Six Points

Tia Richardson scored the game's last six points, the final two a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining that lifted No. 17-ranked Centennial to a thrilling 55-53 victory last night over visiting Mount Hebron.The No. 18 Vikings, who led by seven points with 3: 03 left but did not score for the rest of the game, almost pulled it out. But Annie Collins' three-point attempt just before the buzzer hit the front rim and bounced away."I think we played a great game -- a perfect game up to the last three minutes," said Mount Hebron coach Scott Robinson.

The Blast squandered a six-point third-quarter lead and lost the opening game of the Major Indoor Soccer League semifinals, 22-14, to Monterrey La RaZa on Friday night. The teams will play Monday night at 1st Mariner Arena. If La RaZa win, they would face the Wave in the MISL championship game April 4. If the Blast wins, the teams would play a golden-goal mini-game Monday night for the right to advance. The Blast took a 4-0 lead on goals by Machel Millwood and Billy Nelson and led 8-2 after one quarter, but momentum turned in the second quarter when Baltimore forward Carlos Garcia was ejected from the match for violent conduct.

Rangers: New York has scored only three goals in three games and has lost two straight after an opening-night tie.Sharks: Owen Nolan and Jeff Friesen each had three goals Monday, the first time in team history two players had hat tricks in the same game. Nolan added three assists, giving him six points for the game, a San Jose record.

Of all the unbelievable numbers put up by Brett Favre, the one that should draw the most interest from the Ravens is this: The Minnesota Vikings' quarterback has led 43 come-from-behind, game-winning drives in the fourth quarter. That's a telling statistic for the Ravens, who have lost two straight weeks because they have failed to come through in the final minutes of games. Close games have become a sore spot for the Ravens under coach John Harbaugh. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Ravens are 2-5 (including playoffs)

Host Chesapeake High captured the championship of the second annual Chesapeake-AA Girls Holiday Tournament by holding off Severn, 48-38, in the title game yesterday.Junior forward Ericka Herron scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds and junior point guard Sandra Norris added 12 points to lead the Cougars (3-3) over the Admirals (8-2).Senior guard Jenny Lewis added four points and five assists for the winners and senior forward Megan Van Wambeke chipped in with 11 rebounds and six points.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Skip Saunders and Derell Thompson had respective career highs of 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead the University of Maryland Baltimore County past the University at Buffalo, 103-80, in an East Coast Conference game at Alumni Hall last night. It was a season-high point total for the Retrievers, who halted a four-game losing streak and extended the Royals' to six.Dion Andrews had six points to highlight a 22-5 run, as the visitors finally broke away for an 83-60 lead with 7 minutes, 28 seconds left.

Howard County's 1998 high school senior class scored 10 points higher on the SAT than the previous class, averaging 1,084 out of a possible 1,600 points.Students scored 535 on the verbal portion of the exam, a six-point improvement, and 549 on the math portion, four points higher. Howard's average was 70 points above the state's combined average of 1,014 points, and its scores were the highest in the Baltimore region, according to test results released yesterday."I think it's a positive reflection on our students," said school board member Linda L. Johnston.

Rocky Point won the final round of the first Baltimore Public Parks Junior Inter-Club tournament at Mount Pleasant Golf Course, and claimed the overall championship with 10 points. Pine Ridge was second, eight points; Forest Park, third, six points, and Mount Pleasant, fourth, two points.Rocky Point and Pine Ridge had gone into the last of the four sessions tied with seven points, and the eventual champions totaled 119 points in the concluding age-group competition to 94 for Pine Ridge.

St. John's basketball* Grades K-2 boys -- Bryce Geiman scored eight points to lead the Cavs to an 8-6 win over the Heat.Shane Russell's four points led the Heat.The Lions ripped the Hornets, 14-4, behind six points by John Clayton.Chris Swartz had the Hornets' points.Matt Laumann's eight points paced the Eagles' 14-2 victory over the Terrors.Andrew Cuhn scored six points to lead the Magic to a 15-3 win over the Owls.The Spurs and Panthers tied, 12-12.Matt Duke scored eight points for the Spurs, and Cameron Oster had four for the Panthers.

