Delaware State

Friends' Central standout Amile Jefferson is, finally, set to announce where he will play his college basketball. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound senior will make a commitment at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Wynnewood school. Wednesday marks the end of the spring signing period. "The process has been long and tough, for sure," Jefferson said. "But it's time for me to make a decision. I have to do it. " While North Carolina State and Duke are believed to be the finalists for his services, the two-time Inquirer Southeastern Pennsylvania player of the year said Kentucky, Ohio State, and Villanova were still in the mix. "I'm still looking at all the schools on my list," he said.

Taquan Dean scored 21 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures as the Cardinals beat visiting Delaware State, 72-54, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament last night. Brandon Jenkins scored 13 points and Terrance Farley added a career-high 12 points for the Cardinals (19-12). Tracey Worley led Delaware State (21-14) with 18 points. In other games: At Florida State, Alexander Johnson made two baskets in the final minute to lift the Seminoles (20-9)

NEWARK, Del. - Delaware scored five first-half touchdowns and routed Delaware State, 45-0, on Saturday. The Blue Hens (2-1) racked up 512 yards while holding the Hornets (2-1) to four first downs and minus-3 yards rushing. Andrew Pierce (Cumberland Regional) pounded the Delaware State defense, rushing for 106 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns to help Delaware pull away. Delaware State's offense struggled, as Nick Elko managed only 115 yards passing and was sacked four times.

Reserve forward Gavin Edwards scored 17 points to lead a balanced offense, and No. 2 Connecticut beat Delaware State, 79-49, in Storrs, Conn., last night. Jerome Dyson had 15 points for the Huskies (7-0), while Hasheem Thabeet added 10 points and tied his career high with 17 rebounds. Jeff Adrien had 12 points. Donald Johnson led Delaware State (1-9) with 25 points, including 16 in the first half, when his teammates had just two. UConn led by 44-18 going into the break after holding the Hornets to 23 percent shooting from the floor.

Sometimes all it takes is a phone call. Followed by confirmation that what the caller is saying is true. Shaquille Shannon, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior point guard at Communications Tech, will play his college basketball at Delaware State. He can mostly thank CT assistant Lamont Washington. "Actually, I was kind of upset about the lack of attention I was getting," Shannon said. "I thought I should have been set for college way before now. It was looking like I was going to have to go to a juco or prep school.

Six South Jersey athletes are starting for Delaware State's 2-0 football team. Another 16 area athletes are contributing to other college teams. Delaware State's leading performer is Brian Randall, a senior defensive back out of Kingsway High. Last season, he was selected as a third-team Division I-AA all-American by the Associated Press as a return specialist. In the Hornets' first two games, Randall returned a total of three punts for 37 yards, an average of 12.3 yards a return.

The La Salle Explorers revealed some of their potential last week in Cancun, Mexico, handing Providence its first loss and staying with nationally ranked Missouri until running out of gas midway through the second half. They faced a test of another sort Monday night against Delaware State at Tom Gola Arena - a test of nerves. And until fifth-year senior Ruben Guillandeaux drained a three-point jumper with 1 minute, 5 seconds left, it appeared the Explorers (5-2) might confirm coach John Giannini's worst fear - that coach Greg Jackson's well-drilled Hornets (2-2)

Defensive back Akeem Green scooped up a fumble in his own end zone and returned it the length of the field for a fourth-quarter score that lifted Delaware State (6-1) over Morgan State (4-4), 25-17, in Dover, Del. Green's run, estimated at 107 yards, came when the Bears' Courtney Anderson lost the football as he tried to leap into the end zone for a touchdown that would have built upon Morgan State's 17-16 lead. Peter Gaertner later added a field goal of 43 yards, his fourth of the afternoon, to secure the Hornets' win. Green, of Philadelphia's Bok Tech, had returned an interception 86 yards last week.

