Scarlet Knights

Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 24 points, Chris Allen added 13 and visiting Michigan State handed Minnesota its first loss of the season yesterday. In the teams' Big Ten opener, Michigan State (10-2) wore down Minnesota (12-1) by repeatedly attacking the basket and clogging the lane defensively. No. 1 North Carolina 84, Nevada 61: : Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points to keep the visiting Tar Heels undefeated with a school-record 13th straight win by double figures. Wayne Ellington added 15 points and Ty Lawson had 11 points and seven assists for North Carolina (13-0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Navy simply took care of business.Their preseason goals waylaid by three straight heart-wrenching defeats, the Midshipmen captured a much-needed victory, 34-7, over winless Rutgers yesterday before 20,339 fans at Rutgers Stadium.This game lacked the massive audience, drama and potential milestones of last week's crushing loss at Notre Dame, but it served to restore some momentum to a Navy team that can still finish with a .500 record.Whether the Midshipmen (3-6) could get inspired for the injury-ravaged Scarlet Knights (0-9)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It's not supposed to be this easy, and for a while in last night's Mideast Regional semifinal, it wasn't easy -- for the top-ranked and unbeaten Tennessee women's basketball team.The two-time defending champion Lady Vols were given a bit of a challenge by a scrappy Rutgers team, which earlier this season had ended Connecticut's 53-game Big East winning streak.But Tennessee showed the poise and patience that has fueled a 42-game win streak, along with quite a bit of emotion in turning back the Scarlet Knights, 92-60, before a regional record 14,711 at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym.As per usual, All-America forward Chamique Holdsclaw provided the principal source of poise and patience -- as well as 25 points and 10 rebounds -- along with freshman Tamika Catchings, who had 23 points.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Even without its top playmaker, Maryland is still one of the toughest lacrosse teams in the nation.While Andrew Whipple nursed a bruised shoulder on the sidelines, fellow attackman Scott Hochstadt had a career-best eight points to lead the second-ranked Terps to a 16-11 victory over Rutgers last night at Yurcak Field.The Terps (11-1) stayed in the running for the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and are virtually assured of one of the four first-round byes in the 12-team field.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Navy's experienced offense had its problems last night, but the less-seasoned defense wasn't bothered by anything at Rutgers Stadium.The Midshipmen stopped two fourth-quarter Rutgers threats cold and did enough with the ball themselves to win their season opener, 10-6, before 26,834 fans.One smooth-working thrust -- when Navy took the second-half kickoff and drove 76 yards to the end zone in six plays -- was enough to hold off the Scarlet Knights, who had beaten Villanova, 38-28, in their opener last week.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Matt Hahn scored a career-best five goals as No. 4 Maryland blasted Rutgers, 15-5, last night.The Terps (9-2), who held Rutgers scoreless for the first 21 minutes and the final five minutes of the game, have won four of their past five games.Maryland opened up a 6-0 lead when Hahn scored twice off passes from Frank Radin in the first two minutes of the second quarter. After Rutgers scored its first goal six minutes into the quarter, the Terps reeled off three goals in the last five minutes before halftime to take a 9-1 lead.

Navy coach Charlie Weatherbie yesterday named senior Ben Fay as his starting quarterback for Saturday's season opener at Rutgers."He'll be backed up by Chris McCoy," said Weatherbie. "I expect both of them will get playing time in this game and in all 12 ballgames. That wasn't a Freudian slip."Twelve games is an allusion to a potential bowl game for theMidshipmen, who haven't been to one since the 1981 Liberty Bowl.Fay started the final four games in 1995 and was the team's leading passer.

Sandwiched between games against two of the country's top lacrosse teams were a couple of contests on Johns Hopkins' schedule designed to give the Blue Jays a chance to fine-tune their potent offense.Mission accomplished.No. 2 Johns Hopkins defeated unranked Rutgers, 16-5, yesterday before 2,525 at Homewood Field, three days after an 18-6 win over Division III rival Washington College.The Blue Jays, who opened the season with a 15-14 win over No. 4 Princeton, will travel to the Carrier Dome on Saturday to face top-ranked Syracuse.

Since he decided to try his hand at coaching basketball, Brian Ellerbe has been a precocious study.Nine years ago, fresh off a successful, four-year career as a starter at Rutgers, Ellerbe moved to the bench as a graduate assistant with the Scarlet Knights. A year later, he became the nation's youngest assistant coach at Bowling Green.Yesterday at Reitz Arena, Ellerbe savored another achievement, when Loyola College handed him the reins of its men's basketball program.At 30, Ellerbe becomes a head coach for the first time.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Senior attackman Brian Piccola scored five goals to power fourth-ranked Johns Hopkins (1-1) to an 11-7 victory against No. 15 Rutgers yesterday before a crowd of 1,345 at Rutgers Stadium Complex.Piccola broke a 2-2 first-quarter deadlock with three second-quarter goals as Johns Hopkins took a 6-3 halftime advantage. Johns Hopkins outshot Rutgers 47-37, won 14 of 21 faceoffs and had a 38-30 edge in ground balls.Rutgers drew within 7-5 on Ryan O'Shea's goal with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, but Hopkins won the ensuing faceoff and scored again 12 seconds later.

