Stony Brook

For the second time this season, Stony Brook forced a Maryland women's lacrosse offense that loves to run and gun into a more deliberate attack. The strategy slowed the Terps , but it wasn't enough to beat them. After giving up an early goal and struggling to find the openings in the Seawolves' zone defense, the No. 1 Terps scored six straight times to spark an 11-3 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday at Maryland's Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. The Terps (20-0)

- In recent days, members of the Maryland men's basketball team have been absorbed with final exams, writing papers and - perhaps - allowing themselves to think ahead to holiday gifts and an upcoming break. Their coach, Mark Turgeon, has been contemplating all the distractions that make this such a difficult time of year to coach. It's not that Turgeon is some sort of holiday grinch. The coach is giving his players - who just completed eight days of finals - four days off around Christmas to recharge.

Mike Poppleton didn't score a goal, dish out an assist or register a save, but he clearly was the most dominant player on the field in Johns Hopkins' 19-9 win over Stony Brook on Sunday in an NCAA tournament opening-round game. From the onset to the final whistle at Homewood Field, the junior midfielder from Manlius, N.Y., won 20 of 26 faceoffs and the Blue Jays won 24 of 31 in a game that was never seriously in doubt. Poppleton's dominance came on a day when the Blue Jays defense struggled with Stony Brook's offense around the crease.

At 2-0 in the America East, UMBC is in an enviable position. But the Retrievers are not alone as Stony Brook and Albany also have identical 2-0 conference marks. Which makes Saturday night's showdown between the Seawolves (3-7) and UMBC (4-5) at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville an especially meaningful game for both participants. Coach Don Zimmerman said the players and coaches are fully aware of the outcome's impact on the team's positioning for the regular-season championship and the top seed and homefield advantage in the league tournament.

In a weekend littered with upsets, the top-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse team made sure it was not the biggest name on that list. Scoring the game's first five goals, the Terps overwhelmed visiting Stony Brook, 13-7, before an announced crowd of 2,381 at Byrd Stadium on Sunday. Over the weekend, No. 3 Notre Dame was upended, 8-7, by No. 20 Hofstra on Saturday, No. 4 Loyola was stunned, 9-8, by unranked Duke on Friday night, No. 5 Princeton fell, 16-15, to No. 9 North Carolina, and No. 6 Ohio State was edged, 10-9, by No. 8 Denver.

By now, many folks in the lacrosse community have already written off Stony Brook as a major player in the NCAA tournament after the Seawolves won the America East tournament crown despite a sub-.500 overall record (7-9). Plus, they must take on No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field in Baltimore Sunday afternoon. That's not the approach Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala is taking, especially with Stony Brook's first midfield. Junior Jeff Tundo and seniors Robbie Campbell and Russ Bonnano rank 2-3-4 on that offense in points with 42, 38 and 32, respectively.

Stony Brook's evening began when the Seawolves were mistakenly introduced by the public address announcer at Comcast Center as the "Seahawks. " The reception was just as rude for the New York school when the game started and host Maryland converted its first five field-goal attempts, and 15 of its first 20. But the visitors were undeterred. The Terps had wanted a test and they got one, as Stony Brook cut a 20-point deficit to two in the final minute before Maryland prevailed, 76-69, before an announced 10,721.

Tony Seaman knows exactly how Rick Sowell feels. On April 27, 1996, Seaman watched as his Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team, which was ranked No. 5 in the country, was upended by Towson, 13-12. So Seaman, now the head coach at Towson, could empathize with Sowell, who was forced to watch his No. 4 Stony Brook squad get upset by the host Tigers, 9-8, before 1,323 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson on Saturday. "I was the coach of that team in '96 that Towson beat," Seaman recalled.

DeWayne Jackson scored 18 points, including the game-winning free throws with 15.5 seconds left, as Morgan State edged North Carolina A&T, 68-66, Monday night. The Bears (10-9, 6-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) also got 15 points from Larry Bastfield and 10 apiece from Ameer Ali and Aric Brooks. Thomas Coleman had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Aggies (9-13, 4-4), but committed the foul that sent Jackson to the line. Austin Witter added 10 points for North Carolina A&T and Nic Simpson, who normally averages 15, was held to nine.

Steele Stanwick (Loyola) helped top-ranked Virginia win again, 12-5, over visiting Stony Brook, and helped himself to the 100-goal and 100-assist plateaus Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. Stanwick scored back-to-back goals in the third quarter. He became the third Cavalier, the seventh Atlantic Coast Conference player and 44th nationally to record 100 goals and 100 assists. Colin Briggs had a career-high seven points on three goals and four assists to lead the Cavaliers.