Patriot League

Four days before the NCAA Division I tournament's 16-team bracket is unveiled, this much seems clear. Only two of nine at-large spots appear to be open, and those selections could hinge heavily on the results of this week's America East and Colonial Athletic Association conference tournaments, plus the fates of a couple of bubble teams from the Ivy League and a Patriot League also-ran. The NCAA lacrosse committee will examine the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a system based on the record of a team's opponents and the record of the opponents' opponents.

The wonder is that Navy made its basketball game against Lafayette so close yesterday considering the horrendous manner in which it performed for long stretches."

During his career at Towson, running back Jason Corle has had two goals: to throw a forward pass and to play in the postseason."I've waited my whole career for the chance [at a title]," he said.Yesterday at Minnegan Stadium, the school's all-time leading rusher achieved one goal, and improved his chances to attain the other during the Tigers' 30-27 non-conference win over Dayton in front of 3,083.Corle, playing in his final home game, made his first throw count, taking a pitch from quarterback Joe Lee, rolling right and hitting sophomore Jamal White on an 11-yard, game-winning touchdown pass with 10: 54 left in the fourth quarter.

In what may very well have been their last home-court appearance, seniors Skip Victor and Josh Williams went out in fitting style at Alumni Hall last night as Navy handed injury-riddled Lehigh its 17th straight loss, 83-50, in a Patriot League contest.Victor, the team captain and inspirational leader, scored 24 points, dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals. Williams, the 6-foot-11 center, scored all 14 of his points in the second half and added a game-high four blocks.

Coach: Gordy Combs (eighth season)Last year: 5-6Conference: Patriot LeagueRadio: WTMD (89.7 FM)Stadium: Minnegan (5,000)Offense: Pro IDefense: 4-3Top returning players: RB Jason Corle, WR Adam Overbey, C John Tierney, KR Dennis Cliggett, DB Jabari Garrett, LB Aaron Sakevich, DE Andrew Hollingsworth.Top newcomers: DB Madieu Williams, OG Jason Gunning, OT Geoff Waugh.Strengths: The offensive line improved as last season progressed, cresting with a fine performance in the Dayton game in which Towson scored 42 second-half points.

The Navy women finally unsaddled the Holy Cross monkey.For the first time in exactly three years, Navy beat the perennial Patriot League power, overcoming a sluggish first half for an 81-74 victory at Alumni Hall yesterday."

Towson's offense operated in a bizarre fashion yesterday, getting two touchdowns out of 566 total yards against Holy Cross. The Tigers nonetheless escaped with a 14-0 victory, thanks to a dominant effort by the defense."

BaseballMariners: Optioned OF Charles Gipson to Triple-A Tacoma. Recalled OF Raul Ibanez from Tacoma and activated him from 15-day DL. Promoted P Gil Meche from Double-A New Haven to Tacoma. Assigned P Matt Thornton to Single-A Wisconsin.Padres: Assigned P Antonio Diaz to Single-A Fort Wayne.Reds: Assigned P Stan Belinda to Triple-A Indianapolis.CollegeMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference: Named Rev. Harold E. Ridley president.Butler: Announced G Brandon Miller has transferred from Southwest Missouri State and will be eligible starting in 2000-2001 basketball season.

Loyola battling Maryland and Virginia for a conference championship? Mount St. Mary's preparing for an NCAA tournament game while Syracuse prepares for next season?Don't laugh. Get ready for an introduction to college lacrosse, Y2K style.As the sport enters the new millennium, the 12-team Division I men's NCAA tournament will go from a purely at-large format to determining at least half of its field by automatic berths. That has the 17 independent schools at the 53-team Division I level already thinking about moving into established leagues or joining forces to form new affiliations.

In many ways, the topsy-turvy ride of center fielder Matt Michalowicz personified the Navy baseball season as a whole.A rather unproductive beginning, followed by a furious finish. A study in perseverance that has carried the Midshipmen into the NCAA Division I tournament tomorrow night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.Michalowicz, from Anne Arundel's Chesapeake High, had three at-bats in the first two months while Navy sloshed around, going nowhere in particular. The team was 7-13-1 at one point, and visions of a Patriot League title seemed just a pipe dream.

Baseball Ex-National Acta receives 3-year deal to manage Indians Manny Acta, fired as the Washington Nationals manager in July after 2 1/2 seasons, was hired as manager Sunday by the Cleveland Indians, who gave him a three-year contract with a club option for 2013. Acta is the first Cleveland manager hired from outside the organization since John McNamara in 1990. The Indians chose Acta, 40, over two other known finalists: Triple-A manager Torey Lovullo and former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who might have eliminated himself from consideration when he arrived at his second interview last week and conceded that he not done his homework on Cleveland or the American League and wasn't sure he wanted the job. The club had planned to interview Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly and Los Angeles Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke this week.

