Kikola has Maryland Connections with N.C. Team

Tony Kikola, a graduate of Kenwood in 2006, headed south to play college lacrosse in North Carolina after attending CCBC Essex. But Kikola has plenty of reminders of his home state at Division II Belmont Abbey College.

The coach for Belmont Abbey is Jim Dietsch, who has strong ties to Maryland. He is a former assistant lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland, coached lacrosse at CCBC Catonsville and worked several years at a school in Bethesda.

In addition to that the Belmont Abbey squad has several players from Maryland, including fellow senior and captain Matt Spivey of Broadneck High near Annapolis. Another senior captain, Mike Pease, played at St. Vincent Pallotti High in Laurel.

The Maryland players got to come home last weekend as they played a game against Seton Hill at CCBC-Dundalk. Kikola was in goal on Sunday as Belmont Abbey lost, 11-10.

"I had some friends there, a cousin, some of my uncles and my parents," Kikola said Tuesday, after the team got back to campus in North Carolina. "There are a lot of Maryland kids that go to school here and play lacrosse."

It was the second game in a row decided by one goal to start the season. Kikola had 14 saves, including a key save late in the game, to help preserve a 10-9 win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 12.

"Hopefully we will win the rest of our games. We want to win the conference championship and go to the Final Four," said Kikola, a sports management major who is on track to graduate in May.

Last year as a junior Kikola played in 13 games with 10 starts and had 109 saves and 101 goals allowed for a team that was 7-6 overall.

As a sophomore he played in 12 games (all starts) and had 120 saves with 97 goals allowed for a team that was 6-6 overall.

Kikola also played football in high school. He played one year at Essex and this is his last season of college eligibility.  Belmont Abbey is in Belmont, N.C.

Anderson has big game for Frostburg

On Senior Night in his last regular-season home game, Brian Anderson (Eastern Tech) of Frostburg State had 18 points, four steals and two rebounds in a 75-71 loss to St. Mary's in men's basketball on Feb. 19. Anderson averaged a team-high 14.1 points per game in the first 25 games, as he made 23 starts.

Baylor sees action for Delaware State

Brandon Baylor (Mt. Carmel), a junior reserve guard for Delaware State's men's basketball team, had two points in five minutes off the bench on Feb. 19 in a loss at Tennessee State in Nashville. Baylor had no points and two rebounds off the bench in an 89-72 loss at Coppin State on Monday. Delaware State, now 9-17, hosts Hampton on Feb. 26 in MEAC play.