Shooting Percentage

Opponent: Cincinnati Stuff Site: Baltimore Arena Time: 7: 30 Outlook: The BayRunners are in search of their first victory against the Stuff. Tonight marks the second of back-to-back games against the East leader. Cincinnati forward Tremaine Fowlkes is fourth in the International Basketball League in scoring, averaging 19.6 points, and second in in rebounding, 10.1 a game. The BayRunners lead the IBL in three-point shooting percentage (41.7).

Each week, The Baltimore Sun publishes a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Johns Hopkins sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick, who leads the team in assists with 22 and points with 45. The Baltimore native and Boys' Latin graduate entered the week ranked fourth in Division I in shooting percentage (.500). After Saturday's 8-4 loss to then-No. 7 Loyola, the No. 13 Blue Jays (8-5) are in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1971, the debut of the event.

A look back The Terps allowed 55 points in the first half, fell behind by as much as 22, then cut the deficit to three points before falling at North Carolina on Sunday, 97-86. A look ahead Maryland will play three games in seven days. The Terps travel to No. 3 Duke on Sunday, then play back-to-back games at home against Clemson on Tuesday and Wake Forest on Saturday. By the numbers Maryland has languished at the bottom of the ACC in free-throw shooting percentage (.612) for virtually the entire season.

GOING TO ATLANTA Ohio State. The top seed lost only three games this season - at North Carolina, at Florida and at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have won 17 straight going into the tournament and capped a sweep of the Big Ten's regular-season and conference tournament championships with a dominating win yesterday over the Badgers. The combination of freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. will be looking for another net to cut down - three state titles in high school in Indianapolis and two more this season in Columbus.

11 Regional titles won by Southern (all under Linda Kilpatrick), the most for a county girls basketball team. 15 Regional titles won by Annapolis' John Brady, the most for a boys basketball coach in the state. Overall, the Panthers have won a state-record 26 regional crowns. 38-10 1/2 The winning throw in feet and inches by Nicole Sohn of Northeast to win the Class 3A-2A state title in the shot put. .491 Shooting percentage (28-for-57) from the field for No. 7 Old Mill, as the Patriots defeated No. 13 North County, 61-47, to repeat as county champions.

Terence Morris missed Maryland's basketball practice yesterday with a second-degree sprain of his left ankle, and coach Gary Williams declined to speculate on the availability of his star junior forward for tomorrow's Atlantic Coast Conference game against Clemson at Cole Field House. "We'll see how it looks [today], and re-evaluate it then," Williams said. "Hopefully, he'll be able to go some in practice then. He walked in this morning, and is receiving treatment. Whatever happens, happens.

The Buffalo Bandits may have impressed some people when they ran out to an 18-goal halftime lead before downing the expansion Charlotte Cobras, 28-6, last week, but Thunder coach Skip Lichtfuss wasn't one of them."

Of his team's six losses this year, BayRunners coach Herb Brown was most disturbed about last night's defeat during his post-game news conference.The primary reason? His team played its best basketball for about 1 1/2 quarters before going on to play its worst the rest of the game in an 82-72 loss to the Trenton Shooting Stars before 3,537 at Baltimore Arena.Then there are a host of secondary reasons, including having to start Charles Thomas in place of Shawnta Rogers, suspending Keith Booth indefinitely at halftime for breaking a team rule, and season lows in field-goal shooting percentage (35.5)

Matea Pender's basketball life has been more about endless hours of shooting the ball on the Croatian streets than about any highlights film. Call it the European style. It sure is playing well around UMBC these days, as Pender has climbed to second place in the nation among Division I schools in three-point shooting percentage (.639), hitting 23 of 36 shots. Only the University of California's Kristin Iwanaga is leading Pender with a .760 percentage (19-for-25). Sure, it's early in the season and the America East competition hasn't been tested yet, but most basketball players are thrilled when they can hit 50 percent from beyond the arc. Pender is also second in the country in three-point field goals made per game (3.3)

When Coppin State lost to South Florida in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Monday, it marked the end of an era for the Eagles.Although they have long been accustomed to winning under coach Fang Mitchell -- they have averaged 21 victories over the past six seasons and have gone to either the NCAAs or the NIT four times during that stretch -- the Eagles say goodbye to the best senior class ever under Mitchell.Forward Stephen Stewart finished with two MEAC Player of the Year awards in three seasons, during which he became Coppin State's fifth-leading career scorer with 1,393 points.

