Dave Mackall stories, Page 4

Duquesne is showing it can win ugly. All of a sudden, that’s fine with the all-of-a-sudden resurgent Dukes. Just ask David Dixon, their electric sophomore forward, whom coach Keith Dambrot often jokes about as “taking the bad with the good.” In Saturday’s 68-59 victory against Fordham at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse,...

Franklin Regional needed its leader to find another gear, and that’s what Cooper Rankin did. The senior guard scored 10 of his 26 points in overtime Friday night to power the fourth-ranked Panthers to their third straight victory, a 63-58 decision over visiting Penn-Trafford in Section 3-5A boys basketball. “I...

During their recent five-game losing streak, a torturous stretch that saw the Duquesne Dukes drop three of their first five Atlantic 10 men’s basketball games by no more than five points, the team says it has remained locked in solidarity. Despite what others may think. “Adversity is always going to...

Never mind the score. That was expected. So, too, for Burrell, was securing its 20th consecutive WPIAL section championship in wrestling. It was, in fact, a mere formality Wednesday night at Greensburg Salem. No. 2 Burrell needed just 25 minutes to complete a 72-0 rout of the outmanned Golden Lions...

The chip squarely was placed on Duquesne’s shoulder. Despite playing for the third time in a row without its leading scorer Tuesday night, the Dukes, against an old nemesis, finally ended a five-game losing streak that began with the start of its Atlantic 10 schedule on Jan. 3, a span...

After a few wrong turns, top-ranked Deer Lakes managed to make it up the mountain in time to face Ligonier Valley on Saturday afternoon in a rescheduled boys basketball game that had been postponed a day earlier by the elements. Turns out the extra time off benefited the hobbled Lancers,...

After a few wrong turns, top-ranked Deer Lakes managed to make it up the mountain in time to face Ligonier Valley on Saturday afternoon in a rescheduled boys basketball game that had been postponed a day earlier by the elements. Turns out the extra time off benefited the hobbled Lancers,...

TJ Wainwright considered the possibility of Robert Morris being “that team,” but he said the Colonials were determined not to allow Detroit Mercy to get its first men’s basketball victory of the season. Even when things were looking bleak. “I kept telling the guys, ‘We’re still going to win this...

Back in October, when the college basketball buzz was picking up, Duquesne’s optimism for a successful Atlantic 10 season was everywhere. The Dukes were chosen to finish fourth in a preseason poll of conference coaches and select media members. There was talk, even, of a long-awaited return to the NCAA...

The dust hadn’t settled from a frantic finish Friday night at UPMC Events Center, where Markeese Hastings’ buzzer-beating 3-point shot lifted Robert Morris to a 91-88 overtime victory over Purdue Fort Wayne, when Colonials coach Andy Toole was swarmed by his ecstatic players. “Is your shirt wet?” Toole was asked...

It wasn’t a question of who would win the WPIAL Section 3-3A wrestling match at Penn-Trafford — No. 4 Franklin Regional came in Wednesday night as a heavy favorite against the undermanned Warriors — but rather how it would be won. Indeed, Franklin Regional captured a 43-16 victory, but the...

A boys basketball blowout at Kiski Area turned into a nail-biter before it was over Friday night, but Franklin Regional will take the road victory just the same. Cooper Rankin scored 23 points, and Cam Rowell added 21, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, as the Panthers held...

Another season of struggles in the Horizon League provided a reprieve for Robert Morris on Thursday night at UPMC Events Center as the Colonials scored their most lopsided victory against a conference opponent in four seasons in the league. Josh Corbin’s 15 points led six RMU players in double figures...

How good has the Burrell wrestling team been so far? Hmm, the second-ranked Buccaneers were pretty good Wednesday night, remaining unbeaten with a 40-18 victory over No. 8 Derry. “I’m satisfied. It was a good team win,” Burrell coach Josh Shields said. Derry, despite an upset victory early in the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...