Atlantic City

Tory Cavalieri isn't very big, he doesn't make acrobatic jumps, and he isn't one to showboat. What the cerebral Atlantic City point guard lacks in flash and dash, he makes up for in fundamental play. The 5-foot-11 junior last night helped Atlantic City continue as South Jersey's hottest team while Shawnee remained on an unexpected slide. Cavalieri scored 20 points and added 9 rebounds and 5 assists as the Vikings beat Shawnee, 70-61, in the Battle by the Bay tournament. Atlantic City, ranked No. 6 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, is 17-2 and the winner of 15 in a row. The Vikings not only clinched the top seed in the Group 4 playoffs, but they also will not have to take a bus to any postseason game - the Group 4 finals and state semifinals will be played at the designated neutral court of Atlantic City.

ATLANTIC CITY - The Atlantic City Surf hit three home runs to win, 4-1, and complete a doubleheader sweep of the Camden Riversharks last night at the Sandcastle. The teams were tied for first in the Atlantic League's South Division before the Surf won both games by 4-1. New Britain 5, Trenton 3 NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Garrett Jones and Rob Bowen homered off Thunder starter Javier Ortiz to power the Rock Cats to an Eastern League victory. Columbus 9, Scranton 4 MOOSIC, Pa. - The Clippers rallied twice with two outs, scoring four runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth inning to beat the Red Barons in the International League.

Fire investigators said yesterday that they had not ruled out arson as a possible cause of a fire at an apartment building that left 14 families homeless and three firefighters injured. The three-alarm fire began shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday at a four-story building in the 1500 block of Pacific Avenue between New York Avenue and St. James Place. More than 100 firefighters fought it for more than six hours, bringing it under control just after 2 a.m. yesterday. They remained on the scene for three more hours.

Gene Allen covers a lot of ground during a basketball game. The Atlantic City coach paces in front of the bench for 32 minutes. The Vikings move around a lot, too. They play man-to-man defense over the 94 feet of a full basketball court from the opening tip to the final buzzer. But when it comes to true traveling, Allen and his players are South Jersey's Road Warriors. "I don't know about these guys, but I'm exhausted," Allen said after Atlantic City beat Elizabeth, 53-47, Sunday in the state Group 4 championship game at Rutgers University.

TOMS RIVER, N.J. - Martel Johnson was so sure his three-pointer at the end of regulation was good that he kept his hand up in an exaggerated follow-through. Kashawn Dunston wasn't quite so confident in the pair of three-pointers that he took in overtime. Atlantic City's senior guards looked at the biggest moments of Wednesday night's instant classic against Ewing from different perspectives. But in the end, they both saw the same thing: shots that stabbed the bottom of the net and carried the remarkable Vikings another round deeper into their unique brand of March madness.

Bernard Hopkins will meet Chad Dawson on April 28 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for Hopkins' WBC and Ring Magazine light-heavyweight title. Hopkins and Dawson met in October. The bout originally awarded to Dawson via TKO but was later ruled a no decision by the California State Athletic Commission. The Atlantic City fight will be 12 rounds. "Chad Dawson can say whatever he wants, but I am not going to trash talk this one," Hopkins said today. "Everyone knows what I am capable of in the ring.

The word in New York is that Donald Trump is supporting independent candidate B. Thomas Golisano in next month's gubernatorial election. Not because he is unhappy with Republican Gov. George E. Pataki's record, but because the incumbent wants to allow gambling in the Catskills, which Trump fears would divert visitors from his Atlantic City casinos. But Trump shouldn't worry. Atlantic City does a fine job of that on its own. The truth is South Jersey's gaming mecca could use the competition.

Atlantic City coach Bill Devenny has erased a memory that haunted him for nearly a year. Last night the Vikings picked apart defending Cape-Atlantic League Division I champion Bridgeton, 79-61, to win their 17th boys basketball title in the last 18 years. "You know what I've been thinking about since last February," Devenny said after the win. "I've been torturing myself for not moving Bobby Martin into a different position at the end of our playoff game with Bridgeton. They took advantage of my mistake, scored and beat us to win the championship," he said.

The Atlantic Ten Conference will announce today that its postseason men's basketball tournament is returning to Atlantic City for the next three years, a source said last night. The Jersey Shore resort prevailed among five sites bidding for the tournament. The others were Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Dayton, Ohio; and Springfield, Mass. The tournament has been played for the last three years at Boardwalk Hall. This year's event, held over four days, averaged 4,814 spectators for the six sessions, including a crowd of 6,823 that saw Temple defeat Duquesne for the championship.