Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent men's basketball off to red-hot start

It has been two decades since the Saint Vincent men’s basketball team started 5-0.

With a fast-paced style and skilled lineup, SVC is becoming a must-see attraction in Latrobe.

The Bearcats were averaging 90 points and winning by a margin of 21 with their 5-0 mark heading into the Thanksgiving break.

SVC, which hasn’t been 5-0 since 2003-04, is sharing the basketball as evidenced by 80 assists, and the defense is producing 8.6 steals per game.

Sophomore transfer Dev Ostrowski, a guard who left Miami Dade to join the Bearcats, was leading the team in scoring at 20.6 points per game, while three others also were scoring in double figures: sophomore guard Jaden Gales (16.8), senior guard Osyon Jones (12.0) and junior guard Mike Iuzzolino (11.6).

Ostrowski poured in 30 points in a win over Thiel.

The Bearcats were ranked fourth in the PAC preseason coaches’ poll behind Washington & Jefferson, Chatham and Allegheny.

They will face a Division I opponent Dec. 17 when they visit Robert Morris before a trip to Miami, Fla., for the Cruzin Classic.

Pitt-Greensburg: Freshman Trent Rozich made a layup with 5 seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats over Geneva, 87-85, for their first win of the season. Rozich scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Matthew Marinchak (Ligonier Valley) added 18 points, senior Micah Jones scored 17, sophomore James Evans-Mcquay 13 and freshman Ryan Greggerson 12 for UPG (1-3).

Marinchak had 18 points as the Bobcats put up a fight but fell to St. Francis (Pa.), 77-63, in an exhibition.

Women’s basketball

Bethany: Freshman forward Kate Botti (Norwin) was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week. She had eight points and five rebounds in a win over Allegheny.

Florida Tech: Sarah Liberatore (Hempfield) was averaging 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in nine games. A junior guard, she is a key reserve in the backcourt.

Grove City: Junior guard Mara Polczynski (Norwin) scored 14 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double as the Wolverines defeated Franciscan, 68-53.

Saint Vincent: Senior Emily Cavacini and 6-2 sophomore Camdon Bashor each scored 12 points, and junior Emily Thompson added 11 as the Bearcats rolled past Thiel, 80-45, to move to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the PAC.

Seton Hill: Two double-doubles are better than one. Sophomore guard Helene Cowan (15 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman Mia Kalich (13 points, 11 rebounds) doubled up as the Griffins defeated Malone, 71-60. Senior guard Christiane Frye led Seton Hill (2-2) with 16 points.

Football

Delaware: Grad tight end Braden Brose (Hempfield) was named to the All-Coastal Athletic Conference Third Team. Brose set career highs with 23 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

He caught a pair of touchdown passes in a 36-34 win over Lafayette in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Delaware trailed at halftime 28-13 before erupting for 17 points in the fourth.

Duquesne: Junior linebacker Gianni Rizzo (Norwin) was named to the All-Northeast Conference Second Team after a career season for the Dukes. He was leading the team with 10 tackles for loss, which ranked third in the NEC. He had two straight double-digit tackle games to close the regular season, including 11 against Merrimack. He had 57 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks heading into the postseason.

Rizzo made 11 stops and forced a fumble in the Dukes’ 40-7 loss to Youngstown State in the first round of the NCAA FCS playoffs.

Grove City: The Wolverines’ magical run in the NCAA Division III playoffs came to an end Saturday with a 25-24 loss to Cortland in the second round. Sophomore linebacker Jack Jollie (Penn-Trafford) and senior cornerback Gabe Dunlap (Penn-Trafford) each collected 11 tackles in the narrow defeat, which saw Grove City’s last-second field goal sail wide as the team finished with an 11-1 record.

Temple: Freshman defensive lineman Conlan Greene (Penn-Trafford) started 11 of 12 games for the Owls and made 19 tackles and one sack.

Wisconsin: Redshirt freshman Cade Yacamelli (Penn-Trafford) had nine carries for 33 yards in the Badgers’ 28-14 victory over Minnesota in the Big Ten season finale. In his last three games, Yacamelli has 128 yards on 28 carries.

Youngstown State: Junior defensive lineman Anthony Johnson (Jeannette) had three tackles in a 40-7 win over Duquesne in the first round of the FCS playoffs.