Dave Mackall stories, Page 7
Deer Lakes dials up long-distance offense in win over rival Burrell
As if Deer Lakes needed another 3-point shot Friday night in its 71-49 Section 1-4A boys basketball victory at Burrell. The Lancers sank a season-high 11 from long range. Sophomore guard Evan Moore made six of them, including four of the team’s total of eight before halftime. But he’d have...
Decision on medical redshirt looms for Duquesne guard Jake DiMichele
Jake DiMichele’s unwavering faith in God has carried him through the challenges of a tough childhood while growing up in the gritty Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks. It’s helped him during a championship-caliber high school experience in the classroom and on the basketball court at nearby Our Lady of the...
Duquesne’s 3-game winning streak ends with decisive loss to Dayton
What was building as a showdown against Dayton wound up a dud for Duquesne. The Dukes’ hot streak was put on ice by the Flyers on Tuesday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. “Everything went wrong,” Dukes coach Dru Joyce III said. Enoch Cheeks scored 23 points and hot-shooting Dayton raced...
Behind 5 double-digit scorers, Robert Morris edges Milwaukee for 700th win in program history
Josh Omojafo and Kam Woods scored 15 points apiece to pace five double-figure scorers for Robert Morris, and the Colonials defeated Milwaukee, 81-79, on Sunday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for their third consecutive road win in men’s basketball. It also was the Colonials’ third straight victory overall and fourth in...
Duquesne uses long-range shots to dominate St. Bonaventure
Remember those early-season losses — many at home — to the likes of Hampton, Lipscomb, Maine, Saint Peter’s and others? Duquesne’s horrid start to the men’s basketball season under first-year coach Dru Joyce III was atrocious. So, what’s changed? “I hold myself accountable,” Joyce said Saturday after the surging Dukes...
Penn-Trafford boys beat Franklin Regional for 1st back-to-back wins of season
Coach Doug Kelly has been waiting for his team to go on a run. Maybe this is the start of something big for the Penn-Trafford boys basketball team. Brayden Stone scored 20 points, including the first 10 of the game, and Penn-Trafford completed a season sweep of its series with...
Father-son coaching combination guides Kiski Area boys to top of section
When he patrols the sideline during game days, Kiski Area boys basketball coach Corey Smith hears voices. They are familiar sounds, a comforting tone. Smith’s dad, above everyone else, has his son’s ear. “My father to this day has been on my staff. He keeps me in line,” Smith said....
Maximus Edwards leads way against former team as Duquesne tops George Washington
Maximus Edwards broke out of a season-long shooting slump for Duquesne in a big way Wednesday night. Edwards came off the bench to convert his first six shots and finished with a season-high 22 points against his former school as Duquesne defeated George Washington, 73-65, in Washington, D.C.. It was...
North Catholic runs away with win over Deer Lakes
No matter where North Catholic plays basketball, stress is the name of the game. The Trojans certainly made it stressful for No. 2 Deer Lakes on Tuesday night, turning a tight game early into a commanding 61-46 victory in a Section 1-4A game in Cranberry. “We mixed some things up...
Duquesne men continue to search for winning formula on road
Soon after Dru Joyce III began his first season as men’s basketball coach at Duquesne, the losses began to pile up. Everywhere the Dukes played. But gradually, they’ve begun to master their home-court surroundings, winning four consecutive times and five of their past six outings at cozy UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse....
Robert Morris survives buzzer-beater scare vs. Wright State
Five years into its Horizon League journey, Robert Morris has shown signs of stabilizing its men’s basketball program following a rocky transition from the lesser-renowned Northeast Conference, where the Colonials traditionally were among the top teams. On Sunday against Wright State at UPMC Events Center, where four days earlier a...
Unlikely 3-point shooter lifts Duquesne past Saint Joseph’s in overtime
The 6-foot-9 David Dixon, known more as a shot-blocker than a 3-point shooter, wants everyone to know he can hit that shot when it matters. The Duquesne junior forward connected from long range in overtime Wednesday night against Saint Joseph’s when it mattered most. He wasn’t bad on defense, either....
Duquesne beats Rhode Island in Atlantic 10 opener to run winning streak to 4
After a rough start to the season, Duquesne’s basketball fortunes are turning. Jahsean Corbett totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds and three other Dukes scored in double figures as Duquesne opened Atlantic 10 Conference play Tuesday with a 67-55 New Year’s Eve victory over Rhode Island at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse,...
