Second Half

You cannot understand American humor in the second half of the 20th Century without appreciating the crazed genius of Mel Brooks. And "American Masters" does an all-out appreciation at 9 p.m. Monday (May 20) on PBS. Here's a podcast of my preview from WYPR (88.1).   #sigshell { float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; } #sigheadshot{ float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; } #sigtwitter { margin-right: 5px; } #sigtooltip { padding: 5px; border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; }

Hardly anyone would second-guess Denver coach Bill Tierney if he elected to start Saturday's NCAA tournament semifinal against top-seeded Syracuse with junior goalkeeper Jamie Faus in the cage rather than opening with sophomore Ryan LaPlante as he has done in 17 of the team's 18 contests this season. After all, Faus was one of the primary reasons why the fourth-seeded Pioneers (14-4) are enjoying its second Final Four in the last three years. He made 11 saves and surrendered just five goals in more than 50 minutes of play after replacing LaPlante in the first quarter of an eventual 12-11 decision against fifth-seeded North Carolina last Sunday in the quarterfinal round.

Coming off a frustrating loss to Bucknell in its Patriot League opener Saturday, the Naval Academy basketball team could not have found a more suitable opponent than Virginia Military Institute, which had not beaten the Midshipmen in 19 previous meetings.Navy (7-5) kept this perfect record alive with a 101-83 victory at Alumni Hall last night, but it was hardly as easy as the final score indicates.The Mids trailed the Keydets 49-48 at halftime before coach Don DeVoe made some adjustments.

You cannot understand American humor in the second half of the 20th Century without appreciating the crazed genius of Mel Brooks. And "American Masters" does an all-out appreciation at 9 p.m. Monday (May 20) on PBS. Here's a podcast of my preview from WYPR (88.1).   #sigshell { float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; } #sigheadshot{ float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; } #sigtwitter { margin-right: 5px; } #sigtooltip { padding: 5px; border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; }

When Chesapeake's defense collapsed on her in the first half yesterday, Broadneck center Julie Barr struggled. She scored two points, as the Cougars took advantage of the Bruins' failure to make their outside shots consistently.Broadneck shot 17 percent (6-for-34) from the field in the first half. But in second half, Broadneck (5-4) starting hitting from outside and Barr went to work inside, scoring 15 points and leading the Bruins to a 47-40 victory."She struggled early in the season because she was not shooting well," Broadneck coach Bruce Springer said of Barr, who had a season-high 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, including 11 in the first half.

With a major upset staring it right in the face, No. 7 Broadneck came out smoking in the second half and scored 11 unanswered goals to put away North County, 11-3 in a 3A-4A East region semifinal in Cape St. Claire.The host Bruins (16-1) will host Annapolis, a 13-10 winner over Queen Anne's in the other semifinal, 7 p.m. tomorrow in the region final. Broadneck defeated Annapolis, 8-1, earlier in the season.A fired up North County (11-6) jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead last night by zoning the Bruins.

ANNAPOLIS -- It wasn't this way at Marshall University or any of George Chaump's other coaching stops. Chaump teams made a practice of storming from behind, not dissipating leads in the second half.That's what Navy is doing this season. The Middies bolt from the gate, always score first, then find a way to lose. Going into Saturday's game at Notre Dame, they are 0-7."I've stayed up until 2 a.m. and searched my soul," Chaump said. "I've never had a team that did this in my life. I can't put my finger on it."

Teddy Zingman scored three goals to power a second-half surge as Johns Hopkins rallied to defeat Bethany, 6-5, in a men's NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional semifinal at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., last night.Hopkins, which scored all of its goals in the second half, faces host Messiah in tonight's final at 7.Hopkins' Matt Doran scored the game-winner at the 84: 11 mark.The Blue Jays (18-1-1) set a school record for most victories in a season and the combined 11 goals tied an NCAA record for most goals in a game.

Showing typical poise, Wilde Lake rebounded from a lackluster first half to score four touchdowns and turn a tight game into a 31-6 rout over visiting Hammond yesterday.The Wildecats (9-1, 7-0) won their seventh straight game and clinched their fourth consecutive county championship, while securing the top seed in the Class 1A playoffs. They will open the defense of their 1A title Saturday against a quarterfinal opponent yet to be determined.Winning a 13th county title under coach Doug DuVall, the Wildecats wrapped up their fourth straight perfect season against the county and knocked Hammond (4-3, 6-4)

COLLEGE PARK -- The University of Maryland basketball team was about to go into its locker room at halftime last night trailing Virginia by only two points. The Terrapins fans in the crowd of 11,754 at Cole Field House were about to send their undermanned team on its merry way with a bouquet of cheers.And then freshman forward Cornell Parker's 40-foot shot at the buzzer found the bottom of the net. Though it only counted for three points in what turned out to be a 14-point defeat, Maryland never found the magic or spirit it had played with for nearly all of the first half, and lost to the 14th-ranked Cavaliers, 76-62.

