Kent State

Brittany Lewis scored 14 points to lead Temple in a 68-33 rout of Kent State in women's basketball action last night at the Liacouras Center. Kristen McCarthy and Shey Peddy added 13 points apiece in a game Temple (4-5) never trailed as it took a 32-12 lead in the firsthalf, despite shooting 3-of-19 from the arc and just 41 percent from the field. Itziar Llobet was the only player in double figures for Kent State (1-6), finishing with 13 points. Diamon Beckford added nine.

La'Kia Stewart, a forward on Central High's Public League girls' basketball championship team this season, said she found an up-tempo pace to match her game in Kent State. She signed last week to play at the Ohio school. The 5-foot-9 senior averaged 16.4 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for the Lancers this season. She finished her high school career with 1,255 points - the third-most ever, boys or girls, at Central. Stewart said she also considered Coppin State and La Salle.

While much of the American journalistic world was earnestly bending over backward, pretending that Richard M. Nixon was something other than an amoral crook, an anniversary came. On Wednesday, it was 24 years since Nixon, aided and abetted by Gov. James Rhodes, the Butcher of Kent State, saw the results of his insane Vietnam policy result in casualties on the grass lawns of Kent, Ohio. On Wednesday, Rhodes and Spiro Agnew, the only convicted felon ever to serve as vice president of the United States, were still alive.

Two teams with an eye on a bowl will provide Temple's regular-season finale Friday at noon against Kent State with a playoff atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field. Temple (7-4) is bowl eligible, while Kent State (5-6) still needs a sixth win to become bowl eligible. While the winner isn't guaranteed a bowl berth, the loser is likely to stay home. That is definitely the situation in Kent State's case, which adds even more to the homecoming of Golden Flashes first-year head coach Darrell Hazell, a graduate of Cinnaminson High.

One can sense the awe in Michael Fay's voice as he talks about Penn State and Beaver Stadium and the hope as he recounts the story of waiting a few years ago for someone on the Nittany Lions' coaching staff to make a recruiting call to him. The call never came, and the 6-foot-4, 294-pound junior from Allentown will line up at left guard for Kent State when it plays the Lions on Saturday. Still, Fay holds no grudge and eagerly awaits the opportunity to step on the green grass before more than 100,000 spectators.

Almost two weeks after suffering a tough defeat at home to Temple in the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament title game, the St. Joseph's women's basketball team returned to Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse last night and used the alternative method of keeping the season alive. Coach Cindy Griffin's team gained solid control over Kent State early in the second half and went on to beat the Golden Flashes, 61-51, in a Women's National Invitation Tournament first-round game. Senior Erin Brady led the Hawks (21-10)

With talented sophomore halfbacks Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown plus a big, strong offensive line, Temple has been getting the job done with its running game this season. But on Saturday, the Owls will visit Kent State, which ranks first in the country in rushing defense at 65.9 yards per game. Temple (7-2, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) is tied with Ohio and Miami of Ohio for first place in the MAC's East Division. Kent State (4-4 overall) is right behind the leaders with a 3-2 MAC record.

Fran Oldynski answered his telephone that early May day back in 1970 and heard the voice of his brother. He also heard another sound - the roar of helicopter blades. Something was not right. "My brother was a graduate student at Kent State," Oldynski said this week. "He was studying history - and that week he began to realize he was watching history in the making. " Oldynski, a member of the Abington Monthly Meeting, is one of the driving forces behind a week of programs titled "Kent State Remembered.

Drexel combined a decent shooting percentage with its usual brand of tough defense Friday night in an ESPN BracketBusters game against Kent State at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The result was a 73-66 victory for the Dragons, who had turned in a season-low performance from the field in their previous outing. Drexel, which was shooting 41 percent for the season, made 26 of its 59 shots and put five players in double figures. "We're going to play defense well enough to win; we just have to make shots and make baskets," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said.

Drexel will host Kent State in an ESPN BracketBusters game on Friday, Feb. 18, at 9 p.m. in the Daskalakis Athletic Center. ESPNU will televise the game. After winning at Hofstra on Saturday, the Dragons are 14-7 this season, 6-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Dartaye Ruffin scored 15 points and had 14 rebounds in the win. The freshman was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season. Kent State (14-7, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) has won five of its last six games; it has a victory this season over South Florida, and its losses include a three-point decision to Florida.

