Penn College basketball teams have significant weekend

Published 01.12.2020

News
Athletics
Wildcat Weekly

Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s and women’s basketball teams are coming off a weekend of special achievements as Ben Sosa joined the ranks of the elite in program history to reach the 1,000-point career scoring mark and the women’s team earned its first North Eastern Athletic Conference victory in nearly two years.

The college’s wrestling team, meanwhile, went 2-2.



Men’s basketball
Tuesday in nonconference play at Pitt-Greensburg, the home team built a 19-point halftime lead and the Wildcats lost, 103-80. Sosa, of Loyalsock Township, tallied 21 points to lead Penn College. Sosa also pulled down a team-best nine rebounds. Pitt-Greensburg led in points off turnovers 36-6. The Wildcats led in rebounds 44-26.

Returning to conference play for the first time since Dec. 7 hosting Cazenovia College on Saturday, Penn College dropped an 88-81 decision as it saw an 11-point lead evaporate over the last 7:51. Sosa scored a team-high 24 points and hauled in a team-high eight rebounds for Penn College while Elijah Vazquez, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, scored 15 and Carson Garvis, of Taneytown, Maryland, added 14 points. Cazenovia led in points off turnovers 22-7.

Sunday at home with NEAC opponent Morrisville State College, Sosa needed two points to reach 1,000 and, although he scored a team-high 17, the Wildcats, after leading by as many as 13 points during the first half but being outscored 6-0 at the end, fell, 76-71, to drop to 2-10 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

In North Eastern Athletic Conference action this week (records through Sunday): Host Penn State Harrisburg (6-6 overall, 2-1 NEAC), 5 p.m. Wednesday; at Penn State Abington (7-5 overall, 2-1 NEAC), 1 p.m. Saturday.

Last meeting vs. Penn State Harrisburg: Lost 93-49 on Jan. 10, 2012. (0-1 lifetime).

Last meeting vs. Penn State Abington: Lost 64-53 on Jan. 23. (0-8 lifetime).

NEAC South standings (through Sunday): Penn State Abington 2-1, Penn State Harrisburg 2-1, Lancaster Bible College 2-1, Gallaudet University 1-2, Penn State Berks 0-3, Penn College 0-4.

NEAC North standings (through Sunday): Morrisville State College 3-0, SUNY Cobleskill 2-1, SUNY Poly 2-1, Cazenovia College 2-1, Keuka College 1-2, Wells College 1-2.

Statistically speaking: Sosa leads Penn College with 180 points while Vazquez has 148 points and Garvis 140 points. Garvis tops the team with 95 rebounds and Sosa has 92. As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 77.9 points per game on offense and allowing 87.8 ppg.

Women’s basketball
Monday in a nonconference game at Marywood University, Penn College built a 43-25 halftime lead but faltered in the second half and lost, 73-69. Madison Klock, of Elysburg, led the Wildcats with 26 points and Maci Ilgen, of Spring Mills, scored 10 points. Marywood led in second-chance points, 18-3, and held a 53-39 advantage in rebounds.

At home Saturday in the NEAC with Cazenovia College, Penn College won, 90-79, to earn its first three-win season since 2016-17 and snap a 27-game conference loss streak that extended back to Jan. 14, 2018. Klock led five Penn College players scoring in double figures with a game-high 25 points while Tori Wolfe, of Dalmatia, and Cassi Kuhns, of Loyalsock Township, each added 15 points. Wolfe also had 10 rebounds. Commenting on Klock, first-year coach Britni Mohney said she has been a “huge game-changer … on both ends of the floor” and added that she is “heart and hustle.”

Hosting Morrisville State College Sunday in conference play, Penn College dropped a 71-63 decision to fall to 3-7 overall and 1-2 in the NEAC. Morrisville, which held a 31-14 edge in points off turnovers, raced to a 42-26 halftime lead before the Wildcats battled back in the second half. Kuhns led Penn College with a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double.

