Westmoreland County campus clippings: Adam Bilinsky to join brother Ty at UPJ

It wasn’t exactly a brotherly shove, but Adam Bilinsky admits having a chance to play basketball with his older sibling again played a key role in his decision on where to transfer.

Bilinsky, who decided to exit Mercyhurst after playing in just nine games as a freshman, will join his brother, Ty, at Pitt-Johnstown.

The Norwin alums could be teammates if Adam Bilinsky is cleared to play right away. Bilinsky will work out with the Mountain Cats for now.

Adam Bilinsky, a 6-foot-3 guard who was the TribLive Westmoreland Boys Basketball Player of the Year last season, averaged 7.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 21.3 minutes off the bench for Mercyhurst.

He wanted to be closer to home following the death of his grandmother.

Ty Bilinsky is a redshirt sophomore guard at Pitt-Johnstown. He has played in four games off the bench this season.

Ty Bilinsky overcame health concerns to play Division II basketball.

“Ty definitely had an influence,” Adam Bilinsky said. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to play with their brother?”

UPJ was the first college to offer Adam Bilinsky when he was heading into his junior year in high school, but he opted to play for Mercyhurst, another Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference program.

“They also were the first ones to offer me in the transfer portal,” Bilinsky said. “I plan on practicing this semester.”

His older brother also is looking forward to the move.

“I’m excited,” Ty Bilinsky said. “I think it’ll be great for both of us and the rest of a family.”

Wrestling

Bucknell: Senior Kurt Phipps (Norwin) won all five of his matches on the way to championship in the 133-pound weight bracket at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Phipps edged Dom Serrano of Northern Colorado, 2-0, in the finals. Serrano was ranked No. 27 in the nation by Intermat. Phipps’ escape early in the second period held up after he earned a riding-time point.

Phipps also won the Navy Classic in November.

Pitt-Johnstown: Redshirt freshman 184-pounder Noah Gnibus (Mt. Pleasant) and junior heavyweight Isaiah Vance (Hempfield) picked up wins as the Mountain Cats downed Grand Valley State, 29-13.

Washington & Jefferson: Freshman Isaiah Payne (Greensburg Salem) took fourth in the heavyweight class at the Jim Crytzer Invitational.

Wyoming: No. 22-ranked 149-pounder Gabe Willochell (Latrobe), a redshirt sophomore, scored a 7-2 decision in a 36-6 loss to Northern Iowa.

Football

Seton Hill: Defensive lineman Dioh Desuah announced he is declaring for the NFL Draft. The 6-foot-1, 285-pound senior made the D2Football.com Elite 100 and was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award for the nation’s top defensive player in Division II. Desuah had 14 tackles for loss and five sacks this season for the improved Griffins.

Men’s basketball

College of Charleston: The Cougars stretched their winning streak to six with the help of grad transfer Bryce Butler (Latrobe), who was named the Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Week.

Butler scored a season-high 18 points and pulled down five rebounds in a 73-61 victory over Hofstra. He made 7 of 10 shots from the field.

Montevallo: Freshman Landon Butler (Latrobe) was averaging 5.1 points and 2.8 rebounds over 228 minutes for the Falcons. He started seven games and has scored in double figures twice.

Pitt-Greensburg: Despite increasing injuries leaving them with only seven players, the Bobcats managed to knock off a team that was tied for first in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

Sophomore Matthew Marinchak (Ligonier Valley) had a game-high 24 points, and freshman Trent Rozich added 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a 75-67 win at Hilbert (N.Y.).

Sophomore Jackson Byer had 12 points and five rebounds, and junior Josh Mentzer came off the bench to grab 11 rebounds.

What followed was a 71-60 victory over Wells Express in which Marinchak poured in 20, Byer had 18, Mentzer 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Rozich 10 rebounds and nine assists for UPG (5-8, 3-2).

Saint Vincent: The surging Bearcats continued their best start in school history with an 86-74 victory over Allegheny.

SVC trailed by 10 with just more than 16 minutes to play. It outscored the Gators in the second half, 50-33.

Sophomore Jaden Gales led the way with 24 points for the Bearcats, while senior Osyon Jones added 16, senior Tayler McNeal 14, and junior Mike Iuzzolino 11.

Sophomore Dev Ostrowski had nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.

The Bearcats (14-0, 9-0 PAC) ran their winning streak to 14 with another PAC thriller, edging past Washington & Jefferson, 73-70.

Iuzzolino scored 22 points, including four 3-pointers, Jones added 19 points and nine rebounds, while Gales (17) and senior Corey Harden (10) also scored in double figures.

Seton Hill: Graduate guard Drew Green had 15 points and freshman guard Dimitrios Sklavenitis added 10 as the Griffins rallied past Slippery Rock, 70-63, to move to 9-4 overall and 4-3 in the PSAC West.

Women’s basketball

Bethany: Freshman forward Kate Botti (Norwin) was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Week. She averagd 7.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over a pair of wins.

Carlow: Sophomore Alyssa Laukus (Norwin) produced back-to-back double-doubles for the Cougars.

She had 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 78-74 over Elizabethtown, then added 10 points and 10 rebounds against Allegheny in a 72-65 win.

Florida Tech: Junior guard Sarah Liberatore (Hempfield) had a season-high 11 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes in a 72-57 win against Clayton State.

Laukus added 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 58-49 win over Waynesburg in overtime.

Grove City: Junior guard Mara Polczynski (Norwin) scored 12 points, but the Wolverines (6-7, 5-3 PAC) fell to Washington & Jefferson, 78-49.

Marietta: Senior guard Olivia Gribble (Norwin) scored 10 points and handed out four assists in a 64-63 win over Muskingum.

Mercyhurst: Sophomore forward Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting as the Lakers defeated Bloomsburg, 68-58.

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Melina Maietta (Greensburg Central Catholic) registered a game-high 20 points, and freshman Sarah Penrod (Franklin Regional) added 17 while playing 40 minutes, in a 68-59 win at Hilbert (N.Y.).

Freshman Melina Boord chipped in 13 points and six assists, and sophomore Tiana Moracco (Derry) had 12 points and nine rebounds for UPG.

Boord scored 24 and Maietta followed with 20 in a runaway win over Wells Express. UPG had 53 first-half points on the way to a 105-24 win for UPG (6-7, 3-2).

Seton Hill: Seton Hill rolled to a 92-55 win over Slippery Rock to move to 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the PSAC West.

Senior Christiane Frye led the way with 23 points, while sophomore twins, Helene and Hallie Cowan, had 13 and 10 in the win.

Sophomore guard Abby Mankins (Greensburg Salem) had a season-high and career-high-tying 17 points in a 67-56 loss to Millersville.

Men’s volleyball

Penn State: Senior Will Kuhns (Hempfield) hit .333 with six kills as the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions opened the season with a 3-0 victory over Central State at Rec Hall.

Grad student John Kerr (Derry) added seven kills and hit .600 in the victory.

The 6-foot-6 Kerr was dominant in the next match, a 3-2 victory over No. 16 Lewis.

He erupted for 31 kills, with a .417 hitting percentage, and also reached career highs in digs and aces.