Westmoreland County campus clippings: Seton Hill football finishes on winning streak

Seton Hill went out on a winning note.

Junior receiver Mark Bails had three touchdown catches and junior quarterback Jake Cruz threw for three scores as the Griffins secured their first winning season since 2008 with a 30-10 victory over Millersville in the regular-season finale.

Bails finished with four receptions for 94 yards.

Seton Hill flipped a three-game losing streak over and won four straight and five of its last six games to finish at 6-5.

Coach Dan Day (15-28) now has the most wins in program history.

Football

Delaware: Grad tight end Braden Brose (Hempfield) had two receptions, including one for a 12-yard touchdown, as the Blue Hens (8-2) dumped Campbell, 45-7.

Duquesne: Junior linebacker Gianni Rizzo (Norwin) collected a career-high 11 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks as the Dukes (6-4, 5-1) fell to Stonehill, 33-28. Rizzo was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer.

Grove City: Sophomore linebacker Jack Jollie (Penn-Trafford) registered a team-leading seven tackles and had a sack as the PAC champion Wolverines blanked Thiel, 31-0, to take the Mercer County Cup and finish the regular season 10-0. It was the first undefeated regular season in program history. Grove City had seven sacks and limited the Tomcats to 56 total yards.

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats held back Bethany, 29-21, to win their season finale to finish 3-7. Freshman running back Gino Caesar (Hempfield) ran for a career-high 111 yards on 27 carries, senior Austin Slye threw and ran for a touchdown, and senior Max Pisula (Greensburg Central Catholic) had a rushing touchdown.

Senior linebacker Wiley Purry recorded a career-best 16 tackles and finished with a program single-season record 111 tackles. Junior defensive back Ethan Facey and freshman Devon Dean-Coles each had an interception for SVC.

Caesar received PAC Newcomer of the Week accolades.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior linebacker Justin Johns (Franklin Regional) piled up a season-high 13 tackles, and junior tight end Zach Cernuto (Southmoreland) scored two touchdowns, one rushing and another recceiving, as the Presidents (8-2) held back Waynesburg, 33-28, in the regular-season finale.

Men’s cross country

Saint Vincent: Senior Tim Patterson qualified to compete at the NCAA Division III Championships set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Dickinson College. Patterson finished ninth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at Lock Haven with a time of 24 minutes, 50 seconds to earn an automatic bid. He is the first SVC male runner to qualify for nationals since Chansler Poole in 2013.

Women’s cross country

Cal (Pa.): Already guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Division II Championships, senior Malia Anderson (Greensburg Salem) received U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region status for the sixth time in her career. Anderson took fifth at the NCAA Regional Championships in 21 minutes, 10.9 seconds. The NCAA race is Saturday in Joplin, Mo.

Men’s basketball

Delaware State: Grad forward Brandon Stone (Southmoreland) scored a season-high 14 points but the Hornets fell to Texas, 86-59.

Mercyhurst: Freshman sixth-man Adam Bilinsky (Norwin) scored nine points and added three assists in 29 minutes for the Lakers in a 64-61 win over Bluefield State.

Saint Vincent: Sophomore guard Jaden Gales scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, while junior Mike Iuzzolino had 15 points and sophomore guard Dev Ostrowski and frshman Kison Coates-Edmonson added 10 apiece as the Bearcats opened the season with a 95-57 win over Carlow.

SVC made 7 of 13 3-pointers in the first half to build a 20-point lead. Gales, the PAC Newcomer of the Year ast season, made 6 of 10 shots.

In the next game, the Bearcats overwhelmed Penn State Fayette, 103-73, as Gales poured in 23, and Iuzzolino, senior Osyon Jones and Ostrowski added 13 apiece. Iuzzolino added 10 assists and seven rebounds. Gales made 10 of 14 shots.

Seton Hill: Grad student Drew Green made two free throws with two-tenths of a second remaining as the Griffins won their first game of the season, 97-96, over Wheeling in the MEC/PSAC Challenge at West Liberty (W.Va.).

Green finished with 16 points, while senior Ryan Meis finished with a game-high 25 points. Grad student Jimmy Moon also scored 16 and freshman Dimitrios Sklavenitis, from Glyfada, Greece, chipped in 15.

Women’s basketball

Grove City: Junior guard Mara Polczynski (Norwin) scored a team-high 14 points as the Wolverines opened the season with a 74-45 loss to Mary Washington. She was named to the Coaches vs Cancer All-Tournament Team.

Saint Vincent: Senior guard Emily Cavacini scored 24 points, including 6 of 8 3-pointers, and sophomore Makenna Maier added a career-high 18 points and six rebounds as the Bearcays defeated Penn State Schulykill, 84-40.

Seton Hill: New coach Maeve Gallagher didn’t need much time to get her first win. Sophomore Hallie Cowan had a game-high 21 points, senior Christiane Frye added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and sophomore Helene Cowan added nine points and 10 rebounds in a season-opening 90-75 win over Concord in the Atlantic Regional Challenge.

Despite a career-high 34 points from Frye, the Griffins fell to Fairmont State, 92-84. Sophomore Abby Mankins (Greensburg Salem) added a career-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Frye was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week.

Women’s swimming

Saint Vincent: Freshman Rachel Hutchinson was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week. She won a pair of distance event at Grove City, taking the 1,000-yard freestyle in 11 minutes, 30.43 seconds, and the 500 free in 5:33.62.