Robert Morris gets double-doubles from 2 players in 3OT win over Northern KentuckyVideo
Andy Toole was worn out just watching Sunday’s marathon Horizon League battle at UPMC Events Center. You can bet he was feeling an assortment of other emotions, too. “Your mind’s racing on every possession. It was exhausting,” the Robert Morris men’s basketball coach said moments after his Colonials came away...
Duquesne clamps down on Cleary in final nonconference game before A-10 play
A year ago at this time, Duquesne was feeling pretty good about its men’s basketball season after having just beaten Cleary, a first-year NAIA program, by nearly 50 points to improve to 9-3 heading into Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Dukes stunningly then lost five straight to A-10 opponents. “Last...
Duquesne tops UC Irvine for 3rd win in last 4 games
While Duquesne was enjoying a double-digit lead Saturday at halftime against UC Irvine, Dru Joyce III insisted he wasn’t nervous about the impending outcome, even though the Dukes’ first-year men’s basketball coach knew all along the Anteaters were renowned for their strong second-half play. Two days earlier, they rallied from...
Robert Morris gets back in win column with furious comeback vs. TowsonVideo
There were many heroes Tuesday night in Robert Morris’ epic, come-from-behind victory over Towson in men’s basketball at UPMC Events Center, a 68-67 decision that saw the Colonials enjoy the lead for a grand total of 73 seconds. What mattered was they led when the game was over after trailing...
Duquesne men’s basketball team defeats Towson in Akron
AKRON, Ohio — Duquesne’s success in Akron continues. Playing at coach Dru Joyce III’s high school alma mater for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in the past seven years, the Dukes on Saturday made it 5 for 5 in victories at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Cam...
Penn-Trafford boys stage huge rally, earn victory in overtime vs. Franklin Regional
One by one, his players emerged from the home locker room at Penn-Trafford and paraded across the gym floor. Most, if not all, of coach Doug Kelly’s crew was in an unusually impulsive mood, laughing and conversing and seemingly feeling as good as can be. In fact, some hardly could...
Burrell girls pull away from Highlands to stay undefeated
Burrell has begun the girls basketball season with five lopsided victories, the latest a 51-25 decision behind 12 points each from Casey Brancato and McKenna Miller on Thursday night at Highlands in the WPIAL Section 1-4A opener for both schools. It is the most points scored so far against the...
Duquesne men’s basketball team loses at home to Maine
As the college basketball season sinks lower for the Duquesne Dukes, first-year coach Dru Joyce III reaffirmed Wednesday night a calm, cool and collective commitment to success in the wake of a 61-56 loss to Maine at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. “You’ve got to work through the kinks, learn to trust,”...
Slippery Rock avenges loss to Cal (Pa.) to earn spot in D-II football semifinals
Brayden Long sat inside a cramped, makeshift interview room high atop Cal (Pa.)’s Adamson Stadium quietly surveying his surroundings. As Slippery Rock’s record-setting quarterback swigged water from a bottle, his eyes darted back and forth as if to replay the day’s events. Thanks in large part to Long’s masterful approach,...
Duquesne defeats Delaware, earns 2nd win in past 3 games
A week-and-a-half ago, he secured his first college coaching victory at the Cayman Islands Classic. On Friday, Duquesne’s Dru Joyce III won his first game in the United States. Tre Dinkins III scored 18 points to lead five Duquesne players in double figures, and the Dukes, playing for the second...
Robert Morris men lose Horizon League opener to Youngstown State
Robert Morris was looking to match its best 10-game start to a men’s basketball season Wednesday night in a Horizon League opener against Youngstown State. The Penguins, however, had other ideas. With Horizon League commissioner Julie Roe Lach on hand, Juwan Maxey scored 16 points, including five 3-point shots, and...
Duquesne men drop to 1-7, losing at home to St. Peter’s
Seven losses in eight games, and it’s not yet time for the Atlantic 10 schedule to begin. Not before Duquesne plays against five more opponents in what has turned out to be a challenging nonconference men’s basketball schedule. At 1-7, there’s something a bit off with these Dukes. “We’re working...
