Norfolk State

Chad Simpson's anguished face told the story of lost opportunity. His throbbing left ankle told the story of true grit. Not even a school rushing record could take away that pain after Morgan State skidded to the precipice of another losing season last night. Despite Simpson's 215-yard rushing performance, the Bears stumbled to a 24-16 loss to Norfolk State before an announced 5,736 at Hughes Stadium. Morgan State@South Carolina State Saturday, 1:30 p.m., 88.9 FM

Women's tournamentsLocallyAmerica EastAt VermontToday's first roundTowson vs. Boston UniversityHofstra vs. HartfordTomorrow's quarterfinalsNew Hampshire vs. Drexel, noon N'eastern vs. Towson-Boston U. winner, 2: 30 p.m.Maine vs. Hofstra-Hartford winner, 6 p.m.Vermont vs. Delaware, 8: 30 p.m.Friday's semifinalsMaine-Hofstra-Hartford winner vs. Vermont-Delaware winner, noonNortheastern-Towson-Boston U. winner vs. New Hampshire-Drexel winner, 2: 30 p.m.Saturday's championshipSemifinal...

No surprises here.It was just another hectic night for Coppin State in the wild basketball world of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and the Eagles dodged another bullet.Coppin needed a free throw by Dorian Pena with nine seconds left to fend off North Carolina A&T, 68-67, at the Coppin Center and keep pace with Morgan State in the MEAC regular-season race.Coppin and Morgan both improved their league records to 9-4 last night and moved into a three-way tie with Norfolk State for second place behind South Carolina State (11-3)

NORFOLK, Va. -- Bad luck may have been haunting Norfolk State over the past month, but yesterday it met a team that must have broken a mirror, spilled some salt and watched a black cat race beside its sideline minutes before kickoff.The Spartans rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to upend hapless Morgan State, 20-16, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game before 12,417 homecoming fans at Dick Price Stadium.Norfolk State (2-7, 1-6) seemed to be the conference's unluckiest team after it lost in the final minute three times in its past four games.

After allowing Norfolk State to shoot the lights out for 40 minutes, Coppin State put its opponent to sleep in overtime last night, picking up a key MEAC victory, 95-82.In front of 1,211 at the Coppin Center, the Eagles outscored Norfolk State 18-5 in the extra period, allowing the Spartans to make only two of 13 field-goal attempts. The effort -- including 34 points by Fred Warrick and a career-high 26 by Dorian Pena -- allowed Coppin (8-12, 7-3) to join Norfolk State and Morgan State in second place.

Don't hand the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title to South Carolina State just yet.The defending league champions got by Coppin State in overtime Saturday, but couldn't pass the Morgan State test last night, dropping a 61-59 thriller to the Bears that jumbled the picture again.Morgan (10-11, 9-4) remained in a four-team race for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in Richmond, Va., by rallying from a six-point deficit in the final four minutes on Jason Demory's two clutch three-pointers and the free-throw shooting of Jimmy Fields and Rasheed Sparks.

LocallyAmerica EastAt VermontYesterday's first roundTowson 87, Boston University 67Hofstra 53, Hartford 52Today's quarterfinalsNew Hampshire vs. Drexel, noonNortheastern vs. Towson, 2: 30 p.m.Maine vs. Hofstra, 6 p.m.Vermont vs. Delaware, 8: 30 p.m.Tomorrow's semifinalsMaine-Hofstra winner vs. Vermont-Delaware winner, noonNortheastern-Towson winner vs. New Hampshire-Drexel winner, 2: 30 p.m.Saturday's championshipSemifinal winners, 3 p.m.Mid-Eastern AthleticAt...

By the time the boiling sun began taking its toll on players early in the second quarter at Hughes Stadium yesterday, it became obvious that whoever had the ball last was probably going to win.And that's exactly what happened when Baltimore-born RTC quarterback Maurice Selby hit Tyrone Sellers with an 11-yard touchdown pass in overtime to lift Norfolk State to a rousing 46-43 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Morgan State.On a day in which each defense was retreating, Morgan (0-3, 0-2)

James Roe knows the deal. As the Ravens' fifth receiver, he understands why his playing time is so limited. But as a second-year player, he is understandably frustrated by his lack of game-day activity, although he is too smart and feels too fortunate to complain about it.So Roe simply improves, quietly and steadily, on the smaller, unlighted stage known as the practice field. On a typical day, he is out there looking smooth, showing off a fluid move here, a head fake there, catching everything that's thrown to him.At 6 feet 1, 187 pounds, Roe cuts a graceful figure, and history suggests he will be making noise on Sundays before long.

NORFOLK, Va. -- An unrelenting blitzing defense by the Norfolk State Spartans unraveled Morgan State's offense yesterday, as the Bears were thrashed, 48-6, by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference newcomers.Morgan State quarterbacks Willie McGirt and Donald Green were pressured throughout, often surrounded by Norfolk State defenders, who forced them to scramble and throw bad passes."We just didn't make the adjustments on offense and they just kept coming," said Bears coach Stump Mitchell. "The special teams didn't do much, either.

