Dave Mackall stories, Page 13
Duquesne makes short work of NAIA school Cleary, coached by ex-Dambrot assistant
It wasn’t about the game. It was about the event. The bond between Saturday’s coaching opponents was on display all afternoon at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, where former Duquesne assistant Carl Thomas and his first-year NAIA program at Cleary University were in town to face Thomas’ old boss, Keith Dambrot, and...
Knoch boys basketball team shocks top-ranked Deer Lakes
Moments after his team knocked off the WPIAL’s No. 1 boys basketball team in Class 3A, Knoch coach Alan Bauman rejoiced with his staff. Then, the real celebration took place. When Bauman walked into the Knights’ locker room Friday night at Deer Lakes High School, his players hooted and hollered...
Duquesne lets 2nd-half lead slip away in loss to Santa ClaraVideo
Duquesne was hoping for an early Christmas present Saturday in Las Vegas, but the Dukes were more in a giving mood. Adama Bal and Carlos Marshall Jr. scored 19 points apiece, and Santa Clara rallied in the second half to beat Duquesne, 81-73, at Orleans Arena in suburban Paradise, Nev.,...
Robert Morris men’s basketball fades in 2nd half of loss to Cornell
Long after the last of Friday afternoon’s fans had vacated UPMC Events Center following Robert Morris’ 90-85 loss to Cornell, coach Andy Toole slowly exited the Colonials locker room, head slightly bowed, and walked across the arena floor and out of sight. Merry Christmas, coach. Toole, who’s in the midst...
Burrell wrestlers look sharp in shutout win over Valley
From the moment the Burrell wrestling team set out Wednesday on a short bus ride to Valley until the time they returned home, the Bucs treated the evening like any other. It mattered not that they were heavy favorites. “Just go out and wrestle your match,” said Cooper Hornack, Burrell’s...
Duquesne wins in final second at LeBron James’ high schoolVideo
AKRON, Ohio — Keith Dambrot took Duquesne’s latest victory Monday night with little fanfare, even though it went down to the wire at the house where Dambrot once coached future NBA superstar LeBron James. David Dixon took a long pass from Jimmy Clark III and scored just before the final...
Duquesne big-man transfer Dusan Mahorcic nears debut, plans to ‘dominate’
There’s a new sheriff in town. His name is Dusan Mahorcic. Word is the oft-injured Mahorcic is close to making his Duquesne basketball debut after months of strenuous rehab of his surgically repaired right knee. The Serbian-born Mahorcic, who played just 13 minutes while getting nine points and three rebounds...
Elder Iuzzolino wins family showdown as Robert Morris snaps skid with win over St. Vincent
The postgame hug was brief, but that doesn’t mean the love is gone. This father-son combo enjoys a bond made in hoops heaven. That family tie was on display Sunday at UPMC Events Center as Mike Iuzzolino and the Robert Morris Colonials entertained Mike Iuzzolino and the St. Vincent Bearcats...
Braylon Littlejohn leads Butler to road win at raucous Franklin Regional
These are the moments Braylon Littlejohn dreams of. “Always put the blinders on and just walk in on the game,” said the senior star, who scored 24 points Friday night to lead visiting Butler past Franklin Regional, 63-60, in a WPIAL boys basketball game that lived up to its hype....
Bradyn Foster reaches 1,000 career points as Highlands holds off Shady Side Academy
Bradyn Foster figures to encounter many more pressure situations this basketball season and beyond. The Penn commit and Highlands senior navigated through a tough time during the Class 4A Golden Rams’ 62-58 victory at Class 3A Shady Side Academy on Tuesday night but came away smiling. “The pressure is off...
Pitt volleyball team reaches NCAA Final Four by beating Louisville
In the past six seasons, Dan Fisher’s teams at Pitt have won more women’s volleyball matches than any other Division I school in the country. Trouble is Fisher’s Panthers haven’t won the big prize of an NCAA championship. Perhaps that trend is about to end. For the second time this...
Rivals Pitt, Louisville meet again with berth in NCAA volleyball Final Four on line
This is turning into something special. Two ACC opponents, both quite familiar with each other, will be playing for another chance at a Final Four appearance. Ah, the Pitt-Louisville women’s volleyball series. No, please, call it a rivalry. “They talk about Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and David and Goliath....
