state finals at the University of Maryland. But before it got to that, Lake Clifton had some unfinished business to take care of last night at an unusual location.Before a capacity crowd at Dunbar, the No. 2 Lakers defeated No. 3 Walbrook, 77-63, to win the Maryland Scholastic Association Gamper Conference championship.Senior guard Kevin Norris led the Lakers (17-4) with 25 points and 10 assists. Shawnta Rogers had 22 and 10 assists while Reggie Frazier added 17 and eight rebounds.

The Francis Scott Key wrestling team made Liberty first-yea coach Jeff Hash's county debut one he would rather forget.The homestanding Eagles jumped to a 15-0 lead after three matches and rolled to a 63-6 win over Liberty.Francis Scott Key coach Bill Hyson's wrestlers got eight pins, and Jamie Degroft's major decision of Jason Kramer at 152 pounds clinched it at 39-6."It's been a busy week," said Hyson, whose squad competed in the Annapolis Tournament over the weekend before defeating Catoctin on Monday.

Carver High sophomore Ector Hendricks, 5 feet 8, 148 pounds, stood in his mud-caked football uniform in the pouring rain, screaming at sophomore lineman Kenneth Taylor to "block somebody."The scene, with about two minutes left in yesterday's 22-0 loss to Dunbar in a Maryland Scholastic Association B Conference game, embodied the frustration of the visiting Bears.At 6 feet, 220 pounds, Taylor is bulky but not big enough to contend with the Poets' linemen, most notably 6-9, 305-pound junior Derrick Player and 5-6, 240-pound senior Vashawn Ragsdale.

Navy attempts to cover its Tailhook are unraveling, much to the embarrassment of big brass who were only too willing to look the other way when they first heard that 26 women, including 14 Navy officers, were manhandled (we use the term advisedly) at a raucous naval aviators convention in Las Vegas last September.Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III has resigned, as well he should, both because he was personally nearby, if unawares, when the brawl took place and because he was responsible for an investigation that now looks suspiciously like a cover-up.

Mount Hebron clinched a tie for its 12th county championship in 14 seasons and asserted itself as the area's top-ranked team last night by crushing No. 4 Howard, 72-29.The host Vikings (12-0, 19-1), staging what Dave Greenberg called their best performance of the season, extended their winning streak to 19 games by controlling the Lions (10-2, 17-3) in every phase of the game.The Vikings manhandled Howard defensively. They forced 26 turnovers and limited the Lions, who entered the game averaging 56 points, to their lowest offensive output of the season.

Maryland athletic director Andy Geiger is not a happy man.In the 48-team NCAA women's basketball tournament, the higher seeded team hosts first- and second-round games before play advances to the regional level.For weeks, Geiger lobbied the selection committee to get the Terrapins a high enough seed in the tournament to warrant a home game.And when the pairings were announced yesterday, it appeared that Geiger's lobbying had paid off, as the Terps (17-12) got the sixth seed in the Mideast Regional and a first-round match against 11th seed Holy Cross (24-5)