With a combined 14 wins in a row, the Seton Hill men and women are on top of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division basketball standings.
The women have nine straight victories, while the men have taken five in a row.
The Griffins women’s team emerged from the holiday break and extended its winning streak with an 83-53 win over Kutztown as senior Helene Cowan scored 21, and junior Hailee Ford and senior Hallie Cowan had 12 apiece.
Junior forward Mia Kalich added 10 points and nine rebounds.
The women are in a four-way tie for first in the West with IUP (12-0, 6-0), Gannon (14-1, 6-0) and Edinboro (9-6, 6-0).
The Griffins (10-2, 6-0) followed with an 82-67 win over West Chester as Ford scored 20, Helene Cowan had 19, Hallie Cowan had 18, and Kalich produced a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Kalich was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week. She has seven double-doubles for the season and 23 for her career.
Junior Kedrick Curtis and freshman Rashaad Williams matched a team high with 20 points apiece, Gabe Gillespie added 16, and redshirt sophomore Edir Ortiz chipped in 14 as the men topped Kutztown, 77-62.
Curtis also grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists and three steals, while Williams had six rebounds and seven assists for Seton Hill.
Another home win came next as the Griffins pulled past West Chester, 97-83, with Ortiz scoring 25, junior Dimitrios Sklavenitis 21, Curtis 16 and Williams 13. West Chester was the PSAC East preseason favorite.
Seton Hill moved to 12-2 overall, 6-0 in the PSAC and 6-0 at home. It has a half-game lead over Cal (Pa.), which it visits Wednesday night.
The Griffins are at their best when they’re getting shots up. Coach Ben Wilkins, a Mt. Pleasant alum, pointed out his team is 29-2 the last three years when it has more combined shot attempts than the opposition.
Transfer portal
Penn State linebacker Alex Tatsch (Latrobe) and running back Quinton Martin (Belle Vernon) confirmed they are staying at Penn State.
Tatsch saw increased playing time as a freshman, burning his redshirt by appearing in six games. He played in the final five regular-season games, but missed the Pinstripe Bowl with an injury. Tatsch finished with 14 tackles.
Martin, a former TribLive Westmoreland player of the year, had a breakthough game in the Pinstripe Bowl, rushing for 101 yards on 20 carries in a 22-10 victory over Clemson.
• Three-year letter-winning long snapper Conlan Greene (Penn-Trafford), who left the Temple football program for the portal, has Division II offers from IUP, Seton Hill, Minnesota Duluth and Minot State.
• Michigan rising junior Cole Sullivan, who is from North Huntingdon and played at Central Catholic, is entering the portal after a strong season. Sullivan made 44 tackles, five for loss, and had two sacks and three interceptions for the Wolverines.
• Demetrius Ballard (Valley), a redshirt freshman defensive end at Buffalo, entered the transfer portal and found a new college team. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end committed to Boston College. Ballard, who had 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks this season, had interest from several Division I programs, including Mississippi, Penn State and Michigan State.
Men’s basketball
Pitt-Greensburg: The Bobcats hope to be celebrating championships in March. For now, a tournament title will do just fine.
UPG (11-0) remained perfect with a 107-95 victory over Ohio power John Carroll in the DoubleTree Holiday Tournament championship in Reading.
Senior guard Matthew Marinchak (Ligonier Valley) was named tournament MVP after scoring a game-high 26 points to go with five rebounds, while sophomore Ty Keffer (Southmoreland) joined Marinchak on the all-tournament team after a 17-point, six-rebound, four-assist, five-steal effort.
Senior Michael Bigley added 17 points and four assists in the win.
Keffer tipped in a missed shot with eight seconds remaining in the opening game of the tournament, a 75-74 win over Albright. In that game, Keffer had 19 points (8 of 15 field goals), senior Jackson Byer had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Marinchak (11) and senior Trent Rozich (10) also scored in double figures.
Bigley added six assists.
Marinchak was named the AMCC Player of the Week.
Saint Vincent: Sophomore guard Terek Crosby (Yough) was a New Year’s Eve hero for the Bobcats in a thrilling matinee at Carey Center.
Crosby drove the lane and made a layup with three seconds left, and senior guard Dev Ostrowski picked off a long inbounds pass at midcourt to seal the win for SVC (7-4). The game saw 13 lead changes and nine ties, and the Bearcats shot 52.8% from the field.
Ostrowski finished with 18 points, including five 3-pointers, while senior Jaden Gales led the Bearcats with 20 points, making 8 of 11 shots.
Crosby had eight points, overcoming a late turnover with a resilient game-winner.
Ostrowski topped the 1,000-point mark for his career, becoming the 38th player in program history to reach the milestone.
West Liberty: Junior guard Landon Butler (Latrobe) scored 12 points off the bench, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, in an 88-87 loss to Lubbock Christian at the D-II Holiday Classic in Las Vegas.
Women’s basketball
Cal (Pa.): Sophomore guard Mya Morgan (Greensburg Central Catholic) played a season-high 31 minutes and contributed eight points and four rebounds off the bench for the Vulcans in a 70-50 win over East Stroudsburg.
Chatham: Senior forward Alyssa Laukus (Norwin) poured in 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots in an 80-63 victory over Juniata. She also finished 7 for 8 from the foul line over 28 minutes.
Clarion: Freshman guard Kendall Berger (Norwin) scored a career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, as the Golden Eagles (7-4) defeated Shepherd, 81-74. She made three 3-pointers and also grabbed eight rebounds.
Millersville: Freshman guard Carley Berk (Latrobe) has played in all 11 games this season, starting two, while averaging 7.5 points amd 2.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game. Her 13 steals rank second on the team. Berk has scored in double figures three times, including a 17-point game in an 80-65 win against Jefferson.
Penn State Behrend: Junior guard Lilly Palladino (Penn-Trafford) scored 17 points (8 for 8 free throws), grabbed seven rebounds and dished four assists in an 80-71 win over Hiram. Palladino has started all 13 games and is averaging 8.3 points for the Lions (8-5, 3-1).
Robert Morris: Senior forward Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) had 10 points in 19 minutes as the Colonials held back Milwaukee, 62-52.
Wrestling
Ohio: Redshirt senior Garrett Thompson (Franklin Regional), seeing his first action of the season, won by technical fall at 174 pounds as the Bobcats defeated Bloomsburg, 37-3, in the MAC opener.
Pitt: Redshirt junior Chase Kranitz (Norwin) went 4-2 and finished fourth at the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. The 184-pounder won his first three matches before falling to No. 15-ranked Shane Cartegena of Rutgers in the semifinals. He wrestled back to reach the third-place match.
Also for the Panthers, redshirt freshman Juliano Marion (Franklin Regional) finished 0-2 at heavyweight.
Pitt racked up 92.5 points to finish second behind Rutgers in the team standings.
Pitt-Johnstown: No. 3-ranked Isaiah Vance (Hempfield), a redshirt senior, pinned his opponent in the heavyweight match (1:35) as the Mountain Cats won six of the last seven bouts to defeat Findlay, 32-12, to move to 4-0.
Saint Vincent: Sophomore Anthony Orlandini finished third at 149 pounds, going 4-1 at the Fairmont State Invitational. Junior Ryan Yocum (157) took fifth, going 3-2.
