Westmoreland campus clippings: Freshman fills nets for Saint Vincent men

Gales force winds ripped through the Carey Center at Saint Vincent last week.

Jaden Gales, a freshman from Bishop Canevin, erupted for 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bearcats men’s basketball team to a 73-62 victory over Grove City.

Gales was named the Presidents Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.

SVC moved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the PAC.

The points are the most in a game by a Saint Vincent player since All-American Tony Washam netted 47 in 2001 against Cedarville.

Head into the holiday with some highlights from last night's @SVCHoops victory over Grove City. #SVC #GoBearcats #pachoops #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/ZtKXtspr9S

— SVC Bearcats (@SVC_Bearcats) November 23, 2022

Men’s basketball

Cal (Pa.): Sophomore forward Kadyn Hannah (Franklin Regional) is finding a suitable role with the Vulcans after transferring from La Roche. Hannah is the sixth man and is averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 minutes in 16.8 minutes. He had an 11-point game against West Virginia Wesleyan.

Delaware State: Transfer Brandon Stone (Southmoreland) was leading the Hornets in scoring through four games with a 15.8-point average. The 6-foot-11 senior transfer from Robert Morris also had a team-best 7.8-rebound average.

Lehigh: Senior guard Reed Fenton scored 12 points off the bench as Lehigh won at St. Francis (Pa.), 82-76. He hit 4 of 5 shots and had three assists.

Pitt-Greensburg: When two players combine for 55 points, good or bad things can happen. In UPG’s case, it was all good.

Senior guard JoJo France scored a season-high 28 points, tying a career high with seven 3-pointers, as UPG ran to an 87-75 win at Penn State Shenango. Not to be outdone, junior teammate Reggie Priah notched a career high with 27 points and nine rebounds for UPG (3-2).

Senior Micah Jones added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats.

Freshman Matthew Marinchak (Ligonier Valley) is another developing story. The guard not only worked his way into the starting five but also found a spot in the UPG record book. Marinchak hit 9 of 15 3-pointers for a single-game record and scored 29 points as the Bobcats fell to Hood, 88-77.

Freshman Armend Karpuzi also was hot from behind the arc, making 6 of 9 3s and had 20 points. Junior Mike Gaffney (Hempfield) made his first start at point guard and had five assists in a career-best 20 minutes.

Seton Hill: This team doesn’t want to lose.

The streaking Griffins (5-0) continued their fast start with an 81-70 victory over Shippensburg. Senior guard Samuel Tabe had 23 points, junior Sean Dillon added 15, junior Ryan Meis 13 and senior Jimmy Moon 11.

Seton Hill moved into the D2SIDA Atlantic Regional poll, tying for No. 9 with Winston-Salem State.

West Liberty: The run-and-gun Hilltoppers cleared the century mark for the second straight game and continued to show why they’re the No. 5 Division II team in the country behind junior standout Bryce Butler (Latrobe).

Butler scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists in the victory for WLU (5-0).

Women’s basketball

Edinboro: Freshman guard Maura Suman (Penn-Trafford) has played in five games so far and has eight points over 31 minutes.

Florida Tech: Sophomore Sarah Liberatore (Hempfield) had 14 points across 16 minutes and made 9 of 9 free throws in a 73-59 victory over Flagler.

IUP: A pair of area freshmen are seeing time this season for the Crimson Hawks. Anna Rafferty (Latrobe) and Gracie Spadaro (Southmoreland) both are averaging 4.3 points over four games while playing similar minutes.

Rafferty, who is playing 8.3 minutes, also has a 4.3-rebound average, while Sparadaro’s is 3.3 over 7.0 minutes.

The duo nearly outscored a team last week. Rafferty scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Spadaro had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a 102-20 win against Rosemont.

Saint Vincent: PAC road wins are never easy to come by, but Saint Vincent (3-2, 2-1) scratched out one to give it momentum heading into the holiday break.

Senior center Ella Marconi scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, junior guard Emily Cavacini added 15 points, and senior forward Madison Weber chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds in a 57-47 win over Grove City.

Senior guard Megan Kallock (Greensburg Salem), a transfer from SVC, had nine points for Grove City.

Seton Hill: No backyard rivalry here. Seton Hill made sure of that.

Sophomore Teresa Haigh had 14 points, grad forward Alie Seto added 11, and freshman forward Corinne Eisner had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Seton Hill flattened Pitt-Greensburg, 71-36, to move to 3-2.

Freshman Kayla Hoehler led UPG with 11 points. The Bobcats played only six players. Hoehler played all 40 minutes.