SU's Jackson back in action

Maurice Jackson, an ex-Marshall star, will play in the Hula Bowl All-Star game on Saturday.

Jeff Budd was an assistant coach with Nazareth's women's basketball team.

By Jim Mandelaro
Democrat and Chronicle

(Wednesday, January 30, 2002) -- Maurice Jackson thought his college career was over following Syracuse University's victory over Kansas State in the insight.com Bowl on Dec. 29.

Instead, the senior receiver from Marshall High will suit up one more time as a member of the North Team in Saturday's Hula Bowl All-Star game in Maui, Hawaii (8 p.m., ESPN).

Jackson was invited despite a modest season that included no postseason Big East honors. He caught 19 passes for 254 yards, a 13.4 average.

Bowl officials could not be reached to comment on Jackson's late selection.

Jackson is the only SU representative and will be teammates with Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch of Nebraska. The North will be coached by Oregon State's Dennis Erickson and the South is coached by Oklahoma's Bob Stoops (with new Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier an assistant).

Past Hula Bowl participants include Heisman winners Tony Dorsett, Jim Plunkett, O.J. Simpson, Billy Sims and Ricky Williams.

Off the mat: There are no juniors or seniors on this year's Brockport women's gymnastics team, and the Golden Eagles' schedule includes only one home meet (held Jan. 19).

No matter. Brockport is ranked fourth among the 18 Division III programs after finishing 0-17 just two years ago.

The Golden Eagles are first in vault and balance beam. Sophomore Carrie Santore (Webster) is ranked fourth nationally in all-around and freshman Jordan Christiano (Hilton) is fifth.

Christiano is second in balance beam, and Santore is third in floor exercise.

Brockport's roster includes six freshmen and eight sophomores.

Morley returns: When St. John Fisher sophomore guard Matt Morley dislocated his right thumb in the JPMorgan Chase Tournament semifinals two weeks ago, it was feared his season was over.

But Morley returned to action last weekend, scoring 13 points each night in wins over Utica and Hartwick.

Morley is averaging 10.5 points and his 52.4 percent shooting from 3-point range leads the Empire 8 Conference. It would rank among the nation's leaders in Division III, but he doesn't have enough attempts (22 of 42).

Holding his own: Roberts Wesleyan senior forward Graham Witherspoon has faced some tough opponents in his basketball career, but none more challenging than in the 1996 Pennsylvania State championship. Witherspoon scored 10 points as his Cathedral Prep team lost by two points to a Lower Merion Prep team led by Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who had 16. Catheral Prep had won the previous two state titles.

Extra points: Former Brockport offensive lineman Josh Warner has signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Bears and will be assigned to NFL Europe. Training camp begins Feb. 9 in Tampa Bay. Warner was signed as a free agent by the New York Giants last summer but was subsequently cut... . Brockport All-American linebacker Jay Johnson flew to Los Angeles on Monday to work out. He was scouted by 22 NFL teams last fall (but strangely, not by the Buffalo Bills).

Former Fairport and MCC star Stacy Schrader recorded the first triple-double in the history of Le Moyne basketball last Saturday.

Schrader finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks (single-game school record) vs. Franklin Pierce. Her 93 blocks lead NCAA Division II and is a Le Moyne single-season record... . The news isn't as good for teammate Jill Hammond (Bloomfield), who has missed the past six games with an abdominal injury. She's averaging 10.2 points... . Senior Megan Sheehan is only the eighth player in Geneseo women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points.

Nazareth celebrates the 25th anniversary of its men's basketball program on Feb. 9. There will be an 11 a.m. alumni game, and the Nazareth men's team hosts Ithaca at 4, with a special halftime presentation to all former Nazareth players and coaches.

The celebration will be capped off with a post-game reception in the Medaille Hall formal lounge. Call (585) 389-2404 for more information.

Five Brockport wrestlers earned All-State honors at the recent New York State Championships: Don Favro, Jim Pennise, Kris Harrington (Caledonia-Mumford), Brian Tatar and Nick Vieni... . RIT wrestler Tony Wallace, fourth in the nation at 184 pounds, is 21-4 and on his way to a third All-America selection.

Brockport fell five spots to 10th in the d3hoops.com basketball poll, and the University of Rochester fell from 20th to 22nd... . Since the start of the 1998 season, the St. John Fisher women's basketball team is 48-3 at home... . Cornell (13-5-1) is 10th in the latest USA Today/American Hockey Mag-azine's college hockey poll. Junior forward Sam Paolini (Spencerport) ranks third on the team with 19 points.

Alfred's Devon Downing broke the school's career scoring mark for basketball with 28 points against Utica Saturday. He has 1,938 points, breaking the previous mark of 1,931 held by Bill Byrne (1979-83).

MCC's four overtime basketball win over Erie CC -- in which 14 players fouled out -- received mention on Paul Harvey's news recap on WHAM-AM (1180) last Friday.