Warriors

All season for the No. 1 Lake Clifton boys basketball team, it has never been a question of whether somebody could step up at an important moment. It's more like who will step up this time for the Lakers. Playing in front of a packed gym at No. 4 Walbrook yesterday, nearly everybody took a turn as the Lakers found positive answers at all the right times and coasted to an 88-61 win over the Warriors (18-3) to improve to 20-0 with two regular-season games remaining. Junior forward Will Barton led the way with 24 points, senior center Melvin Cleveland had 20, senior guard Jason Sharp provided 18 and junior guard Antonio Barton supplied 15 in a balanced performance.

Girls Miriam McKenzie Oakland Mills, basketball The 5-foot-8 senior guard averaged 29 points and 14 rebounds and had a triple double in leading the Scorpions (5-0) to three victories. McKenzie had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 59-36 win over Long Reach. She added 38 points and 18 rebounds against Reservoir and 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight steals against Marriotts Ridge. A second-team All-Metro selection a year ago, McKenzie averages 28 points and 13 rebounds this season.

With its first ranking in six seasons, No. 19-ranked Walbrook looked at a victory over No. 9 Western yesterday as an opportunity to rekindle their rivalry.Not quite yet.The visiting Doves continued their mastery of the Warriors with a 58-48 victory in a Baltimore non-league matchup that could be a prelude to the city championship in a couple of weeks.Western, which trailed by two points at halftime, pulled away from the Warriors in the third quarter, using a 16-1 run to build what proved to be an insurmountable 13-point advantage.

BasketballBucks: Waived C Kipp Christianson, F Mike Higgins and F Donald Royal.Clippers: Waived C Mark Blount, F Juaquin Hawkins and G Chris Smith.Warriors: Named Bob Reinhart scout.HockeyCanucks: Assigned G Allan Hitchen to ECHL Charlotte.Pub Date: 2/01/99

For Woodlawn coach Bobby Richardson, the challenge in last night's finale of the Woodlawn Warriors Classic Mixer was finding a way to stop Gwynn Park's Sharrod Ford, one of the top big men on the East Coast.After getting beaten time and again by the 6-foot-9 senior, Woodlawn finally found a way to win that battle. Ultimately, however, it was the play of Gwynn Park's guards that helped the Yellow Jackets win.Trailing by six with three minutes left, the Prince George's power rallied with two crucial baskets by Dervin Diggs, including a three-pointer, and a free throw by Charles Ford with one second left, sending the previously-unbeaten No. 13 Warriors to a 60-59 loss.

Woodlawn coach Bobby Richardson hoped a tough nonleague December schedule would prepare his team for the postseason.The Warriors reaped some of the benefits of that early hard work yesterday, rallying past host and No. 13 Catonsville, 46-45, for the Baltimore County championship.In capturing its second county title in three seasons, Woodlawn (15-8) ended the Comets' 15-game winning streak, avenging a 65-54 loss at Catonsville four days ago.The Warriors, who played Southern-Baltimore and Prince George's County powers Crossland and Suitland in December, won for the 12th time in 14 games after a 3-6 start.

Latia Few scored 28 points to lead No. 9-ranked Western to its third straight Baltimore City championship yesterday, but as usual, many others made key contributions.Five Doves scored in double figures as Western took a 14-point first-quarter lead and rolled past host Walbrook, 88-64. Joy Gorham added 19 points, Crystal Falline 12, and Lillian Drumgold and Stephanie Tolbert 10 each."That's the way we are," said Doves coach Artie Uhlich. "Somebody may kind of luck out and score 28 points, but we don't look for that.

Harford CountyAberdeen Eagles (11-3)Coach: Eugene BlizzardOutlook: The once-dominant Eagles are in position to regain their hold on the Harford County League. Blizzard has to replace only four weight classes, and the Eagles are toughest from 152 and up, particularly with junior Shane Farmer (171), who placed second in the region and qualified for the state tournament last season. Scott Blevins (103) is a four-year performer and Randall Overstreet (130) and Tom Guerrera (135) finished first and second, respectively, at the county tournament last season.

Jerome Owens of No. 8 Eastern Tech rushed for 125 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns yesterday. It almost wasn't enough.The defense of the visiting Mavericks (2-0) had to withstand intense fourth-quarter pressure by Woodlawn quarterback Vincent Fuller to survive with a hard-fought 19-12 win.Fuller completed 14 of 29 passes for 103 yards, and rushed for 42 more yards to lead the Warriors (0-2).The game was the conclusion of Thursday's game, which was stopped due to lightning with 47 seconds left in the first half.

Jared Woodley led all scorers with 26 points and teammate Delbert Randall contributed 18 points as sixth-ranked Calvert Hall downed favored Santa Rita (Ariz.), 59-53, in a Delaware Challenge Cup game of yesterday's Slam Dunk To The Beach Tournament in Lewes, Del.The Cardinals (7-4) shot 15-for-19 from the free-throw line to vanquish a team that went 29-3 last season and won its sixth Arizona state title.The 10th annual, 54-team event began Sunday and ends Thursday at Cape Henlopen High School's 3,500-seat gymnasium.