Caron Butler certainly thought he'd have played his first NBA All-Star Game before today. But if Butler had fulfilled his promise earlier, the Washington Wizards might never have had a shot at acquiring the man who has become Gilbert Arenas' chief sidekick. "I always had the confidence that I was an elite player in this league," Butler told The Washington Post after his All-Star selection. "If I hadn't been sidetracked by an injury early on, who knows what would have happened? Maybe I would've made it sooner but, then again, I look at the trade from Miami to Los Angeles as a blessing because without that, I wouldn't be here.

11 Regional titles won by Southern (all under Linda Kilpatrick), the most for a county girls basketball team. 15 Regional titles won by Annapolis' John Brady, the most for a boys basketball coach in the state. Overall, the Panthers have won a state-record 26 regional crowns. 38-10 1/2 The winning throw in feet and inches by Nicole Sohn of Northeast to win the Class 3A-2A state title in the shot put. .491 Shooting percentage (28-for-57) from the field for No. 7 Old Mill, as the Patriots defeated No. 13 North County, 61-47, to repeat as county champions.

Fantasy basketball has never caught on like its football and baseball brethren. But hundreds of thousands (including your friendly neighborhood columnist) play, and the NBA season begins in less than two weeks. So here's a little draft preview with some tried-and-true rules for success in imaginary hoops. Rules No. 1, 2 and 3: Versatility is king. This could also be known as the Andrei Kirilenko principle. Your average NBA fan probably thinks of Utah Jazz forward Kirilenko as a lesser player than, say, Allen Iverson or Richard Hamilton or Kenyon Martin.

Matea Pender's basketball life has been more about endless hours of shooting the ball on the Croatian streets than about any highlights film. Call it the European style. It sure is playing well around UMBC these days, as Pender has climbed to second place in the nation among Division I schools in three-point shooting percentage (.639), hitting 23 of 36 shots. Only the University of California's Kristin Iwanaga is leading Pender with a .760 percentage (19-for-25). Sure, it's early in the season and the America East competition hasn't been tested yet, but most basketball players are thrilled when they can hit 50 percent from beyond the arc. Pender is also second in the country in three-point field goals made per game (3.3)

Luke D'Alessio has stocked his Bowie State basketball program with plenty of all-around talent this season and he can't hide his glee. "We have three big-time guys coming off the bench and can go 10 deep," he said. "That's what puts this team over [the Bowie State team that advanced to the NCAA Division II final four] two years ago. Our starters are as good as they were two years ago." Entering last night's 106-93 victory over Lincoln, the Bulldogs were ranked 12th in the nation in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll.

A look back The Terps allowed 55 points in the first half, fell behind by as much as 22, then cut the deficit to three points before falling at North Carolina on Sunday, 97-86. A look ahead Maryland will play three games in seven days. The Terps travel to No. 3 Duke on Sunday, then play back-to-back games at home against Clemson on Tuesday and Wake Forest on Saturday. By the numbers Maryland has languished at the bottom of the ACC in free-throw shooting percentage (.612) for virtually the entire season.

Wake Forest might be missing the premier player in the Atlantic Coast Conference from a year ago, but the Demon Deacons are not to be pitied in the least. Are they as strong this time around without ACC Player of the Year Josh Howard at small forward? Maybe not. But is Wake Forest equipped to make a serious run at its second straight, regular-season league title? Absolutely. This year's model is a smaller, lighter, quicker version of the team that won its first ACC regular-season title in 41 years.