Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent's Jaden Gales named PAC's MVP

A player who puts the power in power forward, Jaden Gales made his presence known every time he took the basketball court this season for Saint Vincent.

Whether he was throwing down an alley-oop dunk, running wide and finishing a break or swatting a shot into the second row, Gales was a premier playmaker on a talented team.

For his efforts, the sophomore was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player. He joins former Bearcats Tom Kromka (2019), Jaylon Bell (2016) and Dillon Stith (2014) as conference MVPs.

Gales averaged 17.8 points and 7.5 rebounds and led the team with 32 blocks. He scored 25 or more points five times and had six double-doubles for the Bearcats, who finished as the PAC runners-up to Geneva.

Gales also made the All-PAC first team. Sophomore guard Dev Ostrowski was picked for the second team, and junior guard Mike Iuzzolino made honorable mention.

Ostrowski averaged 17.3 points in his first season with the Bearcats and made 56 3-pointers. Iuzzolino started all 27 games and averaged 12.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Saint Vincent lost to Penn State Behrend, 81-64, to end the season at 23-5.

Pitt-Greensburg: Freshman Trent Rozich was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Newcomer of the Year after a breakout season.

Rozich averaged 15.5 points and 8.1 rebounds, also leading the team with 101 assists. He also led the conference with 179 free-throw attempts.

He and sophomore teammate Matthew Marinchak (Ligonier Valley) were named to the All-AMCC Second Team. Marinchak averaged a team-leading 17.7 points to go with 4.1 rebounds in 36.9 minutes.

He made 77 3s for the Bobcats (13-14).

Seton Hill: Grad student and 6-9 forward Jimmy Moon scored 16 points, and freshman Kedrick Curtis added 12 to pace the Griffins to a 69-52 win at Pitt-Johnstown in the PSAC West.

Seton Hill had won three in a row as it continued to gear up for the PSAC Tournament.

The sixth-seeded Griffins (16-12, 11-11) were to play at No. 3 Slippery Rock on Monday in the first round of the PSAC playoffs.

Freshman Dimitrios Sklavenitis had a career-high 30 points in an 84-75 loss to Gannon in the last regular-season game.

Women’s basketball

Chatham: Sophomore forward Alyssa Laukus (Norwin) was selected as an All-PAC honorable mention.

The Most Outstanding Player in the PAC Tournament after she averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks, Laukus had six blocks in the title game against Geneva. The Cougars (23-4) won 77-50 and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Marietta: Senior Olivia Gribble (Norwin) was named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference Second Team.

Gribble, who recently reached 1,000 career points, also made the second team as a sophomore. She was averaging 11.5 points and had 56 3-point field goals going into the NCAA Division III Tournament for the Pioneers (21-6).

Mercyhurst: Sophomore forward Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) had 14 points and four rebounds in 26 minutes in an 83-63 victory over Clarion as the Lakers improved to 17-10 overall and 13-8 in the PSAC West.

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Melina Maietta (Greensburg Central Catholic) was named to the All-AMCC First Team after she lead UPG (12-14) in scoring at 18.6 points a game.

Maietta connected on 49 3s and played 35.3 minutes while distributing a team-high 94 assists.

Saint Vincent: Senior point guard Emily Cavacini was named to the All-PAC second team, and junior guard Emily Thompson was an honorable-mention pick.

Cavacini led the Bearcats with a 13.4-point average, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 34 3s in 26 starts.

Thompson averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds for the Bearcats (13-13).

Seton Hill: Seton Hill clinched a spot in the PSAC Tournament with a 78-75 victory over Pitt-Johnstown.

Sophomore Helene Cowan led the Griffins with 22 points, senior Sakeria Haralson had 19 points and 17 rebounds, senior Christiane Frye scored 12 and sophomore Abby Mankins (Greensburg Salem) had 11.

The sixth-seeded Griffins (14-14, 11-11) were set to open the PSAC playoffs Monday at No. 3 Cal (Pa.).

Wrestling

Bucknell: Senior 133-pounder Kurt Phipps (Norwin) won his match with a decision, but the Bison fell to Princeton, 18-15. Phipps is ranked No. 14 in the country in his weight division.

Pitt-Johnstown: Top-seeded junior Isaiah Vance (Hempfield) won a title at the NCAA Division II Super Region I Tournament at Kutztown to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

He coasted into the finals and scored a 24-12 major decision against Matt Long of Gannon.

Seton Hill: Sophomore 174-pounder Kane Kettering advanced to win a Super Regional championship to qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament.

He will be joined by teammate William Burgess, a grad student, who also qualified at 125.