Rutgers (2-1) at Maryland (1-2) Time: : 3:30 p.m. TV: : ESPN360 Radio: : 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: : Even Series: : Maryland leads 6-3. Last meeting: : Maryland won, 34-24, on Sept. 29, 2007, at Rutgers. Maryland offense vs. Rutgers defense: : Maryland expects to get junior LT Bruce Campbell (foot) back to upgrade its young offensive line. The Terps will hope to establish the running game - coaches say elusive Gary Douglas, a redshirt freshman, might play - against a penetrating Scarlet Knights defense that has seven sacks, six takeaways and 15 tackles for losses in the past two games.

COLLEGE PARK -Late in the first half of the 11th-ranked Maryland women's 67-47 victory over Rutgers yesterday afternoon, junior forward Dee Liles set a screen to help Kristi Toliver escape a trap on the perimeter. As Liles, 6 feet 1, braced herself, Kia Vaughn - the Scarlet Knights' strong, 6-4 center - went crashing into her, and the 12,861 announced fans at Comcast Center let out a collective "ooof!" at the collision. Toliver broke free and fed Marah Strickland for an open three-pointer.

Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 24 points, Chris Allen added 13 and visiting Michigan State handed Minnesota its first loss of the season yesterday. In the teams' Big Ten opener, Michigan State (10-2) wore down Minnesota (12-1) by repeatedly attacking the basket and clogging the lane defensively. No. 1 North Carolina 84, Nevada 61: : Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points to keep the visiting Tar Heels undefeated with a school-record 13th straight win by double figures. Wayne Ellington added 15 points and Ty Lawson had 11 points and seven assists for North Carolina (13-0)

The first crisis in Ken Niumatalolo's short tenure as Navy's head coach came after the Midshipmen lost back-to-back games at Ball State and Duke to fall to 1-2 for the season. Going into Saturday's home game against Rutgers, Niumatalolo knew that many believed Navy was headed for a 1-3 start. It would have been the worst start for the Midshipmen since they went 2-10 in Paul Johnson's first season in 2002. "We just had to go to work. We didn't point any fingers," Niumatalolo said after his team came back to beat the Scarlet Knights, 23-21, in Annapolis.

Call it one of college football's imperfect storms. Navy, ranked near the bottom in pass defense in the country, will meet Rutgers, ranked near the bottom in passing efficiency, today in Annapolis. Whichever team improves on its deficiency might win at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. In returning home for the first time since a season-opening win over Towson, the 1-2 Midshipmen want to get to .500 before going back on the road against Wake Forest and Air Force. In playing their first road game this season, the 0-2 Scarlet Knights are even more desperate for a victory.

It's hard to say that a September game is a must-win situation for any college football team, but Saturday's meeting between Navy (1-2) and Rutgers (0-2) comes close. After playing the Scarlet Knights, Navy plays Atlantic Coast Conference title contender Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., and much-improved Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., a game that will help determine the winner of the Commander in Chief's Trophy. Suddenly, what had seemed like a sure bet of fulfilling the six-win requirement needed to secure a spot in this year's Congressional Bowl doesn't appear automatic, particularly with the possible loss of fullback Eric Kettani to a hamstring injury.

The UMBC men's lacrosse team continued its slow start with a 13-4 loss to host Rutgers yesterday. The No. 19 Retrievers (0-2) got goals from Alex Hopmann (Annapolis), Ryan Smith, Kyle Wimer and Christian Daly. UMBC tried to make a run in the final quarter but could turn only one of its 12 shots into a goal against Rutgers goalie William Olin (17 saves). Kory Kelly and Mike Dugan scored three goals apiece for the Scarlet Knights (1-0). State women No. 3 Maryland 23, Boston College 10 -- Senior Kelly Kasper had a career-high six assists and tied a personal best with nine points as the Terrapins (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference)

In a week of lighthearted bantering, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano tirelessly praised Navy's passing game and Midshipmen coach Paul Johnson countered with typically droll observations. Told by Rutgers beat reporters during a teleconference that Schiano was impressed with the passing of Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, Johnson didn't miss a beat. "Based off our seven attempts against Temple?" he asked. The laughter stops and the gloves come off, though, when Navy visits Piscataway, N.J., to play the 15th-ranked Scarlet Knights tonight in a 7 o'clock kickoff on ESPN.

Navy coach Paul Johnson hopes Friday night's 30-19 victory against Temple proves beneficial to his team this week. "We found a way to win," Johnson said. "We hope to learn from it. We had a lot of young guys playing who had never been in a game before. I hope to see a lot of improvement from that game to our next game. They'll learn a lot from having played meaningful minutes." Johnson could see the mistakes - two fumbles, missed tackles, and, perhaps most annoying, players dropping their blocks while the offense was trying to run a pitch out of the option.

Navy had a chance to make its strongest statement of the season yesterday against visiting No. 24 Rutgers. Instead, starting with the early loss of senior quarterback Brian Hampton to a dislocated left knee, the Midshipmen took a sour, three-hour ride that ruined their homecoming. Before a record crowd of 36,918 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Navy cracked early on offense, then fell apart in every phase of the game as Rutgers administered a 34-0 beating. It was a nightmare in every way for the Mids, who fell to 5-2. They probably have lost Hampton for the rest of the season.