In North Eastern Athletic Conference action this week (records through Sunday): Host Penn State Harrisburg (4-8 overall, 2-1 NEAC), 7 p.m. Wednesday; at Penn State Abington (4-7 overall, 2-1 NEAC), 3 p.m. Saturday.

Last meeting vs. Penn State Harrisburg: First meeting.

Last meeting vs. Penn State Abington: Lost 92-61 on Jan. 23. (1-7 lifetime).

NEAC South standings (through Sunday): Gallaudet University 2-1, Penn State Abington 2-1, Penn State Harrisburg 2-1, Penn College 1-2, Penn State Berks 1-2, Lancaster Bible College 1-2.

NEAC North standings (through Sunday): Morrisville State College 3-0, SUNY Poly 3-0, Keuka College 1-2, SUNY Cobleskill 1-2, Cazenovia College 1-2, Wells College 0-3.

Statistically speaking: Kuhns leads the NEAC with an average of 9 rebounds per game and tops the team with 81 total while leading the Wildcats with 106 points. As a team, Penn College is averaging 62.6 points per game on offense and allowing 71.1.

Wrestling
Saturday in the North-South Duals at Collegeville, Penn College lost to the University of Southern Maine, 33-21, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 33-16, before turning the tables on Rhode Island College, 33-12, and Hunter College, 38-15, to go to 5-9 on the season.

For the Wildcats, Jesse Walker, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, at 149 pounds and Jared Mooney, of Palmerton, at 197 each went 4-0 in their bouts while Dylan Gettys, of Etters, at 165 and Brendan McGinley, of Glenmore, at 285 each finished 3-1.

NEAC
On Jan. 1, the Council of Presidents announced that the interim title had been removed and Stephanie Dutton is the conference’s new commissioner.

SCHEDULE/RECORDS/RESULTS
Men’s basketball
Overall: 2-10
NEAC: 0-3
Tuesday, Jan. 7 – at Pitt-Greensburg, L, 103-80
Saturday, Jan. 11 – host Cazenovia College (NEAC), L, 88-81
Sunday, Jan. 12 – host Morrisville State College (NEAC), L, 76-71
Wednesday, Jan. 15 – host Penn State Harrisburg (NEAC), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18 – at Penn State Abington (NEAC), 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 21 – host Penn State Berks (NEAC), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25 – host Gallaudet University (NEAC), 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 29 – at Lancaster Bible College (NEAC), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – at Penn State Harrisburg (NEAC), 1 p.m.

Women’s basketball
Overall 3-7
NEAC: 1-2
Monday, Jan. 6 – at Marywood University, L, 73-69
Saturday, Jan. 11 – host Cazenovia College (NEAC), W, 90-79
Sunday, Jan. 12 – host Morrisville State College (NEAC), L, 71-63
Wednesday, Jan. 15 – host Penn State Harrisburg (NEAC), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18 – at Penn State Abington (NEAC), 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 21 – host Penn State Berks (NEAC), 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25 – host Gallaudet University (NEAC), 4 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 26 – host Wilson College, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 29 – at Lancaster Bible College (NEAC), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – at Penn State Harrisburg (NEAC), 3 p.m.

Wrestling
Overall: 5-9
Saturday, Jan. 11 – North-South Duals at Collegeville, vs. University of Southern Maine, L, 33-21; vs. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, L, 33-16; vs. Rhode Island College, W, 33-12; vs. Hunter College, W, 38-15
Saturday, Jan. 18 – host Mid-Winter Classic at Liberty Arena with Gettysburg College, 10 a.m.; vs. McDaniel College, noon; vs. Muhlenberg College, 2 p.m.; vs. Johns Hopkins University, 4 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 24 – at Alvernia University, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 31 – host Wilkes University, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 1 – host Alvernia, Washington and Jefferson, Lackawanna and Oswego, 11 a.m.

For more about NEAC, visit the conference website.

For more information, visit the Wildcat Athletics website.

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