PITTSBURGH - A woman arraigned Friday on charges that she falsely accused several St. John's players of rape told police she had agreed to have sex with the men for $1,000, according to an arrest affidavit.
After having sex, the players refused to pay her, so she called police and told them she was raped, police said.
Sherri Ann Urbanek-Bach, 38, of New York was arraigned on charges of prostitution, attempted extortion and filing fictitious reports. Urbanek-Bach, who did not have an attorney at the brief hearing, was freed after posting $20,000 bond.
Urbanek-Bach met the players at a strip club hours after the team lost a game against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, then went back to a hotel, police said.
Doubts about Urbanek-Bach's story were raised after one player gave investigators his cell phone, which he had used to videotape some of the encounter, police said.
Though no criminal charges were filed against the players, St. John's disciplined the men "for violation of team rules and behavior inconsistent with St. John's mission and values."
Grady Reynolds, a senior, was expelled from the Roman Catholic school; leading scorer Elijah Ingram, a sophomore, and senior Abraham Keita were permanently suspended from the team and could be expelled.
Freshman Lamont Hamilton and senior Mohamed Diakite were suspended and freshman Tyler Jones faces discipline that has not been determined, school spokesman Dominic Scianna said.
KNIGHT CONFRONTATION: Texas Tech chancellor David Smith said he was complimenting Bob Knight when the coach came "charging up behind me furious with fists clenched" during a public confrontation at an upscale grocery store.
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal obtained the memo written by Smith and posted it on its Web site Thursday night. The newspaper obtained the memo, written for a file at the school, through an open records request.
The newspaper also obtained a letter athletic director Gerald Myers wrote asking that Knight not be suspended and a draft of a letter Myers wrote to Knight reprimanding him and informing him of a three-day suspension.
Knight was reprimanded Tuesday but not suspended after getting into a verbal spat with Smith on Monday.
BAYLOR SUIT: A judge in Waco, Texas, threw out most of the wrongful death lawsuit filed against Baylor by the father of slain player Patrick Dennehy.
Patrick Dennehy Sr. sought unspecified damages in his lawsuit, which claims his son became the target of "violent threats" because he intended to expose wrongdoing in the program.
Judge Ralph Strother said the university could not have foreseen the slaying of Dennehy, 21, whose body was found in a field near the Waco campus last year. He had been shot. Former teammate Carlton Dotson, 21, was charged with murder and has pleaded innocent.
Six of the lawsuit's seven claims were thrown out, including allegations of wrongful death and gross negligence.
NO.6 LOUISVILLE: Leading scorer Francisco Garcia will see action against UAB today and point guard Taquan Dean might play after both sat out Wednesday's loss to Memphis with injuries, coach Rick Pitino said.
NO.7 MISS. ST.: Coach Rick Stansbury agreed to a new four-year contract that runs through the 2007-08 season. Athletic director Larry Templeton and Stansbury declined to release specifics of the agreement.
Nation
YALE 63, COLUMBIA 58: Host Bulldogs coach James Jones beat Lions coach and younger brother Joe Jones in the first Division I game pitting brothers against each other in more than 40 years. The brothers broke into broad smiles as they hugged and kissed just before tipoff, then embraced after the game.
Late Thursday
NO.8 GONZAGA 93, PEPPERDINE 73: Ronny Turiaf scored 22 and the Bulldogs won their 11th in a row. Blake Stepp added 18 points for Gonzaga (18-2, 8-0 West Coast Conference), 21-0 at home when ranked.
The Waves (9-14, 4-4) have lost nine of the past 10 meetings between the teams.
Women
USF 66, UC 64 (OT): Jessica Dickson scored four of her 27 in overtime, including the winning fastbreak layup with three seconds left, and the Bulls scored the final six to win their second straight overtime game.
South Florida (10-12, 3-6 C-USA) beat the Bearcats (10-12, 1-7) for the second time in 11 games and first in five games in Cincinnati. The Bulls were coming off an 89-84 double-overtime win over No.18 TCU on Monday.
NO.18 TCU 76, TULANE 44: Sandora Irvin had 13 points and 17 rebounds as the host Horned Frogs bounced back from Monday's loss.
