Golden Eagles

DAVANTE GARDNER did all he could to get out of coach Buzz Williams' doghouse. Two days after being benched for poor play against Villanova, Gardner scored a career-high 26 points and No. 22 Marquette beat No. 12 Syracuse, 74-71, on Monday night in Milwaukee. "I know I didn't play well against Villanova," said Gardner, who played only 11 minutes in 'Nova's 60-56 win. "I didn't have a good game, so I decided I'd play my best against Syracuse and try to get my team a win. " Gardner made all seven of his shots for the host Golden Eagles, and converted 12 of 13 free throws in 33 minutes to pull Marquette (20-7, 11-4 Big East)

GEORGETOWN COACH John Thompson III was so focused on the details of the game that he claimed not to notice a momentum swing when Marquette counterpart Buzz Williams was called for a technical foul in the second half. But his point guard felt it. "Yeah, absolutely," the No. 15 Hoyas' Markel Starks said. "Absolutely. " The 18th-ranked Golden Eagles were making a run at host Georgetown, having closed a 10-point deficit to three when Williams got T'd up for arguing an out-of-bounds call along the baseline with 12:13 to play.

TWO WEEKS of struggle had begun to raise questions about Louisville's ability to contend in the Big East. And while some concerns remain to be addressed over the second half of their league schedule, the No. 12 Cardinals reclaimed some of their swagger with Sunday's 70-51 rout of No. 25 Marquette in Louisville. Russ Smith scored 18 points, Peyton Siva added 14 and Louisville shot 52 percent to run away from Marquette. The Cardinals' reserves helped out by outscoring the Golden Eagles' by 19-10 - 21 points below Marquette's average coming in. That contribution helped snap Louisville (18-4, 6-3)

Camden Catholic's Kyle Kirk finished in sixth place at Wednesday's cross-country Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park. The senior navigated the 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 56 seconds for an average mile of 5:08. Thomas O'Neill of Middletown North finished in first place with a time of 15:31. Kingsway's Ryan Magnus pulled into 21st place with a time of 16:16. The Dragons also finished in 11th place in the team scoring as they placed four runners inside the top 100. Kyle Evernham and Derrell Manhertz both finished in 17:05.

Even without Andrew Luck, Stanford still has every answer for Matt Barkley and Southern California. Josh Nunes threw a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz, Stepfan Taylor ran for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns, and No. 21 Stanford, playing at home, upset second-ranked USC, 21-14, on Saturday night for its fourth straight win in this series. Heisman Trophy hopeful Matt Barkley threw for 254 yards and two interceptions while completing only 20 of 41 passes. He was sacked twice on the final drive for the Trojans (2-1, 0-1 Pac-12)

Sean Cassel can't bring himself to say that word. Even though his Seneca baseball team returned just one starter and a pitching staff that had logged all of four varsity innings entering the season, Cassel won't concede that this is a rebuilding year. Maybe this attitude explains how in a very short time, Seneca has launched itself into elite South Jersey baseball circles. The first varsity team competed in 2005. By 2007, the Golden Eagles had won the state Group 3 championship.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Marquette has perfected the art of the comeback. Down late yet again, Jae Crowder scored six points during a decisive 14-2 run, and the third-seeded Golden Eagles pulled away from Murray State for a 62-53 victory Saturday that sends the Golden Eagles into next weekend's West Regional semifinals. Crowder finished with 17 points, 12 in the second half, and also had 13 rebounds. Darius Johnson-Odom also had 17 for Marquette (27-7). "When you're playing a team like Murray State, they're going to keep throwing punches and throwing punches, and you have to find a way to slow them down," Johnson-Odom said.

The labels are fitting and accurate: Most successful player in the eight-year history of Seneca girls' basketball. Leader of the best team the program has had. To some, those are badges, worn and flaunted. To Brittany Snow, they're just words. The senior, this year's Inquirer South Jersey Player of the Year in girls' basketball, doesn't dwell on celebrations or pomp or praise. She remembers battling players under the basket and eking out close wins. She remembers her sister Erica's buzzer-beater, from just inside half-court, to beat Lenape.

Michaela Mabrey is a fitting figurehead for her Manasquan girls' basketball team. At 5-foot-9, she's not very tall. She's not especially quick, or even overly intense or physical. But it took all of 20 seconds for Mabrey to show why she's a McDonald's All-American, why she's one of the most highly regarded high school basketball players in the country, and why she was simply too much for the Seneca girls' basketball team to handle in the Golden Eagles' 85-60 loss in Thursday night's state Group 3 semifinals at Williamstown.

Johanna Metzger said she hadn't slept in five days. The anticipation, Metzger said, was four years in the making for her and the four other seniors on the Seneca girls' basketball team. You could almost see the fire in their eyes - particularly Metzger - in the first half. Every rebound was a statement, every steal was emphatic, and every loose ball was jumped on as if it was a bomb that needed diffusing. Pent-up emotion, aggression, and energy overflowed for two quarters.