Pitt volleyball rolls past Washington State, advances to NCAA Elite Eight for 4th straight season
There were times Thursday when the Pitt women’s volleyball team appeared to be running on automatic pilot while methodically handling Washington State in straight sets 3-0 in the NCAA Sweet 16 at Fitzgerald Field House. Even coach Dan Fisher seemed a bit surprised by the Panthers’ dominance after a tightly...
Slippery Rock can’t get past Kutztown in NCAA Division II regional finals
The final statistics don’t tell the story. No. 15 Slippery Rock ran roughshod over Kutztown, outgaining the Golden Bears, 502-203. Kutztown finished with just 11 first downs, two in the second half, when it held the ball for only about 8 minutes. And it ran zero plays from scrimmage inside...
Greensburg Salem girls rout Ringgold in opening round of tip-off tournament
Rick Klimchock’s love affair with basketball continues. The veteran high school coach began his 27th season on the bench Friday night with another victory, as host Greensburg Salem routed Ringgold, 71-12, in the opening round of the Lady Lions tip-off tournament. Junior Regan Kerr led four Greensburg Salem players in...
Slippery Rock eyes revenge against Kutztown in Division II quarterfinals
Kam Kruzelyak represents the WPIAL football brand. An uncompromising kid from Coraopolis, Kruzelyak was on the radar of Division I schools while at West Allegheny. Turns out, he chose to play in Division II, much like many other former WPIAL players, past and present. This season, he became a star...
Duquesne holds off UC Irving, ending Anteaters’ 6-game winning streak
Duquesne returned home last week from the Cornhusker Classic championship game knowing its 10-point loss to Nebraska was a product of some poor choices in a game it led for much of the way. In spite of it, the Dukes enjoyed three days off during a Thanksgiving holiday stretch, the...
With small, young roster, Southmoreland girls aim to improve, stay competitive
Southmoreland will begin the 2023-24 girls basketball season with “a clean slate.” It’s simply the best description coach Amber Cernuto can surmise. Perhaps, it’s the only one? “We only have 10 players, so we won’t even be having a JV season this year,” she said. “Everybody is going to get...
Ty Keffer hopes to lead Southmoreland boys basketball team on tough road to playoffs
For the Southmoreland boys basketball team, some important business is at hand. Not surprisingly, a return to the postseason tops the list. The process long has been underway. “We’ve got some seasoned guys back, some guys who played a lot of basketball for us last year,” coach Frank Muccino said....
Robert Morris shoots better than 50% from floor to defeat FDU
Robert Morris showed up ready Sunday to face a familiar foe. In a meeting of former longtime Northeast Conference rivals, Josh Corbin scored a career-high 34 points, and the hot-shooting Colonials, playing on a day’s rest, held off Fairleigh Dickinson, 97-86, in the final game of the Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic...
Bench-clearing skirmish leaves both teams short-handed as RMU loses to Jacksonville
Robert Morris and Jacksonville got together Friday ready to play a college basketball game at UPMC Events Center. Neither team figured on coming away with an empty bench. Robert Morris certainly didn’t want to drop its third consecutive game, either. Unfortunately for the Colonials, both came true. Playing the final...
Duquesne runs into foul trouble as bid to knock off Nebraska fizzles
Duquesne gave Nebraska, the only Power Five conference opponent on its schedule, a fight Wednesday night, but the Dukes couldn’t overcome their foul trouble and stumbled to their second loss of the year. Keisei Tominaga scored 23 points, Juwan Gary added 20 and Nebraska rallied from a two-point halftime deficit...
Monessen girls, veteran coach ready to again overcome small-school challenges
Thirty-eight years. That’s how long Janine Vertacnik has been coaching basketball, most of it at the high school level. Thirty-eight years and counting, she said. Will she keep going, say, forever? “We’re working on it, but we’re not there yet,” the sixth-year Monessen girls coach joked. After leading the Greyhounds...
After a good season with a bad ending, expectations remain high for strong Monessen boys roster
How far can Monessen go this year? A fair question in the Mon Valley, where things can get gritty. And the tough-minded Greyhounds, indeed, are a part of it. Pause. There’s the matter of last season’s ending, a sore chapter in Monessen’s storied basketball program. Nevertheless, in this new year...
WCCA all-star volleyball event has successful 2nd year at Ligonier Valley
The traditions at Thanksgiving are endless. The turkey trots, the parades and don’t forget about Charlie Brown. In Westmoreland County, volleyball enthusiasts were hoping the Westmoreland County Coaches Association All-Star Game continued a tradition that started last season and evolved into a second year Tuesday night at Ligonier Valley High...
