Regional Semifinals

Sophomore guard Aquille Carr had 39 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds as the area's top-ranked team No. 1 Patterson routed visiting Dulaney, 98-68, in a Class 4A North quarterfinal. The game was relatively close in the first half, as the Clippers took a 45-35 lead into halftime. "Our press led to a lot of turnovers, and we wore them down in the second half, " Clippers coach Harry Martin said. Rickey Meekins added 20 points and Myrek Fowlkes scored 13 for Patterson, which improved to 22-1.

No. 6 Oakland Mills went ahead by as many as 16 points in the second half before having to hold off a late comeback attempt by Largo. The Scorpions finally put the visiting Lions away, 64-58, in a Class 2A South regional boys basketball semifinal game Tuesday night. Junior guard Deshawn Willis scored a team-high 17 points, including an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Nekhi Bradley that thrilled a packed gym. Loyola-bound forward Lavon Long added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oakland Mills (24-0)

The Reservoir girls soccer team had to battle through an uneven regular season that featured more losses than wins, but one fact remains: The Gators are the defending Class 3A state champions. They certainly looked the part Tuesday when visiting Howard County rival and No. 7 Centennial in the second round of the Class 3A East regional playoffs. Their state playoff experience coming to the front, the Gators, controlled play throughout, got a goal from senior midfielder Michelle Viegas in the 54th minute and showed poise in protecting the advantage to advance with a 1-0 win over the Eagles.

City had brief spurts of quality offense and defense in the first half of Thursday's Class 3A North quarterfinal boys basketball game against Digital Harbor, but the Knights were unable to put everything together to shake the visiting Rams. The second half was different. With swift ball movement on offense and pressure on defense, the No. 8 Knights methodically broke down Digital Harbor for a 70-52 win to advance to the regional semifinals. City, which improved to 19-5 on the season, will return to its home court Tuesday to take on Aberdeen, which beat Hereford, 59-33, on Thursday.

ATLANTA -- Wake Forest coach Dave Odom wouldn't be upset. Really, he couldn't be upset.In losing to Alabama, 96-88, yesterday in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Southeast Regional at The Omni, No. 5 seed Wake had played as well as it could.Alabama was simply that much better.Odom said this finally might be the year the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide advances past the regional semifinals, where it has been eliminated four times in the past six years.At least the Tide will get another chance in the Sweet 16. Last year, it fell, 62-60, to Loyola Marymount in the West Regional semifinals in Oakland, Calif.

Eager to avenge its loss to No. 10 Old Mill in last week's Anne Arundel County championship game, the No. 8 South River girls soccer team scored twice in the first 10 minutes on its way to a 2-0 win over the visiting Patriots last night in the Class 4A East Region semifinals. Rachel Fry scored two minutes into the game to put Old Mill on its heels, and Ali Moreland added a second goal about five minutes later. The second-seeded Seahawks will host No. 9 seed Broadneck - a 5-0 winner over Meade yesterday - in Tuesday's regional final.

Yesterday's resultsSouth Regional semifinalsAt Knoxville, Tenn. St. John's 76, Maryland 62Ohio State 72, Auburn 64West Regional semifinalsAt PhoenixGonzaga 73, Florida 72Connecticut 78, Iowa 68Today's gamesEast Regional semifinalsAt East Rutherford, N.J.Duke (34-1) vs. Southwest Missouri State (22-10), 7: 38 p.m., chs. 13, 9Purdue (21-12) vs. Temple (23-10), 9: 55 p.m.Midwest Regional semifinalsAt St. LouisMichigan State (31-4) vs. Oklahoma (22-10), 7: 55 p.m.Miami, Ohio (24-7) vs. Kentucky (27-8)

East Rutherford Regional Second round Saturday At Buffalo, N.Y. Saint Joseph's 70, Texas Tech 65 At Raleigh, N.C. Wake Forest 84, Manhattan 80 Sunday At Kansas City, Mo. Oklahoma State 70, Memphis 53 At Milwaukee Pittsburgh 59, Wisconsin 55 Regional semifinals Thursday At East Rutherford, N.J. Oklahoma State (29-3) vs. Pittsburgh (31-4), 7:27 p.m. Saint Joseph's (29-1) vs. Wake Forest (21-9), 30 minutes after first game. Regional championship Saturday At East Rutherford, N.J. Semifinal winners Atlanta Regional Second round Saturday At Denver Texas 78, North Carolina 75 At Raleigh, N.C. Duke 90, Seton Hall 62 Sunday At Columbus, Ohio Illinois 92, Cincinnati 68 At Orlando, Fla. Xavier 89, Mississippi State 74 Regional semifinals Friday At Atlanta Texas (25-7)