  Seth Curry scored a season-high 22 points, Austin Rivers added 20 and No. 7 Duke routed Western Michigan, 110-70, on Friday night in Durham, N.C. Quinn Cook had 16 points and Josh Hairston finished with 13, helping the Blue Devils (11-1) win their fourth straight. They shot 54 percent, held a 50-28 rebounding advantage and used a huge early run and a knack for getting to the free-throw line to take a 30-point lead in the first half. Matt Stainbrook had 18 points to lead the Broncos (5-8)

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A'dia Mathies scored 23 points, and freshman Bria Goss added 18 as No. 10 Kentucky beat No. 6 Duke, 72-65, on Thursday night in front of the largest home crowd for a women's game in Wildcats history. Freshman Azia Bishop added 12 points as Kentucky (9-0) shook off a slow start with a second-half rally in front of 14,508 fans at Rupp Arena. Elizabeth Williams scored 17 for Duke (6-2), but the Blue Devils couldn't counter Kentucky after falling behind by 10 with just under five minutes to play.

Philadelphia.......... 31.1% Montgomery......... 30.5% Delaware.............. 14.4% Bucks...................... 9.8% Chester................... 8.4% Delaware state....... 3.1% New Jersey............. 2.6%

NEWARK, Del. - Delaware scored five first-half touchdowns and routed Delaware State, 45-0, on Saturday. The Blue Hens (2-1) racked up 512 yards while holding the Hornets (2-1) to four first downs and minus-3 yards rushing. Andrew Pierce (Cumberland Regional) pounded the Delaware State defense, rushing for 106 yards on 15 carries and three touchdowns to help Delaware pull away. Delaware State's offense struggled, as Nick Elko managed only 115 yards passing and was sacked four times.

MOST KIDS who skip college classes are sleeping off a hangover or shirking a dreaded assignment. Freshman Erik Simmons was in a coma. Still, the Germantown teen got a $3,966 bill from Delaware State University for the portion of the spring semester he didn't complete. Simmons recovered after a 10-week stint in the hospital and then a rehabilitation center, but university staffers told his mother he couldn't re-enroll this fall until the outstanding bill was paid. After the Daily News chronicled Simmons' plight Saturday, Erika Simmons got a much-welcomed telephone call yesterday: The school has forgiven the bill.

Donna McQuillan Luongo, 52, of Ridley Park, a former radio sports reporter in the Philadelphia region, died Sunday, July 10, at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park of complications from a blood clot to the heart. Born in Upland, Mrs. Luongo was a 1976 graduate of Ridley High School and attended Temple University. She began her career as a desk assistant at KYW-AM (1060) in 1976 after she won the station's news study award, said her husband, Michael. From 1977 through 1979, he said, Mrs. Luongo was a sports reporter at WRTI-FM (90.1)

THE TOUCHDOWNS occurred on opposite sides of the ball and could not have featured much more of a contrast. For one thing, the second covered 88 more yards than the first. For another, it involved all kinds of running after the first offered nothing but high-quality soaring/snatching. Say hello to Daquan Cooper, now of George Washington High and soon to do his football thing at Temple. As for what side of the ball will be honored by the presence of the 5-10, 165-pound Cooper . . . the jury's still out and that makes damn good sense.

Kyle Singler scored 24 points to help No. 1 Duke beat Elon (4-7) by 98-72 in Durham, N.C., on Monday night, moving coach Mike Krzyzewski into a tie for second place on the all-time wins list. The Blue Devils (11-0) gave their Hall of Fame coach his 879th win in 36 seasons at Duke and Army. Krzyzewski is tied with Dean Smith, who spent 36 seasons at rival North Carolina before retiring in 1997 as the winningest coach in Division I history. Krzyzewski can pass Smith by beating North Carolina-Greensboro on Dec. 29. That would leave only retired Bobby Knight ahead of him, with 902. Elsewhere: Freshman Keith McDougald scored a career-high 18 points, including four free throws late in overtime, and Delwan Graham added two critical buckets to lead visiting Jacksonville to a 71-68 upset of No. 20 Florida.

THIS WAS a test of nerves. When you are heavily favored and you are home and your opponent has played a near-perfect game for 33 minutes, you have two choices: Give in to the moment and congratulate the other team or play defense as if any point you allow might cost you the game. La Salle chose the latter last night at Gola Arena, and Delaware State, so good for so long, did not score a single point in the game's final 7 1/2 minutes. The Explorers had the lead for exactly 65 seconds.