Dave Mackall stories, Page 19

The mystifying transfer portal’s impact on college sports was on full display at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Saturday as Duquesne and Dayton brought their overhauled basketball lineups to the court for a renewal of a long and storied series. Dayton is ranked dead-last among 358 Division I teams in KenPom.com’s...

The UPMC Events Center has been almost kind to the Robert Morris men’s basketball team since the Colonials switched conference allegiances before the start of last season. A bounce here, a bucket there could have been the difference between the team’s 2-9 record so far in its 11 Horizon League...

In one moment, Duquesne was hoping for another tight victory — its fourth win in a row — but in the next, the Dukes were walking away with another tight loss. Fordham ended a six-game losing streak to Duquesne in men’s basketball Wednesday night, rallying from a 13-point, first-half deficit...

The Laurel Highlands took a hit last month that was bigger, harder and louder than any collision ever witnessed during a Saturday afternoon football game in New Florence. Rest in peace, Jerry Page. Your absence leaves a gaping hole in and around Westmoreland County. Page, a former mathematics teacher who...

It didn’t start the way they’d have liked, but the Duquesne Dukes loved the way their Atlantic 10 men’s basketball opener finished at Massachusetts. The Dukes shook off the rust from a 19-day layoff and overcame a 12-point, first-half deficit Saturday to beat the Minutemen, 78-74, behind a combined 48...

Robert Morris’ longest homestand of the men’s basketball season continues Sunday with a visit from Purdue Fort Wayne. Can the Colonials avoid a letdown after nearly beating Horizon League preseason favorite Cleveland State on Friday night in a tough, 78-77 setback? “Really proud of the fight the guys showed for...

It’s been a tough ride so far in the Horizon League for the Robert Morris men’s basketball team. “No fun,” coach Andy Toole said following the Colonials’ latest effort. Another game, another frustrating result. Just two years in, their quest for some traction continues to sputter. Michael Akuchie turned in...

He was a good basketball player at Springdale High School — enough so to earn a scholarship to Westminster — but Paul Sapotichne soon realized he wasn’t going anywhere with a basketball in his hands. So he decided to become a coach. “I’d always wanted to coach,” he said. Turns...

There are no lofty goals. Really, there never have been for Madison Cassidy when she’d be jumping into a pool of water. She just likes to swim. But Cassidy, a four-time WPIAL place-winner in the 100 breaststroke for Greensburg Salem, is absolutely loving the sport these days as a freshman...

Another Myers is at it again at Duquesne. Did someone say “Sonar?” Reminiscent of another era when Burrell’s own Joey “Sonar” Myers would heat up from long range for the Dukes men’s basketball team, daughter Tess flashed a little “Sonar” of her own some 40 years later in a recent...

After falling short of the PIAA playoffs in 2020, the Greensburg Central Catholic girls volleyball team didn’t let it happen again this season. Not that the Centurions were crazy about the final picture — they couldn’t get past the Class A quarterfinals — but if ever a GCC team looked...

AKRON, Ohio — Somewhere, “King James” probably was smiling. Some 6 hours to the west, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were preparing to play an NBA game Sunday night in Chicago against the Bulls, while at his old high school stomping grounds, James’ former coach at St. Vincent-St....

Whenever Keith Dambrot is on the subject of basketball, he’s bound to throw out an occasional LeBron James reference. In the days leading up to this weekend, Dambrot was uttering the NBA superstar’s name a bit more often as he prepared his Duquesne Dukes to face UC Irvine on Sunday...

Upon entering UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, an air of anticipation was everywhere Saturday. Duquesne fans — a sparse crowd, no less — were wondering how their beloved and longsuffering Dukes would respond against New Hampshire following a third consecutive loss, a 20-point beatdown at DePaul four days earlier. “We were OK...

Chris Skatell, in his coaching debut at Greensburg Central Catholic, beat longtime pal Scott Giacobbi of Latrobe on Friday night, and Skatell said the Centurions were fortunate to come out on top on the opening night of high school girls basketball. Bailey Kuhns scored 17 points, Natalie Ward collected all...

Over the years, Pitt has a losing record in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament, but lately, the Panthers have been winning there at a monumental clip. So much so they’re one step from reaching a Final Four in the sport for the first time in the school’s history after brushing...

When you’re 0-7, any victory is a good one. After opening its men’s basketball schedule with seven losses, Robert Morris finally put a game in the win column Wednesday night, dominating Lancaster Bible, 99-51, in just its second game of the season at UPMC Events Center. Lancaster Bible is an...

Two years of football are in the books in Ligonier Valley’s return to the WPIAL after a 50-year run as a member of District 6, where the Rams had established themselves as a consistent contender for the PIAA playoffs. Ligonier Valley reached the District 6 Class 2A championship game each...

No matter what the Pitt basketball team has been through this season — good or bad — coach Jeff Capel is adamant about the Panthers not dwelling on it. Not with the ACC opener looming Friday night at Virginia. “We had a really good practice today, attitudes have been good,...

For 13 seasons, Keith Dambrot’s basketball teams at Akron were fed a steady diet of Mid-American Conference opponents, among them Bowling Green — indeed, no stranger to Duquesne’s fifth-year coach. On Wednesday night, Bowling Green was Duquesne’s opposition at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, where Dambrot was facing his first MAC opponent...

Four starters return this season to the Latrobe girls basketball team, which looks to defend its section title after a mad scramble for first place saw the Class 5A Wildcats come out on top last year by the thinnest of margins in the WPIAL Section 4 standings. Latrobe, whose 9-1...

Ask Latrobe boys basketball coach Brad Wetzel to name something his teams do well from year to year. The answer might surprise you. They “overachieve.” Take last year’s squad. That group quite possibly outdid them all, according to Wetzel, who enters his 19th season as coach of the Wildcats. “Those...

The goal of the Westmoreland County Community College men’s basketball team, simply put, is to be competitive. Then, perhaps, the victories will come. “We’re getting better in practice,” coach William Tyler Johnson said. “I’m not trying to control too much right now. It’s all just about teaching, having the guys...

Duquesne’s growing pains continued Sunday in the team’s first basketball game since returning last week from a 1-2 showing at the Paradise Jam tournament. What’s encouraging, at least, for the fresh-faced Dukes is the final result. Mercer transfer Leon Ayers III tied his season-high with 23 points and freshman Primo...