TodayJohns Hopkins (23-4)vs. Bates (22-3)Round: Northeast Regional semifinalsSite: Hill Gym, University of Southern Maine, Gorham, MaineTime: 6 p.m.Outlook: The Blue Jays, who were the top-ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic region during the season, are making their third Sweet 16 appearance in four years against a team they've never met. Hopkins advanced with Saturday's 68-44 win over Muhlenberg, which avenged its loss in the Centennial Conference title game....

The first weekend of the high school football postseason for all but the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, which started with quarterfinals last weekend, features 21 games involving Baltimore-area teams in state regional semifinals and MIAA A, B and C Conference semifinals. Here is a look at the top six games to watch this week: MIAA A Conference semifinals McDonogh (3-7) vs. No. 1 Gilman (7-2) When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Where: Archbishop Spalding Coaches: Dom Damico, McDonogh; Biff Poggi, Gilman Last meeting: Gilman won, 48-12, on Oct. 27 Outlook: At the beginning of the season, Poggi said McDonogh probably had more talent than any of the Greyhounds' other A Conference opponents, but the Eagles were young and they went through some growing pains.

Westminster football coach Brad Wilson keeps a handful of adages on 3-by-5 index cards affixed to the the wall above his desk, including one that sums up his favorite style of offense: "When you're on, pass, and when you're off, pass until you're on. " This fall, the No. 5 Owls have been about as on as they can get. Their aerial attack has gained 325 yards and scored more than five touchdowns per game en route to a 10-0 record and the top seed...

It isn't easy playing the same team three times in a season - almost every season. That's what the South River and Broadneck field hockey teams do most years. There are two regular season games and then, most of the time, they see each other in the playoffs, like they did Wednesday night. So here they were again, No. 2South River hosting No. 7 Broadneck. Most of the time they play one-goal games; and most of the time South River wins. South River won again Wednesday in the 4A East regional semifinal, but this time it was by a surprising, 4-2, margin that left the Seahawks a little giddy and the Bruins slightly stunned.

North Carolina sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall underwent surgery on his broken right wrist Monday, but his playing status remains unknown, according to a statement released by the university. Marshall suffered a fractured scaphoid bone in his right wrist during the Tar Heels' 87-73 victory against Creighton on Sunday in the third round of the NCAA tournament. With the victory, North Carolina advanced to the Midwest regional semifinals in St. Louis, where the top-seeded Tar Heels will play Ohio on Friday night.

Meade's girls basketball team has had to forfeit its Dec. 10 Anne Arundel County league victory over North County, because the Mustangs played too many games in one week. The Mustangs played Aberdeen, Chesapeake, Woodlawn and North County in a Tuesday-through-Sunday stretch to start their season, but MPSSAA rules stipulate that teams can play no more than three games in a single week. First-year coach Reggie Leach said he was not aware of the rule and that the schedule was already set when he took over the team.

Poly football coach Roger Wrenn was named Ravens Coach of the Week Thursday after guiding the Engineers to an 11-0 record and a berth in the regional final as he contemplates his retirement at season's end. The No. 5 Engineers defeated then-No. 12 Perry Hall, 50-12, in the Class 4A North regional semifinals and will host No. 8 Catonsville Friday at 7 p.m. for the title and a trip to the state semifinals . The Engineers hope to send Wrenn off to retirement after 40 years of coaching in Baltimore City with his first state championship.

Editor's Note: This blog has been updated to reflect New Town's forfeit, which led to Northwestern advancing to the Class 1A North final .   The schedule is set for the weekend's regional football championships and the MIAA championships: Regional semifinals Class 4A North Catonsville (11-0) at Poly (11-0), Friday, 7 Class 4A East North Point (9-2) at Old Mill (11-0), Friday, 7 Class 4A South Flowers (8-3)