Men's college soccer UMBC squanders 2-goal lead, loses to Longwood in OT UMBC (10-3-0) surrendered a two-goal lead and fell, 3-2, in overtime to visiting Longwood (3-9-2) in miserable conditions. Lancers sophomore midfielder Chris Saul scored 3:27 into the first overtime period for the victory. Forwards Andrew Bulls (McDonogh) and Levi Houapeu scored in the 24th and 29th minutes, respectively, for the Retrievers. Bulls, who entered last week as the nation's leading scorer, got his 15th goal of the season.

Varsity City's Coxson, Poly's Goodson and Ali-El could return soon City quarterback Adrian Coxson, who suffered a shoulder injury in Friday's victory over Walbrook, could be back in the Knights' lineup within a couple of weeks, he said Sunday night. The senior said the injury is a small ligament tear in his left shoulder that happened on a hard tackle after he had passed the ball. Coxson has filled a void at quarterback for the Knights, although he has committed to Penn State as a wide receiver.

Colleges Ex-Towson football coach Combs joins Hopkins staff Gordy Combs, the second-winningest coach in the history of the Towson University football program, has joined the Blue Jays as a volunteer assistant, Hopkins coach Jim Margraff announced. Combs, who will coach the strong safeties in the Blue Jays' 4-4-3 defensive alignment, spent 17 years as the head coach at Towson and departed after the 2008 season with a career record of 92-90. "Gordy and I have been friends for many years, and I look forward to working with him this season," Margraff said.

Tim Paul is considered one of the most accurate shooters in college lacrosse. So it's probably no surprise that the junior attackman for No. 12 Navy is just as precise when it comes to the status of his sprained left ankle. "Right now, I'd probably say it's around 88 percent, and hopefully, we'll get it into the 90s by game time on Saturday," he said Tuesday. "We're getting there. Baby steps. We're doing a lot of things to get this thing ready." A less-than-100 percent Paul is still a bonus for the Midshipmen (11-4)

On the road to the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, Navy and Maryland seem to be going in opposite directions. The No. 12 Midshipmen became the first team to secure a tournament berth by edging No. 14 Bucknell, 9-8, in the Patriot League final Sunday. By capturing the automatic qualifier, the team avoided having to sweat out Selection Sunday, four days away. "We went through that last year, and that's not something we were anxious to repeat," said coach Richie Meade, whose squad was expected to be on the bubble had Navy (11-4)

1 Plan it well: If you're going to call in sick to watch the ACC tournament (starting at noon on Ch. 54), figure out how you're going to stay home next week for the NCAAs. 2 Patriotic: Last resort of a scoundrel, but also last chance for Holy Cross or American to make the NCAAs - Patriot League final (4:45 p.m., ESPN2). 3 Sounds familiar: MLB Network (7 p.m.) is showing the Yankees and Red Sox! Can you believe it? We never get to see them. 4 Hoop-de-do: The Class 1A and 2A boys and girls play their basketball state semifinals at, respectively, University of Maryland and UMBC, starting at 3 p.m. 5 If you're bored: Post on a Steelers fans' message board that Pittsburgh's first few Super Bowls shouldn't count because the Steelers were steroid cheats.

Army 76, Navy 71 - Adam Teague scored 16 points, and reserves Clif Colbert and Jordan Sugars added 14 and 13, respectively, but poor shooting doomed Navy in its loss yesterday to Army in West Point, N.Y. The Midshipmen (14-6, 3-2 Patriot League) shot just 19-for-61 (31.1 percent) from the field. "Army played a great game. They didn't do anything funky or fancy, but they just completely outplayed us," Navy coach Billy Lange said. "I thought our guys had the right intentions, but we just ran into a team that was desperate to win a game.

Navy is off to its best start in nearly a decade, largely because of its ability to win close games. In last night's Patriot League matchup against visiting Holy Cross, Chris Harris and Mark Veazey each scored 20 points, and Navy pulled out a 74-68 victory. It was Navy's largest margin of victory since an 11-point win at Pennsylvania on Dec. 5. The Midshipmen (14-5, 3-1 Patriot League) moved into a second-place tie with Holy Cross (8-11, 3-1) behind American in the conference and are unbeaten in nine home games - tied for the second best-streak in Alumni Hall history.

The Navy men's lacrosse team is charting unfamiliar territory. For the first time since 2003, the No. 15 Midshipmen did not win the Patriot League tournament and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. That means Navy (9-5) must wait until Sunday for the selection committee to determine its postseason fate. "It's really nerve-racking, putting our season in somebody else's hands," senior attackman Nick Mirabito acknowledged. "We had an opportunity to secure that, but we didn't get it done."