The UMBC men's lacrosse team's offense sputtered throughout the first half of Saturday's game against visiting Binghamton. But the Retrievers came alive in the second half and rallied for a win that put them into the America East tournament. Freshman Pat Young scored all four of his goals in the second half, the final one a tie-breaker with 1:18 left, giving UMBC a 10-9 comeback victory. The Retrievers UMBC (6-7, 3-2 America East) will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed in the four-team conference tournament, which begins Thursday at Stony Brook.

The No. 4 McDonogh boys lacrosse team and host No. 2 Calvert Hall were only able to get in 3:42 of play Friday before the game was suspended because of rain. When play resumed Saturday, the Eagles (9-3, 3-1 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference) got off to a sluggish start, but they played lockdown defense in the second half to win, 9-6. "Calvert Hall outplayed us in the second quarter," McDonogh coach Andy Hilgartner said. "But our defense stepped it up in the second half and only gave up one goal.

Down four goals headed into the fourth quarter, No. 7 Syracuse was on the verge of losing to visiting Rutgers. But the Orange (9-2, 3-1 Big East) scored seven of the next eight to win, 12-11, Saturday. Luke Cometti scored four of his game-high six goals during the run, and Derek Maltz scored two of his three in the final 2:04. Anthony Terranova scored the first two goals of the game to give the Scarlet Knights (2-11, 0-5) a 2-0 lead with 9:29 left in the first quarter. The Orange answered with two of its own to tie. But Rutgers went on a 3-0 run to take a 5-2 advantage and would not surrender the lead until the final 10 seconds of the game.

Mount St. Joseph lacrosse coach Dave Slafkosky wasn't looking for cupcakes for his team's Easter Lax Day. Tough challenges, he thought, could only help his young squad heading into the core of its Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference schedule. The No. 13 Gaels found more than they could handle in their opener Saturday against Westminster. The Owls, who lost to South River in the Class 4A-3A state final last season, took 14 of the game's first 15 shots, getting four goals each from midfielder C.J. Nichols and attackman Ryan Drenner in a 15-7 win. "Westminster ran by us and played tougher than us in every aspect," Slafkosky said.

When the St. Paul's boys lacrosse team looked back on what went wrong in its disappointing 3-15 season last year, an early overtime loss to Hereford was one of the worst memories. So when the Crusaders found themselves down only two goals to the visiting Bulls after clearly being outplayed in the first half Friday, they once again faced an early crossroads. This time, St. Paul's left the field satisfied. The No. 6 Crusaders dominated No. 8 Hereford in the second half, scoring six unanswered goals after the break for an 8-4 win. Henry Riehl, Carter Flaig and Mikey Wynne each scored two goals for St. Paul's (5-0)

COLLEGE PARK - It was growing late in the first half and Maryland trailed Niagara by six points. The sparse, fidgety Comcast Center crowd had to be wondering when and if the Terps would check in mentally for their National Invitation Tournament opener. Led by Nick Faust, second-seeded Maryland woke up and used its press and fast break effectively in a second-half surge to rout seventh-seeded Niagara, 86-70, and advance to the second round before an announced 4,053. Faust (City)

The last time the Ravens traveled to Foxborough, Mass., to face the New England Patriots, Nov. 28, 2004, they suffered their most lopsided loss in two years. The 24-3 loss led to a 2-3 finish that cost them a postseason berth. The Ravens were hurt by their record-worst performance on offense (they gained 124 yards of total offense and didn't cross midfield in the second half) and a lackluster defensive performance (they gave up 314 yards, and the Patriots had an edge of more than 10 minutes in time of possession)

River Hill lived up to its expectations last night.Facing a determined Wilde Lake team that scored two first-half goals within 38 seconds to take the lead, the 12th-ranked Hawks responded with four unanswered second-half goals en route to a 6-3 victory in the Class 2A/3A South region championship last night at Howard High."

UMBC (4-2) scored 11 second-half goals punctuated by an 8-0 run to break the game open and upset No. 18 Drexel on Saturday, 14-8. The visiting Dragons (5-1) took a 3-1 lead before Alyssa Semones (Westminster) scored two of her four goals in 16 seconds to tie the game. Drexel scored with six seconds left before halftime to enter the break up 4-3. No. 15 Navy 14, Lehigh 4: The Mids (6-0, 1-0 Patriot League) extended their conference winning streak to 11 as they toppled the visiting Mountain Hawks (2-3, 0-1)

The Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team is in the middle of a stretch where it plays four ranked teams in five games. But the No. 14 Blue Jays showed on Wednesday that they are ready to take on anyone. Taylor D'Amore and Dene' DiMartino each scored three goals, and Johns Hopkins dominated the second half and rallied for an 11-8 victory over No. 9 Loyola at Ridley Athletic Complex. Loyola (1-2) controlled play for much of the first half and held a 5-4 lead at the break. After that, however, it was all Johns Hopkins (4-0)