In its Mid-American Conference home opener, the men's basketball team put on a performance last Saturday reminiscent of the house-shaking atmosphere that was Alumni Arena last season, where the Bulls (5-11, 0-2 MAC) dominated conference opponents on their home floor.
The men's and women's swimming and diving team is having success so far this season. That's no small feat, considering the teams' school-best finishes the past two seasons. Through the first half of the season, the teams can boast wins at Army, a top finish at the Akron Invitational and, most recently, a sweep of Niagara at home. They recently returned home from Florida, where they were training to prepare for the last half of the season. Head coach Andy Bashor is pleased with his teams' performances so far, as they have pushed through adversity and younger swimmers are contributing on senior-laden teams. The women's team lost three scorers from last season's team to injuries, but veteran team members have stepped up their already impressive performances and freshmen have been able to contribute more then they were expected. "We basically are going to have three of our women redshirting," Bashor said.
The men's basketball team started Mid-American Conference play in 2013 with the same team that dashed its hopes for a conference championship. The result hasn't changed.
The Bulls sprinted to an early 13-0 lead and never looked back on Friday night, asserting their will in the post and earning their fifth win of the season - an 84-64 decision - against undersized Division II squad Notre Dame College (Ohio) (2-8) at Alumni Arena. The big men and three-point shooting were the difference.
Any time junior forward Javon McCrea doesn't convert a single field goal, the men's basketball team expects it to be a long night. Sophomore forward Will Regan had other plans on Saturday night. McCrea scored only three points, but the Bulls (4-7) rallied around Regan - who scored 26 points and had eight rebounds - en route to a 77-67 win over Big Four rival Niagara (3-6). Following losses to Canisius and St.
Chris Cronin is a stat machine. If someone asks how many touchdowns the Bulls threw for last season or when the Bulls last won on the road, he will rattle off the numbers without thought. The 17-year-old knows the game.
Alumni Arena saw a breakout performance from Rachael Gregory. The freshman forward was called upon heavily by the women's basketball team on Wednesday night, and she proved up for the task. Despite Gregory's 18 points, the Bulls (1-8) dropped their sixth consecutive game in their Big Four matchup with St.
Junior forward Auraum Nuiriankh took a shot from three-point range that missed. Undeterred, he instinctively raced toward the basket, flew over everybody around the basket and slammed home his own miss with authority. It was that type of game for Nuiriankh and the men's basketball team, in a performance that was needed this early in the season. Led by career games from Nuiriankh and junior forward Javon McCrea, the Bulls (3-7) blew the doors open, shooting a season-best 56 percent from the field en route to defeating Milwaukee (2-6) 72-52 at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee, Wisc.
College football is built on its traditional rivalries. Ohio State-Michigan, Florida-Florida State, Alabama-Auburn, USC-UCLA - these are but a few of the marquee match-ups that are part of the allure of tradition in college football. Every fan looks forward to the weekend after Thanksgiving - when their team takes on its arch nemesis - as one of the most important of the season.
Last year, the men's hockey team suffered a humiliating defeat in its own tournament at the hands of its cross-city rival. Losing two years in a row was not an option for the Bulls, (17-1) as they finished first in the Blizzard in Buffalo tournament over the weekend, with a 7-1 win over Slippery Rock (5-14) and an 8-3 finish over Canisius (15-5). The weekend started with the defense stepping up and making its presence known to the Rock Men at the start of the first period.
The classic colors of Penn State, navy blue and white, were on display on the mats this weekend as the wrestling team traveled to University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lion Open proved to be a major tournament - for the Bulls, over 30 collegiate teams and over 500 wrestlers from up and down the East Coast and around the Midwest. "To be able to get into a big tournament, with that many competitors and that good of quality, is what you're looking for because we want to train for the [Mid-American Conference] Championships and the NCAA Championships," said head coach Jim Beichner.
When sophomore wrestler Jake Waste was 8 years old, he didn't just dream of slamming opponents on the mat.
After falling to Duquesne (5-1) at home last Wednesday, the women's basketball team traveled to Lewisburg, Penn.
As students piled back into Alumni Arena on Wednesday night, nearly a week after Thanksgiving, they hoped to continue the feast with two energetic games of basketball.
Men's basketball head coach Reggie Witherspoon struggled to find a way to quantify his team's latest loss, before coming up with this statement: "It obviously wasn't a beauty contest." In a season in which Witherspoon's team is still trying to find its way on offense, things hit a new low Wednesday night.
After getting back on the winning side of things with a 76-57 victory against Division II Mansfield University (1-1), the men's basketball team looks to take on what head coach Reggie Witherspoon calls "the best team they're going to play so far." And the Bulls will do it with the return of a much-needed scoring weapon. The Bulls (2-5) will play host to Temple (3-0) in the main event of a doubleheader at Alumni Arena on Wednesday. This is a team that is learning on the fly, hence the struggles early in the season. "We did take some losses early in the season, but it was something that we needed to go through," said senior guard Tony Watson.
After falling short at the NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and losing a tough battle to cross-town rival Canisius (3-1), the men's basketball team (2-5) took care of business against a vertically challenged opponent in Division II Mansfield (1-1). It was a result that was badly needed for the slumping Bulls - a team that was going through a litany of injuries during the week.
The 2012 season, which was highlighted by a three-game winning streak against Mid-American Conference opponents, marked the highest win total for the football team under head coach Jeff Quinn. The Bulls (4-8, 3-5 MAC) finished the season winning three of four games to help erase the memories of a season that was plagued by injuries and missed opportunities. "Our mindset is about having a November, December tradition," Quinn said.
While students traveled home for Thanksgiving, the women's basketball team hit the road to play in back-to-back games at the Dayton Marriott Classic. The Bulls (1-5) dropped both games to No.
It hasn't been an easy season thus far for the men's basketball team, but the squad forgot its woes and pounded an inferior opponent on Saturday night. The game was ugly at the outset, but the Bulls closed the first half on a 27-4 run to pull away from Division II Mansfield University.
Solutions by The State News
