Offensive Rebounds

He goes by the nickname of "Warrior" and, unfortunately for the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Coppin State forward Tariq Saunders was at his battling best last night.The 6-foot-6, 210-pound sophomore scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds -- both career highs -- as Coppin defeated UMBC, 84-74, before 1,464 at the UMBC Fieldhouse. It was Coppin's first victory at UMBC since the 1985-86 season.Saunders did most of his damage in the second half, when he scored 16 points and pulled 12 rebounds.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Scoring has been a problem for the Washington Bullets all season, and their failure to put the ball in the basket did them in again last night.The Bullets shot 42 percent from the field and 60 percent from the foul line in their fourth straight defeat. The Detroit Pistons held on down the stretch for a 100-93 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills."We're having a very difficult time scoring," said Bullets coach Wes Unseld.The Bullets converted eight offensive rebounds into 16 points, but Unseld said that wasn't good enough.

COLLEGE PARK -- It was all about second chances for Maryland's Mike Mardesich. When he came off the bench midway through the first half last night, the 7-foot center heard the murmurs of boos. But Mardesich showed his determination by grabbing a team-best four offensive rebounds and scoring six of his eight points off those second opportunities. When he left the court for the final time, the junior reserve received one of the loudest ovations of the night. "Before, I just felt like dead weight out there," said Mardesich, who hadn't scored a point since Jan. 22. "I have a lot of pride.

Chesapeake tried to give the game away, but South River wouldn't take it. Thus, the Cougars escaped with a 40-37 Class 4A, East region semifinal victory in Lake Shore last night following a sloppy fourth period by both teams. The Cougars (19-6) advanced to their second region final for girls basketball in school history and will play at Frederick tomorrow night. Neither team shot well in the final period, Chesapeake going 3-for-11 and South River 3-for-12. Opportunities to score off misses hurt both teams, and Chesapeake sank only one of seven free throws in the final 62 seconds.

WASHINGTON -- West Virginia coach Bob Huggins had a simple message for his Mountaineers at halftime of their NCAA tournament second-round game yesterday against Duke at Verizon Center. "He said we couldn't play any worse and we were only down five," junior forward Joe Alexander said later. No. 7 seed West Virginia played a lot better in the second half. After watching a five-point deficit become eight early in the second half, the Mountaineers clamped down on the second-seeded Blue Devils and pulled away to a 73-67 victory.

MILWAUKEE -- Coach Earl Hawkins said the biggest problem his Maryland Baltimore County team needs to solve when 1991 turns into '92 is turnovers.Hawkins must have forgotten the fundamental aspect of getting defensive rebounds. Then again, maybe he's just trying to forget.Turnovers and poor rebounding were again the culprits, as UMBC dropped a 93-63 decision to Marquette last night.UMBC (1-7) came into the game averaging 22 turnovers and allowing 21 offensive rebounds a game. Marquette (8-1)

In a game Navy sorely needed to improve its positioning for the Patriot League tournament, the Midshipmen wasted no time seizing the initiative last night. They bolted ahead early behind the hot shooting of senior captain Taj Mathews, withstood Lafayette's best run, then pulled away for a 76-57 victory that sealed the tournament's sixth seed and guaranteed they will not have to play a quarterfinal against Bucknell on its home court. Navy (9-17, 5-8) made the final home game of Mathews (24 points, four assists, three steals)

Marc Bragg of Woodlawn said he likes the ball in clutch situations -- and last night he made a believer out of Perry Hall.Bragg followed his own miss with a short jumper as time ran out to give host Woodlawn an 83-81 victory over Perry Hall in a Baltimore County Class 3A-4A game.Perry Hall had tied it on Chris Kelly's three-pointer with 17 seconds left. The Gators stole the inbounds pass, but missed a short shot.Bragg got the rebound, and Woodlawn (5-3, 3-2) raced downcourt. Kevin Parsons (16 points)

PORTLAND, Ore. -- They had just successfully dug themselves out of a 16-point second-half hole, and the Washington Bullets found themselves in a winnable game.A three-pointer by Rex Chapman had just gotten the Bullets to within two points late in the game, and you could see the energy in the Washington huddle."We're gonna win this one, we're gonna win this one," Doug Overton shouted to his teammates during a timeout. "Let's go get it."But when the Bullets came out of that huddle, Overton ruined a near-flawless game by fouling Rod Strickland in the backcourt.

Something irked Towson University assistant coach Jay Dull at halftime last night - his team had grabbed just two offensive rebounds. What nobody told Dull was that to get an offensive rebound, somebody needed to miss a shot. And that did not happen often. The Tigers tied a 24-year-old school record by shooting 70.5 percent from the field, as they defeated Northeastern, 86-71, in an America East Conference game before 1,102 at Towson Center. The last time the Tigers shot that well was in 1977 at C. W. Post.