Anne Arundel Youth Soccer selects Sides for Sommer AwardRecipient chosen for his leadershipTerry L. Sides of Arnold has been chosen as the second recipient of the Joe Sommer Award presented by the Anne Arundel Youth Soccer League for outstanding leadership and dedication to the sport in Anne Arundel County.The award, named for former AAYSL president and Crofton resident Joe Sommer, will be presented to Sides on April 14 at the organization's regular monthly meeting at the Winterode Building in Crownsville.

Iverson to be fined for missing practice nba Allen Iverson apparently chose family and food over practice - and he'll be fined for it. Iverson was the only player who didn't show up when the Detroit Pistons worked out on Thanksgiving. Coach Michael Curry confirmed Iverson will be fined, will not start tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks and might not play in the game for missing the practice. "I'm surprised when guys are late; I'm surprised when they don't show," Curry told the Detroit Free Press.

The North County boys basketball team held off No. 14 Broadneck's second-half rally yesterday to earn a 58-54 win. North County (11-6) started strong and looked to be in control of the game, building a 10-point lead by halftime. The Bruins (13-6) fought back in the second half, however, and cut the lead to six points after three periods and later down to three with a minute left in the game. The Knights sealed the win at the free-throw line, where David Ford, who finished with 13 points, went 4-for-4 in the final minute.

With four seconds left in yesterday's Class 2A state title game, Atholton junior Brittany Coughlan finally allowed herself to smile as she worked her way to the foul line. She got a hug from Elie Snyder while Taylor Chapman took a quick look at the scoreboard and clapped. Behind them, fellow starters Julie Taylor and Julianne Conroy got together for some happy words. A short time later, the rest of the No. 9 Raiders had excitedly convened at midcourt of UMBC's RAC Arena, celebrating the program's first state championship.

Western guard Akeema Richards picked up her second foul two minutes into last night's game with City and sat out the rest of the first half. That didn't stop her from making a difference in the end. Richards scored 12 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter as the No. 7 Doves slipped past the Knights, 49-44, in a Baltimore City non-league game. A second-team All-Metro selection last season as a freshman, Richards scored eight points in the final 3:07 as the Doves rallied from six points down.

New Town's trio of nearly 6-footers Brittany Spencer, Lindsey Wallace and India Roseborough gave Southside's girls basketball team more than it could handle yesterday at the 11th annual Basketball Academy at Morgan State's Hill Field House. In a clash of teams that have split meetings at the state tournament the past two seasons, No. 7 New Town got 37 points and 27 rebounds from its inside players in a 56-39 victory over No. 13 Southside. The Titans (10-0) fell to the Jaguars (6-4) in last year's Class 1A state semifinals, and that gave them plenty of incentive.

COLLEGE PARK -- Mervo's bid to capture its first state title in boys basketball came to a crushing halt yesterday with a 70-56 loss to Lackey in the state 3A semifinals at the Comcast Center. One week after upsetting then-No. 2 Walbrook in the 3A North regional final, the No. 8 Mustangs could not muster enough offense to knock off the upstart Chargers of Charles County. Lackey used a slow-tempo offense to maintain possession and took advantage of its size on the defensive end. Mustangs coach Daryl Wade said his team simply did not execute well enough on offense.

Basketball* 12-and-under boys -- Eric Ross averaged 10 points and 6.5 rebounds as the GARCI Gators won two straight. The Gators (4-5) remain three games behind Anne Arundel Optimist (7-2) in the Stacey Augmon League's Blue Division.Ross produced 10 points and five rebounds to help the Gators to a 38-20 win over PAL (1-8) Saturday. The Gators outscored PAL in each quarter.With only seven players available, each needed to make significant contributions. Danny Dolan and Gavin Floyd made five steals apiece.

In a game of surges, host Old Mill came up with the last one to beat Annapolis, 61-54, last night in Anne Arundel County boys basketball. The No. 10-ranked Patriots (8-1) finished with a 5-0 run after the No. 13 Panthers (6-4) missed a three-point try that would have put them within two points with 30 seconds remaining. Senior point guard Andrew Engel, who had a game-high 21 points, made two of the last five from the line. Nine of his points came in the last 5 1/2 minutes. The game was a contrast in offense as 6-foot-6 forward Derek Harris added 15 points for Old Mill, which shot 40 percent from the floor (20-for-50)

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