BASKETBALL
St. Francis to honor Van Lier
LORETTO – St. Francis will honor the late Norm Van Lier by hanging his No. 12 jersey in the Champions Room of DeGol Arena in the Maurice Stokes Athletics Center during a ceremony this Saturday.
Van Lier, who starred at Midland High School in Pittsburgh and became a pro prospect at St. Francis, was an NBA player and TV broadcaster.
He passed away on Feb. 26, 2009.
The ceremony will take place during the Stokes Club dinner between basketball games. The Red Flash women will face Fairleigh Dickinson at 4 p.m., while the men battle the Knights at 7 p.m.
Those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP by calling 472-3286. Cost of the dinner is $14, plus admission to the men’s game. Van Lier’s jersey will be hung alongside those of Joey Anderson, Mike Iuzzolino, Maurice Stokes and Jess Zinobile.
Van Lier played three years for the Red Flash, finishing third on the school’s all-time scoring list.
He is now ninth with 1,410 career points in only 75 games played (18.8 ppg). Van Lier is also 11th in rebounds (769), 10th in rebounding average (10.3 rpg), and fifth in free throws made (376).
He was named to three NBA All-Defense First Teams and five NBA All-Defense Second Teams. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1974. Van Lier retired in 1979 with career totals of 8,770 points and 5,217 assists.
Lady Cats prevail in OT
INSTITUTE, W.V. – Monae Baker’s basket with eight seconds remaining in overtime sealed Pitt-Johnstown’s 73-70 victory at West Virginia State.
The Lady Cats (6-4, 3-2 WVIAC) blew an 11-point lead in the second half when the Yellow Jackets (6-6, 2-5) went on 24-12 run.
Baker led UPJ with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
West Virginia State took a 59-58 lead with 1:50 remaining in the second half on Alexandria Barnette’s basket. The teams exchanged the lead two more times, but Sheena Aden’s free-throw with 42 seconds forced overtime.
Andrea Dalton hit a 3-pointer at 3:06 of overtime to put UPJ up for good at 71-69. Baker's layup set the final after Barnette’s 3-pointer came up short.
Aden had 14 points and five rebounds, while Dalton finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Qiuana Brown had 11 points.
Barnette’s 16 points led West Virginia State.
UPJ falls to W.Va. State
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Darren Jones hit two free throws with seven seconds remaining to lead West Virginia State’s men to a
77-75 victory over Pitt-Johnstown.
UPJ (5-5, 1-4 in WVIAC) got 20 points from Andy Byer and 19 from Patrick Grubbs as the Mountain Cats erased a 15-point first-half deficit and built a six-point second-half lead.
Jones hit two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to tie the score at 75, and Justin Banks made a steal for the Yellow Jackets. Danny Branch fouled Jones, who knocked down the winning free throws.
Tafen dismissed from IUP team
INDIANA – IUP women’s coach Jeff Dow announced Monday that senior forward Sylvie Tafen has been dismissed from the program.
Tafen was in her first year at IUP after transferring from Pitt.
She was leading the Crimson Hawks with averages of 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game but had seen her playing time reduced since the season resumed after the holiday break. She was held out of the second half versus West Chester on January 3 and did not play this past Sunday at Cheyney.
“It is unfortunate that this decision had to be made, but after a great deal of thought and discussion, as a staff we felt like it was in the best interest of this year’s team and our program in general,” Dow said. “We wish Sylvie well in all her future endeavors.”
FOOTBALL
Trojans senior nominated
Greater Johnstown High School’s LaQuinn Stephens-Howling has been nominated as an Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year.
He is eligible to be selected as a national Red Zone Player of the Year and be honored in a full-page feature in a national print publication.
For the ninth straight year, Old Spice is recognizing high school football players who go above and beyond the call of duty, particularly in the Red Zone.
The program honors athletes who are able to elevate their play and step up when the heat is really on.
These athletes embody leadership, performance and desire, and serve as examples to their teammates on and off the field.