TEMPLE WILL OPEN its football season in the Mayor's Cup against Villanova on Saturday, Sept. 1, at Lincoln Financial Field. Three other Temple games have confirmed dates. The Owls will host Maryland on Sept. 8, visit Penn State on Sept. 22, and visit Army on Nov. 17. The Owls will play Akron, Massachusetts, Ohio and Eastern Michigan at home and will play at Buffalo, Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan. The Mid-American Conference also announced its division realignment yesterday as UMass joins the conference for football only.

The Mid-American Conference announced a new divisional alignment for football beginning in 2012. Massachusetts joins the conference, bringing the number of football schools to 14. UMass will compete in the East Division, while Bowling Green will move to the West. This alignment is for football only. UMass won't be eligible for the conference football championship or a bowl game until the 2013 football season. East Division: Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Massachusetts, Miami (Ohio)

Desmon Peoples has gained the most acclaim for being a highly explosive, strike-from-anywhere type of tailback. But the 5-foot-7, 170-pounder, with his quickness and willingness to lay his body on the line, also made key contributions for Archbishop Wood as a strong safety. "He's a great tackler, and he has a mean streak in him," Vikings coach Steve Devlin said. Peoples was the complete package in Wood's drive to the program's first PIAA Class AAA state championship. In the final against Harrisburg's Bishop McDevitt, the senior ignited a 52-0 romp with 151 rushing yards, including a 54-yard scoring burst and a 1-yard touchdown dive, and a pair of interceptions.

IN CASE you didn't do well in geography, Albuquerque, N.M., is a little more than 5,000 feet above sea level. How that might impact a football player during a game, Temple coach Steve Addazio has no clue. Addazio's Owls will play Wyoming there on Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl. "What's going to happen?" Addazio said yesterday. "I'm going to get off the plane and start gasping for air. I'm not sure. But I don't worry about it. I can't change it. "You buckle your chinstraps up, come off the ball and rock and roll . . . "They'll get to experience a whole different venue.

Brittany Lewis scored 14 points to lead Temple in a 68-33 rout of Kent State in women's basketball action last night at the Liacouras Center. Kristen McCarthy and Shey Peddy added 13 points apiece in a game Temple (4-5) never trailed as it took a 32-12 lead in the firsthalf, despite shooting 3-of-19 from the arc and just 41 percent from the field. Itziar Llobet was the only player in double figures for Kent State (1-6), finishing with 13 points. Diamon Beckford added nine.

Chris Coyer expects to play if Temple gets invited to a bowl game. "I think I will be fine," the Owls quarterback said. "I should be just fine. " Coyer sprained his left shoulder on Temple's first offensive series in Friday's 34-16 victory over Kent State at Lincoln Financial Field. The redshirt sophomore could miss one to two weeks. The bowl season starts Dec. 17, with bowl bids announced on Dec. 4. Coyer suffered the injury on a 16-yard gain. "I fell and landed funny, heard a little pop, and came off to the sideline and knew something wasn't right," said Coyer, who doesn't have any structural damage.

Temple fans may want to set aside some vacation days for a bowl game. The Owls' 34-16 win over Kent State on Friday boosted their chances for a second bowl appearance in three seasons. "From what we hear, we are in a bowl game," said Temple safety Kevin Kroboth, whose squad will learn its bowl fate on Dec. 4. "I really hope so. Obviously, as a senior, you want to play one last game with all these guys. We will wait and see. "But we are getting prepared like we are going to be in a bowl game.

This is an important football game that Temple's involved in Friday. So what else is new? The Owls need to win the Mid-American Conference East Division contest to increase their chances for a bowl appearance. Kent State has the same goal, with the added incentive of gaining its first bowl bid since 1972. "With this game coming up being senior day, we are going to approach it like it is a playoff game," said Temple cornerback Kee-ayre Griffin, one of 19 seniors playing in their final regular-season game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Two teams with an eye on a bowl will provide Temple's regular-season finale Friday at noon against Kent State with a playoff atmosphere at Lincoln Financial Field. Temple (7-4) is bowl eligible, while Kent State (5-6) still needs a sixth win to become bowl eligible. While the winner isn't guaranteed a bowl berth, the loser is likely to stay home. That is definitely the situation in Kent State's case, which adds even more to the homecoming of Golden Flashes first-year head coach Darrell Hazell, a graduate of Cinnaminson High.