Colleges Obama, Heels meet again, this time to celebrate A pickup game of basketball last spring brought good luck to the University of North Carolina's basketball team and to Barack Obama, the president said Monday as he welcomed the national champions to the White House. North Carolina won the title this year. And Obama, who scrimmaged with the players during a campaign visit to Chapel Hill, won the state's Democratic primary and then carried North Carolina in November as he captured the presidency.

McDonogh's No. 1 girls lacrosse team ran out to a seven-goal lead Wednesday and held off No. 2 Notre Dame Prep's second-half rally by stalling away most of the final 14 minutes to take a 10-6 victory and remain unbeaten in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference. The host Eagles, who dealt NDP its first loss of the season, scored on their first four shots and Molly Fernandez scored three times as they took an 8-1 halftime lead. McDonogh outshot NDP only 15-11 in the half, but the Blazers struggled to find the open spots against Eagles goalie Meg Fiorito, who made eight of her 12 saves in the half.

5 No-hitters thrown by area softball pitchers Friday: Hammond's Stephanie Speierman, Glenelg's Casey Schmidt, Lansdowne's Maude McCourry, St. Vincent Pallotti's Karlyn Burke and Perry Hall's Justine DiGregorio. 20 Goals scored by Walbrook's Jamar Peete in the first four boys lacrosse games - half the total goals for the Warriors (4-0). 24 Consecutive wins for John Carroll's girls lacrosse team before Notre Dame Prep ended that streak last Thursday.

COLLEGE PARK - Walbrook certainly played like warriors last night. It was almost enough - but not quite. The No. 5 Warriors (22-4) took undefeated and defending state champion Springbrook of Montgomery County (26-0) into double overtime before falling, 74-69, in the Class 4A state semifinals at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center. Jamal Olasewere led the Blue Devils with 28 points before fouling out in the second overtime. Denzel Walker led the Warriors with 22 points, and Donte Stuckey had 19. "When kids put on a Walbrook jersey, they have the desire and drive to be successful," Warriors coach Kelvin Bridges said.

All season for the No. 1 Lake Clifton boys basketball team, it has never been a question of whether somebody could step up at an important moment. It's more like who will step up this time for the Lakers. Playing in front of a packed gym at No. 4 Walbrook yesterday, nearly everybody took a turn as the Lakers found positive answers at all the right times and coasted to an 88-61 win over the Warriors (18-3) to improve to 20-0 with two regular-season games remaining. Junior forward Will Barton led the way with 24 points, senior center Melvin Cleveland had 20, senior guard Jason Sharp provided 18 and junior guard Antonio Barton supplied 15 in a balanced performance.

Walbrook standout forward Roscoe Smith turned the third quarter of yesterday's game at Edmondson into his own showcase and his teammates provided quality support in the fourth to lead the No. 4 Warriors to a 63-48 win over the No. 9 Red Storm. Smith scored 13 of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter - hitting three three-pointers and putting down two dunks - to help turn a 22-22 game at the half into a 42-35 advantage going into the final eight minutes. After the Red Storm responded with a 9-2 run to open the last quarter - a four-point play followed by a three-pointer from Rodney Patcher tying the score at 44 - Donte Stuckey and Denzell Walker picked up the slack to help the Warriors pull away.

Jamal Crawford's first game with Golden State was a humiliating loss at Washington eight weeks ago. But the cloud over the Warriors finally seems to be lifting with ample help from Crawford. He had 28 points and eight assists, and Stephen Jackson added 26 points in the Warriors' third win in four home games, a 119-98 victory over the Wizards yesterday. Corey Maggette scored 16 points for the Warriors (13-29), who had won three of four just once previously in their disappointing season.

Last night before the tip-off with rival Milford Mill, visiting Woodlawn showed the Millers where it had been. On the court, the Millers showed Woodlawn where they hoped to head. Joshua Glascoe scored 22 points to lead No. 8 Milford Mill to a 68-60 win in an important Baltimore County league game. Tevin Mackey led Woodlawn with 19 points. Just before the game started, the players for No. 9 Woodlawn (6-4, 3-1 league) revealed under their warm-ups T-shirts that said, "Woodlawn Warriors, County Champions" - referring to last season's title.

Milford Mill senior guard Xavier Drake talked about the intensity and focus his team showed early against City in the nightcap of last night's IAABO 290 Holiday Mixer at Northwestern. His next thought was about the No. 12 Millers' need to stay on opponents over the course of an entire game. Finally, the team captain got to his three-pointer with six seconds left that gave the Millers (6-3) a 46-43 upset win over No. 6 City (4-3). "That's basic. That's all we do in practice - penetrate and kick it out," he said.

When Walbrook senior guard Marcus Betts fiercely challenged Digital Harbor's big men inside in the game's final minute yesterday - converting a pivotal three-point play - the visiting Warriors answered the Rams' final threat to wrap up a complete team effort. The No. 4 Warriors had different players step up on offense, and with a collective effort on defense they came away with a 54-43 win at No. 5 Digital Harbor. In a game in which All-Metro junior forward Roscoe Smith scored 13 points, well below his 20-plus average, the Warriors received 15 points from senior guard Donte Stuckey, nine points and nine assists from junior guard Denzell Walker, and other contributions like the one Betts (five points)