Tigers

James Madison 70, Towson 59 - Robert Nwankwo and Rocky Coleman (Walbrook) each scored 13 points for Towson, but James Madison went on a 17-1 second-half run and came away with a victory in Harrisonburg, Va. The Tigers' Jarrel Smith tied the score at 35 early in the second half, but the Dukes' spurt gave them their biggest lead of the game, 52-36, with 12:53 left. Towson closed to 64-59 on a three-pointer by Josh Thornton with 1:31 left, but the Tigers (7-13, 2-6 Colonial Athletic Association)

The greatest game any Memphis player has had in the NCAA tournament finally presented an obstacle the plucky Matadors of Cal State Northridge could not overcome. They battled heartbreak. They overcame tragedy. They lost their two best players during the season but still reached the tournament for the second time in school history. Then they ran into an unlikely scoring machine named Roburt Sallie. Averaging just 4.5 points this season, Sallie hit 10 three-pointers and scored 35 as the second-seeded Tigers came from behind to beat the 15th-seeded Matadors, 81-70, yesterday in Kansas City, Mo., and dodge what would have been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

Michael Harper scored 17 points, and Tywain McKee converted a three-point play with 24.1 seconds remaining to lift defending champion Coppin State (13-18) to a 66-63 victory over North Carolina A&T (16-16) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament last night in Winston-Salem, N.C. Fifth seed Coppin State advances to play top seed Morgan State in the semifinals today. Women Towson 40, Delaware 37: : Shanae Baker-Brice scored a game-high 12 points with eight rebounds and three steals for the Tigers in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament in Harrisonburg, Va. The Tigers (17-12)

Tomorrow, @Yankees 7:05 p.m., MASN/Ch. 13 Saturday, @Yankees 1:05 p.m., MASN Sunday, @Yankees 1:05 p.m., MASN Monday, Tigers 3:05 p.m., MASN/Ch. 13 Tuesday, Tigers 7:05 p.m., MASN [ Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

If Joey Dorsey feels a sudden urge to stroll the River Walk in San Antonio, Memphis coach John Calipari will be a happy man. The Tigers meet Texas A&M in the South Regional semifinals tonight at the Alamodome. Sunday in New Orleans, as he made the rounds before his game against Nevada, Calipari bumped into Dorsey in the lobby of the Tigers' hotel and got a good feeling. "I knew we were going to be OK when I saw Joey in the lobby," Calipari said. "He said, `I just went for a walk.' He was excited about playing Nevada, and he played that way."

Today, @Yankees 1:05 p.m., MASN Tomorrow, Tigers 3:05 p.m., MASN/Ch. 13 Tuesday, Tigers 7:05 p.m., MASN Wednesday, Tigers 7:05 p.m., MASN Thursday, Royals 7:05 p.m., MASN [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

For the second straight Saturday, Towson was lethargic at the start of the second half. This time, that shortcoming put the Tigers' season in jeopardy. One week after Towson blew a halftime lead and was outscored 4-0 in the third period by Johns Hopkins, the Tigers reprised that letdown in the Colonial Athletic Association men's lacrosse championship game and lost to Delaware, 10-7. "The third quarter was the whole difference in the game," Towson coach Tony Seaman said. The top-seeded Tigers (9-6)

Today, Tigers 7:05 p.m., MASN Tomorrow, Tigers 7:05 p.m., MASN Thursday, Royals 7:05 p.m., MASN Friday, Royals 7:05 p.m., MASN Saturday, Royals 7:05 p.m., MASN [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

Towson coach Pat Kennedy credits his team for doing a solid job moving the ball on offense to create open shots, but he acknowledges that the Tigers have struggled recently to convert those chances. While the offense played better last night against visiting Lafayette, Towson could not match the Leopards' firepower down the stretch in a 79-69 overtime loss. The defeat also wasted a solid performance by Towson's defense, which forced 17 turnovers, and the Tigers are 4-6 going into the holiday break.

DETROIT -- A day after both benches cleared following a verbal altercation between Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada and the Detroit Tigers' battery of Jeremy Bonderman and Ivan Rodriguez, both sides said there was no lingering animosity. "I'm not mad at anybody ... but there is no doubt in my mind that [Gary] Sheffield was thrown at on purpose," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't have any ax to grind with anybody from Baltimore. I love Sam Perlozzo. He's a good guy. I don't know Tejada that well, but Tejada is a great player and personality.

