Dave Mackall stories, Page 29
Duquesne men lose 2nd consecutive after early-season run
CLEVELAND — All this traveling appears to be taking its toll on the Duquesne men’s basketball team. The Dukes seemed lifeless Sunday in an 83-61 loss to Marshall in the second game of a doubleheader in the Cleveland Classic at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Duquesne dropped its second consecutive decision to...
Belle Vernon girls top Greensburg Salem in Mt. Pleasant tournament
Belle Vernon’s stable of young girls basketball players keep performing at a high level this winter, providing some hope for another successful season. A trio of freshmen, led by Viva Kreis’ 16 points, scored in double figures Saturday to lead the Leopards to a 50-31 victory over Greensburg Salem at...
Connection between Keith Dambrot, Ron Everhart runs deeper than success at Duquesne
For a brief time this month, Duquesne basketball enjoyed a moment of national attention by receiving a vote to the Associated Press Top 25. It brought back shades of former coach Ron Everhart’s teams that flirted with relevance early in this now-expiring decade. But, really, there has been little to...
Pitt gets defensive, breezes past Binghamton
With the Christmas break on the horizon, Pitt enjoyed a bit of a breather Friday night while taking advantage of another opportunity to sharpen its skills ahead of an ACC schedule that doesn’t offer many breaks. Pitt coach Jeff Capel saw some things to like in a 79-53 rout of...
Hempfield wrestlers hold off upset-minded Latrobe
Top-ranked Hempfield came out on top again in a WPIAL Class AAA dual meet, beating Latrobe on Wednesday night, but Spartans coach Tom Dolde wasn’t in a much of a mood to talk about the success. Meanwhile, Latrobe coach Mike Ciotti was on a bit of a high, despite the...
Duquesne transfer Baylee Steele finds perfect landing spot
When Baylee Steele was contemplating the destination of his third Division I school and fourth college overall, plenty of big-time options were available. There was interest from Arizona, Boise State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech … and Duquesne. That’s right. Steele, a 6-foot-11, 245-pounder with the ability to make...
Josh Williams leads Robert Morris past Central Michigan
Josh Williams is a graduate of Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary, the same high school that produced LeBron James. Williams played Tuesday night like he wanted to impress the NBA superstar, scoring 24 points and leading Robert Morris to a marquee victory at UPMC Events Center, an 83-79 decision against...
Duquesne men’s basketball team stays unbeaten, trounces Radford
AKRON, Ohio — There are no stars, though these guys are proving to be really good. They play alongside each other and for each other, this collection of no-names, and it’s paying off in the early going. The Duquesne Dukes still are undefeated. Marcus Weathers scored 19 points with 13...
Yough boys basketball ready for heavy lifting
Inside a weight room at Yough, music blares while players lift and exercise, some methodically traversing from station to station. Jim Nesser, the gravelly voiced boys basketball coach and a familiar face at Yough as a longtime faculty staff member with a PIAA championship at Jeannette to his credit, stands...
Yough girls ‘pointing in the right direction’
It might not seem like much, but three victories last season was a big deal for the Yough girls basketball team. The number represented three more successful outings than a winless team in the previous year. The idea now for the Cougars is to take another step forward. “I feel...
Duquesne reflects on 6-0 start, Bahamas tourney championship
It had been 17 years since Duquesne won a tournament championship in men’s basketball, an idea in step with a longstanding perception winning doesn’t really matter on The Bluff. Except, someone forgot to tell the Dukes, who are off to a 6-0 start after defeating a trio of teams at...
Duquesne to be tested in Bahamian tournament; Robert Morris road trip continues
Maybe Duquesne’s players are starting to get it. Coach Keith Dambrot wonders, but still he’s hopeful the Dukes won’t lose their defensive edge heading into the Junkanoo Jam men’s basketball tournament in The Bahamas. Duquesne (3-0), which has limited its first three opponents to an average of 53 points per...
Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball ‘locked-in’ this season
Whatever the outcome, the Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball team will do it together. Win, lose or draw in regulation, UPG’s team-oriented approach won’t be compromised, said coach Hayley Schaetzle, a fiercely loyal and young mentor to the Bobcats players, many of whom were recruited by former coach Erin Eaton. “We’re incredibly...
Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball ready to make noise
The Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats are on the prowl. Will they chase down their prey? It’s too early to tell, but third-year men’s basketball coach Brody Jackson is encouraged. “You have to take small steps,” said Jackson, who is in his third season at UPG. On Saturday night, UPG took the short...
Freshman class provides foundation for Seton Hill men’s basketball
With his second season at Seton Hill already under way, men’s basketball coach Kendrick Saunders is at ease while the usual outside noise keeps abuzz. The Griffins (1-1), looking to fill the vacancies left by three seniors and a transfer, evened their early-season record with an 83-76 nonconference victory at...
Duquesne men win ‘home’ game at La Roche vs. Lipscomb
They played a major-college basketball game in the North Hills on Friday night at La Roche’s Kerr Fitness Center. It is a place reserved mainly for the Redhawks, members of the Division III Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Duquesne and Lipscomb — the Atlantic 10 vs. the Atlantic Sun — squared...
Seton Hill women’s basketball serves notice with upset of St. Francis
The sometimes-fine line in NCAA sports between Division I and II basketball programs showed up this week when Seton Hill caught St. Francis (Pa.) by surprise in an exhibition game, handing the Red Flash a come-from-behind, eye-opening loss on their home court. It speaks to the strength of the D-II...
Lower Dauphin freezes out Franklin Regional in PIAA semifinals
ALTOONA — Another state semifinal, another loss for the Franklin Regional boys soccer team. But not for the lack of a superb effort did the Panthers succumb on Tuesday night to District 3 champion Lower Dauphin in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals. The Falcons, taking advantage of several rare opportunities...
Blocked extra point sends Ligonier Valley into District 6 title game
After sending all its games into a mercy-rule mode, the Ligonier Valley football team nearly wound up on the short end in the District 6 Class 2A semifinals Saturday night. But the Rams survived a spirited Bellwood-Antis performance to come away with a 21-20 decision and advance to their fourth...
Gateway’s Body makes up for earlier drop, catches winning TD against Bethel Park
Patrick Body didn’t want to go home. Not after dropping a pair of passes during a scoreless first half, the second one in the end zone that seemingly would have gone for a touchdown. The sophomore Gateway wide receiver made up for those blunders in the final minute Friday night,...
Saint Vincent women return experienced group to make run at 2nd PAC title
Ask the Saint Vincent women’s basketball coach what he likes most about the current version of Bearcats, and you likely won’t get a straight answer. There seem to be so many choices. For Jimmy Petruska, whose team is coming off its third NCAA Division III playoffs appearance in eight-plus seasons...
Ligonier Valley, Bellwood-Antis set for rematch with District 6 championship berth on the line
For the second time in as many years, Ligonier Valley and Bellwood-Antis find themselves opposite one another in the District 6 Class 2A football semifinals, both eyeing a spot in the championship game next weekend. Barely unlike last season, both teams are undefeated at 11-0. Just once-beaten a year ago,...
College basketball preview: New coach welcomes pressure to keep Saint Vincent on top
The changes are many, but the expectations for the Saint Vincent College men’s basketball program remain the same. A perennial title contender, Saint Vincent is the narrow choice in a preseason poll of conference coaches to win the NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference regular season title. Gone are longtime...
Ligonier Valley opens District 6 playoffs with rout of West Shamokin
Ligonier Valley’s presumed final football game against a District 6 Heritage Conference opponent before joining the WPIAL next year ended much like the ones before it. The Rams, without all-time leading rusher Kyrie Miller — out with a sprained ankle — skated to victory in their opener of the District...
Ligonier Valley’s foes must try to break through ‘Great Wall’
At a summer football camp in central Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia-area high school coach observed Ligonier Valley’s massive linemen, prompting an impulsive reaction. “Tough to run on that team. It’s like facing The Great Wall of China,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said, repeating what he overheard Downingtown West coach Mike...