Morgan State's once-promising start has eroded under a string of defeats. Visiting Norfolk State administered the Bears' third consecutive loss Saturday at Hughes Stadium, taking control in the second half to win their Mid-Eastern Conference matchup, 31-23. While losing their third in a row to Norfolk (5-4, 4-3 MEAC), the Bears managed only one score after the halftime, on a 52-yard field goal by Kemar Scarlett, whose 55-yarder at Delaware State earlier this season tied a league record.

Geno Auriemma isn't interested in talking about the gap between No. 1 Connecticut and the rest of women's college basketball. He might not have much of a choice after the way the Huskies dismantled second-ranked North Carolina last night in Chapel Hill. "I told the players in the locker room that the only gap I'm interested in is the one that exists between when we're playing great and when we're playing poorly," the coach said. Renee Montgomery scored 21 points to help the Huskies beat the Tar Heels, 88-58, dominating a matchup of unbeaten teams from start to finish.

Coppin State got 27 points from Tywain McKee, but the host Eagles could not put the clamps on hot-shooting Norfolk State in losing, 87-77, yesterday. Michael Deloach scored 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting, leading five players in double figures for Norfolk State (3-10, 1-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Coppin State (2-13, 0-2) has lost three in a row. The Spartans shot 64 percent - including 73 percent in the second half - to win at the Coppin Center for the first time since Dec. 1, 2001.

Dennis Brown ran for two touchdowns and host Norfolk State capitalized on a season-high seven turnovers by Morgan State to rout the Bears, 35-9, yesterday. The Spartans ended the Bears' four-game winning streak and hurt Morgan State's hopes of winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. The Bears' Mario Melton, who replaced Jeremy Glover midway through the second quarter, was 6-for-16 passing for 100 yards, including a touchdown, two interceptions and 52 yards rushing. Glover, who started for the second time of his career, was 3-for-7 for 18 yards and two interceptions.

Towson (3-6, 1-4 CAA) @Delaware (3-6, 1-4) Time: Noon Site: Delaware Stadium, Newark Radio: 1570 AM Outlook: The Tigers lost for the third time in four games last week when they fell to William and Mary, 34-14, after taking a 14-7 lead into halftime. Delaware has been struggling on offense, averaging 8.8 points while losing four of its past five games, including last week's 41-7 loss to No. 1 James Madison. The Blue Hens rank last in the conference in both (17.6 ppg) and total offense (294.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Though it will be played more than 300 miles to the south, it will be an all-Baltimore final tonight at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's tournament. With Coppin State's exciting 67-65 win over Norfolk State last night, the Eagles brought themselves within one win of returning to the NCAA tournament. Standing in their way is cross-town rival Morgan State, which beat Delaware State in the night's other semifinal. "It's going to be a real tough game," Eagles senior Antwan Harrison said.

Raleigh, N.C. -- Phylicia Jones had the first double double of her college career, scoring a career-high 14 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Morgan State to an 86-65 victory over Norfolk State last night in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament. Corin Adams and Jasmine Sellers added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the sixth-seeded Lady Bears (19-10), who broke the school record for Division I victories, surpassing the mark of 18 set last season.

Chad Simpson's anguished face told the story of lost opportunity. His throbbing left ankle told the story of true grit. Not even a school rushing record could take away that pain after Morgan State skidded to the precipice of another losing season last night. Despite Simpson's 215-yard rushing performance, the Bears stumbled to a 24-16 loss to Norfolk State before an announced 5,736 at Hughes Stadium. Morgan State@South Carolina State Saturday, 1:30 p.m., 88.9 FM

Towson (3-5) @ Maine (2-6) Time -- Noon Site -- Alfond Stadium, Orono, Maine Radio -- 1570 AM Outlook -- Turnovers have been one of the major reasons Towson fell to 3-5 after a 2-0 start, with a minus seven turnover ratio spelling a lot of the doom for the team. The Tigers are coming off a bye week and have turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 78 points for their opponents. But the other part of that turnover equation, which has Towson scoring just 16 points off 13 turnovers, is equally as distressing for a team that entered the season with high hopes in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Towson (3-4) @ Colgate (3-3) Time -- 1 p.m. Site -- Andy Kerr Stadium, Hamilton, N.Y. Radio -- 1570 AM Outlook -- Towson has been headed in the wrong direction since a 2-0 start, but the Tigers have had four good reasons for losing four of their past five games-nationally ranked Massachusetts, Delaware and Hofstra - along with always tough William and Mary. Tigers junior QB Sean Schaefer passed for a career-low 123 yards last week in a 20-3 loss to Hofstra, just one week after he produced a Hollywoodlike finish in a final-play upset victory over Richmond.