Early in the third quarter against the nation's top-ranked Football Championship Subdivision team, Towson quarterback Tommy Chroniger found a hole in the right side of the line and ran 12 yards for a touchdown that gave the Tigers their first lead. The run had the injury-riddled Tigers believing they could pull off a most improbable upset against Richmond. That optimism, however, was short-lived as the Spiders answered with 22 points in a span of 2 minutes, 33 seconds and pulled away for a 42-14 victory before an announced 4,396 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

Delaware (4-2) at Towson (2-3) Time: 3:30 p.m. Radio: 1570 AM Series record: Delaware leads 6-4 Last meeting: Delaware won, 31-21, on Nov. 8, 2008 What's at stake: Guess who scheduled a ringer for homecoming? The Tigers are underdogs to a much-improved Blue Hens team that matched its 2008 victory total last week with a 43-27 upset of then-12th-ranked Massachusetts. The win thrust Delaware into the Top 25 (the Blue Hens are ranked No. 23), which gives Towson more cause to knock off a team it hasn't beaten in three years.

Towson quarterback Peter Athens threw for one touchdown and ran for the game-winning score while directing the host Tigers to a 36-28 victory over Rhode Island on Saturday. The win ended a 13-game road losing streak for the Tigers. It also ended a six-game slide for the Tigers (2-3) against Colonial Athletic Association opponents as Towson improved to 1-1 in the league. Rhode Island (1-4 overall) dropped to 0-2 in the CAA. A wild first quarter resulted in a 20-0 Towson lead before the Rams could get started.

Towson coach Rob Ambrose compared playing New Hampshire in Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association opener to jumping into the deep end of a pool. The Tigers had every reason to be concerned about the undefeated Wildcats, who are ranked sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision and have the CAA's top defense by allowing 213 yards per game. Already facing an uphill battle, the Tigers didn't do themselves any favors by committing eight turnovers in a 57-7 loss before an announced 8,026 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

COLLEGE PARK -- Clemson football fans' expectations couldn't have been much loftier before last season. The team was ranked ninth nationally and had a senior quarterback, a top receiver and a flashy pair of running backs. But the year didn't unfold as the team had planned. The Tigers were manhandled by Alabama in their opener, then blew an 11-point lead in a 20-17 loss to Maryland in Week 5 before 81,000 dazed fans at Death Valley. Coach Tommy Bowden was replaced by Dabo Swinney at midseason.

Clemson (2-2, 1-1 ACC) at Maryland (1-3, 0-0) Time: : Noon TV: : ESPNU Radio: : 105.7 FM, 1300 AM Line: : Clemson by 13 Series: : Clemson leads 30-25-2 Last meeting: : Maryland won, 20-17, on Sept. 27, 2008, at Clemson Maryland offense vs. Clemson defense: : The Tigers' penetrating defense is among the strongest in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clemson's eight interceptions (S DeAndre McDaniel has four) rank fourth in the nation. The Tigers surrendered just 54 yards in a win over Boston College - the fewest allowed by the school since 1963.

Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley went conservative in Saturday's game with Towson. The rain started in the first quarter and got harder as time went on, so Hill-Eley decided to play the field-position game - and his plan worked perfectly. Darren McKhan returned a blocked extra point for a two-point conversion and made a crucial fourth-quarter interception, and Morgan's defense came up with several key plays late to help the Bears hang on for a 12-9 victory over Towson at Hughes Stadium.

Their players eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same malls and date women from each other's campuses. But pit Towson against Morgan State in football and get set for a row. The schools square off Saturday for the 22nd time in their intracity rivalry at Morgan's Hughes Stadium at 4 p.m. Both teams are 1-1. Lineups of Tigers and Bears, oh my. Let the battle for North Baltimore begin. "It's easy to get juiced for Morgan," said Dan Bridges, Towson's 290-pound offensive tackle. "It's one of those games that we don't want to lose the most."

Towson's home opener Saturday night gave first-year head coach Rob Ambrose the opportunity to showcase a new era of Tigers football at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Tigers responded before an announced crowd of 7,628 by playing solidly on both sides of the ball and holding off a late rally by Coastal Carolina for a 21-17 victory. Ambrose kept the Chanticleers off balance by alternating Peter Athens and Tommy Chroniger at quarterback, and the two combined for three touchdown passes. "It was a complete and utter adjustment," Ambrose said about using two quarterbacks.

EVANSTON, Ill. - -Northwestern was so dominant in the first quarter Saturday, the Wildcats barely had to flip to Chapter 2 of their playbook. Mike Kafka led three touchdown drives in the quarter and passed for a career-high 192 yards to lead Northwestern to a 47-14 victory over Towson, spoiling Rob Ambrose's debut as Tigers coach. The Wildcats (1-0) scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and then got a safety while building a 30-0 lead and never looked back. Towson simply was no match, which was no surprise.