Towson

No. 7 Old Dominion (5-1, 2-1 CAA) at No. 18 Towson (3-3, 2-1 CAA) Time: 7 p.m. Site: Johnny Unitas Stadium, Towson, Md. Radio: www.TowsonTigers.com Series: Towson leads 1-0 What's at stake: Towson scrapped out a 24-19 win over Maine last weekend to get back to .500 and 2-1 in conference play. Now sitting in the middle of the pack in the CAA standings, a win at home - where they have won three straight - puts them right back in a contending spot for the championship.

To many lacrosse observers, Towson is in the midst of a surprising revival, winning seven of 11 games and sitting in a tie with No. 11 Penn State for third place in the Colonial Athletic Association with identical 2-1 records. But one gnawing issue for the Tigers is a series of lackluster showing in third quarters. In seven contests thus far, the team has been outscored in the aforementioned periods, and four of those games have ended in losses, including Saturday's 14-3 thumping at the hands of No. 3 Massachusetts.

Four years and $11 million later, Stephens Hall, the distinctive building that defines Towson State University, is open again for academic business. This majestic, 91,000-square-foot structure, complete with clock tower and an ornate, English manor architectural style, sits majestically on a hill overlooking York Road. For countless motorists and alumni, Stephens Hall is Towson State.But the 1915 edifice was sadly in need of repair and modernization. An entire class of TSU students never set foot in the massive hall during their undergraduate years.

If you've done any driving in central Towson during the past year or two, you can't have missed the construction of Towson Commons, the huge retail-movie-office complex that looms over the intersection of York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue.The complex is set to open this month. Local observers, not to mention the property's owners, are anxious to see what kind of draw, if any, Towson Commons will become -- especially with a major competitor, the revitalized Towsontown Center, just a Gucci bag's throw to the north.

A 25-year-old Baltimore man who held up a Towson liquor store and threatened to kill one of its clerks was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Thursday for armed robbery, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office. Aaron Davis and a co-conspirator emptied two cash registers at York Liquors in Towson on Jan. 19, 2010, according to his plea agreement. Davis put a gun to the back of a clerk's head during the robbery. He was captured on a surveillance video. His accomplice, Edward Sample, pleaded guilty in January to armed robbery and is scheduled for sentencing May 5. tricia.bishop@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Here is the second installment of a series that checks in with the seven Division I programs in the state to give a glimpse into the past and the future. Teams are scheduled to appear according to the chronological order in which their seasons ended. Monday's visit was with Navy . Tuesday's visit is with Towson. REVIEW The good: After wrapping up 2011 with a 3-10 overall record and a 1-5 Colonial Athletic Association mark that got former coach Tony Seaman dismissed, the team went 7-8 overall and 2-4 in the conference, finishing in fourth place and qualifying for the league tournament.

History was denied Wednesday night. The Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team snuffed out No. 19 Towson's attempt to keep the host Blue Jays out of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 39 years by crushing the Tigers, 13-6, at Homewood Field in Baltimore. A Towson victory would have guaranteed Johns Hopkins a sub-.500 finish, which would have automatically made the team ineligible for consideration for the NCAA tournament -- a feat that hasn't happened since 1971, the first year of the tournament.

Traffic engineers of the State Highway Administration would not have given the go-ahead to a traffic roundabout for the crossroads of Towson if they did not have faith in detailed assessments of the proposal made by themselves as well as by a private consultant.Still, some Towsonites have become overheated in demanding that the state conduct an actual dry run of the project.The criticism is aimed not so much at the roundabout concept itself, which has proved popular among Maryland highway officials after the success of the traffic circle built by the state two years ago in the western Howard County town of Lisbon.

Coach: Gordy Combs (eighth season)Last year: 5-6Conference: Patriot LeagueRadio: WTMD (89.7 FM)Stadium: Minnegan (5,000)Offense: Pro IDefense: 4-3Top returning players: RB Jason Corle, WR Adam Overbey, C John Tierney, KR Dennis Cliggett, DB Jabari Garrett, LB Aaron Sakevich, DE Andrew Hollingsworth.Top newcomers: DB Madieu Williams, OG Jason Gunning, OT Geoff Waugh.Strengths: The offensive line improved as last season progressed, cresting with a fine performance in the Dayton game in which Towson scored 42 second-half points.

Navy (2-3) leads this series, winning six of 10 meetings. But since renewing the in-state rivalry for the first time since 1997, the two sides have split the last two contests. The Tigers (2-2) have been a much tougher out at home, going 4-1 with the lone loss occurring April 17, 1993. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson on Tuesday night. 1) Tigers' hibernation. By the time Towson takes the field for the 7:30 faceoff, 10 days will have elapsed since the team's last contest - a 10-8 victory over Mount St. Mary's on March 3. Rust is a concern, according to coach Shawn Nadelen.