Northeast Conference

Terance Ward made two free throws with 26 seconds remaining to give UMBC a 64-62 victory over Long Island University last night in Brooklyn, N.Y.Ray Rivera, who finished with a career-high 19 points for LIU (2-10, 2-4 Northeast Conference), tied it at 62 on a three-pointer with 43 seconds left. Rivera, who scored 13 of LIU's final 15 points, also had a four-point play during a 7-1 run in which the Blackbirds erased a 61-55 deficit.Brad Martin led the Retrievers (7-5, 6-0), who have won seven of eight games after an 0-4 start, with 12 points, while Isaac Green had 10.Issiah Francis added 14 points and Richie Parker 10 for LIU.St.

Megan Gardiner scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds to help Mount St. Mary's (15-5, 13-1) defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 80-63, yesterday in a Northeast Conference game in Emmitsburg.Kia Williams (15 points), Vera Feldbusch (12) and Lauren Menichini (10) also scored in double figures for the Mount.Bucknell 71, Navy 54: Lori Houck had a game-high 21 points, including 12-for-12 from the free-throw line, along with eight rebounds and seven assists as the Bison defeated the Midshipmen (13-7, 5-2)

John Grant had four goals and four assists and reached 100 career points as eighth-ranked Delaware defeated No. 10 Navy, 11-8, yesterday in men's lacrosse at Rullo Stadium in Newark, Del.The Blue Hens (6-0) remained one of three unbeaten Division I teams and defeated Navy for the second time in 16 meetings. Brad Gilroy's three goals led Navy (4-3).WomenUMBC 15, Sacred Heart 6: Freshman Ashley Staines and sophomore Renee Tirocchi each had four goals as the host Retrievers (3-4, 2-0) won a Northeast Conference game.

Sophomore forward Kennedy Okafor scored 14 points off the bench to lead UMBC to an 81-74 victory last night over St. Francis, Pa., in a Northeast Conference game in Loretto, Pa.UMBC (16-5, 15-0) ran its winning streak to 11 games and remained unbeaten in conference play. The Red Flash (9-12, 7-8) lost its fourth straight.After St. Francis rallied to tie the game at 53, the Retrievers went ahead to stay with a 16-4 run to take a 69-57 lead.Monmouth 75, Mount St. Mary's 71: Alpha Bangura scored 30 points as the host Hawks (2-19, 2-13)

Kennedy Okafor scored 18 points as UMBC remained unbeaten in the Northeast Conference with a 77-57 victory over Wagner last night in Staten Island, N.Y.The Retrievers (6-5, 5-0) used an 11-2 run to take a 30-20 lead with 5: 15 left in the first half and were ahead 39-29 at halftime.The Seahawks (3-8, 1-4) were within 44-37 when UMBC scored five points on a layup by Okafor, two free throws after a technical foul was charged against the Wagner bench and a free throw on the ensuing possession.

Marie Patrick tied her career high with 20 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to lead Fairleigh Dickinson to an 81-59 win yesterday over Mount St. Mary's in a Northeast Conference game in Hackensack, N.J., that ended the Mountaineers' 11-game winning streak.The Knights (5-13, 4-8) led 20-18 midway through the first half and took control with a 13-3 run to lead 40-29 at halftime.The Mountaineers (12-5, 10-1) trailed by as much as 29, playing the entire second half without leading scorer Megan Gardiner, who left the game due to illness late in the first half.

Mount St. Mary's received points from all 11 players, led by senior Megan Gardiner's 22 points, as the Mountaineers extended their winning streak to five games with an 88-65 win yesterday over Long Island in a Northeast Conference game in Brooklyn, N.Y.The Mountaineers (6-4, 4-0) took control in the first half, using 15 Blackbirds turnovers and a 27-4 run on the way to a 60-34 lead at halftime.Deanna Butters added 16 points and Jackie Banks 14 for Mount St. Mary's.Morgan State 72, South Carolina State 60: Sherie Cornish scored 13 of her team-high 16 points in the first half to help the Bears (2-6, 2-1)

Keith Jones scored a career-high 27 points and had his 14th career double-double with 11 rebounds as Robert Morris stunned UMBC, 75-58, last night in a Northeast Conference game in Coraopolis, Pa.The Retrievers (16-6, 15-1) suffered their first conference loss and saw their winning streak end at 11 games.The Colonials (12-9, 9-6) broke from a halftime tie at 27 with a 9-0 run to start the second half. Robert Morris then extended its lead to as much as 20 (67-47) with 3: 52 left.Terence Ward led UMBC, which shot only 35 percent, with 16 points.

Kennedy Okafor scored 18 points as UMBC remained unbeaten in the Northeast Conference with a 77-57 victory over Wagner last night in Staten Island, N.Y.The Retrievers (6-5, 5-0) used an 11-2 run to take a 30-20 lead with 5: 15 left in the first half and were ahead 39-29 at halftime.The Seahawks (3-8, 1-4) were within 44-37 when UMBC scored five points on a layup by Okafor, two free throws after a technical foul was charged against the Wagner bench and a free throw on the ensuing possession.

The "when" question that became an "if" got a positive answer for the UMBC men's basketball team, which won the Northeast Conference regular-season championship yesterday with an 81-66 win over St. Francis, N.Y.Kennedy Okafor and Brad Martin combined for 34 points and 21 rebounds as the Retrievers rebuffed the Terriers' attempt to overtake them and earn the top seed in the NEC postseason tournament, which begins Friday at Wagner College.The moment had been anticipated for the last month after UMBC jumped out to a 15-0 start in league play.

Wizards Wade's 40 lift Heat, 93-89; Arenas scores 32; Miller hurt Dwyane Wade scored 40 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 25 seconds left, to lead the visiting Miami Heat in a 93-89 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Washington's Gilbert Arenas, who scored 32 on 9-for-27 from the field, missed a layup with 17 seconds left after Wade's jumper and rushed a short jumper on the next possession with the Wizards trailing by three points to end Washington's chances.

Second-ranked Maryland won its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship with a 13-8 home victory over No. 4 North Carolina on Saturday. The Terrapins (14-0, 4-0 league) and Tar Heels (11-3, 3-1) played to a tie at 5 in the first half. Karri Ellen Johnson provided Maryland with its first lead since the opening goal with a score at 28:46 in the second period. North Carolina's Megan Bosica tied the score shortly thereafter with her third goal, but the Terps ran off five unanswered goals.

Tonight marks an anniversary the Navy men's basketball team would just as soon forget. It was March 4, 2001, that the Midshipmen last won a basketball playoff game. Seven times since, they have exited early from the Patriot League tournament. Navy (19-10) hopes to end that streak tonight against Colgate in the quarterfinals at Alumni Hall (7 p.m.). Navy is one of three Division I teams in the state, not counting Maryland, expected to have a legitimate chance to win an NCAA tournament berth.

It wasn't just a game between No. 1 and No. 4. It was a game between two of the Big East's most physical teams. And it was played just the way it was expected to be. "That was the most physical game I ever played in my entire life," DeJuan Blair said after recording 22 points and 23 rebounds in No. 4 Pittsburgh's 76-68 victory over No. 1 Connecticut last night in Hartford, Conn., the Panthers' first win over a top-ranked team. "There were elbows flying, bodies flying. We just went after each other the whole game."

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.

Even a case of tired legs wasn't going to stop No. 9 Louisville. Freshman Samardo Samuels scored 15 points and Earl Clark added six points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the host Cardinals to a 78-56 victory over Lamar last night in the final game of the Marques Maybin Classic in Louisville, Ky. Louisville (5-1) won its third game in three days, though Lamar (6-3) made the Cardinals work for it. Louisville had won its previous two games in the round-robin tournament by a combined 75 points.

With March Madness ready for its tip-off tonight, Baltimore is in the enviable position of having more Cinderellas than Disney World. None may be favored to win NCAA Division I men's basketball's Big Dance, but what an extraordinary circumstance for any of them to be there at all. Surely the most unlikely success story is that of the Coppin State University Eagles, who lost 20 games this season. No team with so many losses had ever qualified for the tournament, but the Eagles' thrilling 62-60 upset over Morgan State to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday put them in precisely that position.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Months ago, just before the basketball season began, Mount St. Mary's coach Milan Brown asked his players to do more this year than dream. It was time to believe. It was time to believe that, when the conference tournament was over, they would be the team cutting down the nets and going to the NCAA tournament. Didn't matter that the Mountaineers had only one senior in their main rotation. Didn't matter that they went 11-20 the season before or that the program had not had a winning record since 1996-97.

Navy went cold in the final minutes of regulation yesterday and then in overtime before falling to Army, 70-66, in West Point, N.Y. The Black Knights (17-10, 8-4 Patriot League) scored the final three points in regulation to tie the score, then had the final six points in overtime to seal the win. Army's Cara Enright tied the score at 66 on a basket with 1:32 remaining in overtime, and Megan Evans' layup with 27 seconds left gave the Black Knights the lead for good. Enright had a team-high 15 points.

Led by Katie Chrest, the fourth-ranked Duke women's lacrosse team upset top-ranked Northwestern, 16-10, last night in Durham, N.C., ending the Wildcats' 31-game winning streak. Northwestern's run dated to May 2004, when the Wildcats lost to Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. Chrest had four goals and an assist, and Carolyn Davis and Kristen Waagbo each had three goals for the Blue Devils (10-1). Duke took an 11-4 halftime lead and the Wildcats (10-1) could never get back in the match, despite a team-high five goals from Kristen Kjellman.