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BLUFFTON, Ohio – Sophomore guard Matt Shiner of Clearfield scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds as Westminster (3-9) split two games in the 13th McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament last week.
His three-pointer snapped a 31-31 tie with 5:22 left in the half, and the Titans never trailed again in a 90-81 win over Pitt-Greensburg in the first round. Their last 19 points came at the foul line, and Shiner contributed six consecutive free throws in the final 1:19.
Westminster was beaten 80-60 by host Bluffton in the championship game, with Shiner sinking one trey, snaring two rebounds and registering his first two steals of the season.
Shiner’s playing time increased the previous week at the Transylvania (Ken.) Tournament after leading scorer Doug Smith was sidelined by an ankle injury.
Shiner had four points and three rebounds in a 74-69 victory over Piedmont (Ga.) and four points in a 70-57 title game loss to Transylvania.
He averaged 14 minutes in the last four games and has boosted his eight-game statistics to 26 points and nine rebounds.
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BLUFFTON, Ohio – Todd Hryn of Clearfield saw his most extensive action of the season and was Pitt-Greensburg’s second leading rebounder as the Bobcats blitzed Wright State-Lake (Ohio) 109-75 in the 13th McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament consolation game Thursday afternoon in Founders Hall.
The junior forward pulled down eight missed shots, six on the defensive end, to help Pitt-Greensburg (4-6) dominate under the boards 57-35 and set a tourney record for most points.
He also had two points, one assist and one steal in 17 minutes.
Hryn, who did not play in the Bobcats’ 90-81 loss to Westminster Wednesday, has logged 58 minutes in nine games with 13 points, 22 rebounds, two assists, four steals and one blocked shot.
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WRESTLING
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sidelined since October because of a knee injury, Penn State 125-pounder Brad Pataky of Clearfield made his redshirt senior season debut last week in the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Southern Scuffle and finished 3-2.
Pataky started strong with an 11-3 major decision against Virginia Military’s Jonathan Pope and a 15-0 technical fall in just 2:50 against North Carolina’s Pedram Rahmatabadi before being nipped 5-4 on a late reversal by No. 13-ranked Frank Perrilli of Cornell.
In consolation bouts, Pataky defeated Bloomsburg’s Sean Boylan 6-1 before being eliminated by Michigan’s Sean Boyle 12-6.
The two-time Big 10 Conference fourth placer and 2010 NCAA qualifier entered his final campaign for the Nittany Lions with a 74-29 record, including 43-11 in dual meets.
No. 4-ranked Penn State tied No. 1 Cornell for the Southern Scuffle team title with 151.5 points behind championship efforts by redshirt freshmen Dave Taylor at 157 and Ed Ruth at 174 and junior Cameron Wade at heavyweight and a runner-up finish by Frank Molinaro at 149.
Ruth, ranked No. 10, handled No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell 11-5 in the semis and No. 2 Chris Henrich of Virginia 7-1 in the finals to earn the Outstanding Wrestler Award.
Molinaro, ranked No. 6, lost 1-0 to No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell in the finals.
With Pataky out of action, freshman Frank Martellotti has moved to No. 16 in the national rankings at 125 and bounced back from a 4-1 loss to Penn’s Mark Rappo in his first bout to place sixth. Martellotti reeled off six wins in a row before falling to No. 14 Ben Kjar of Utah Valley and Perrilli.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Lock Haven redshirt senior Derek Caldwell of Curwensville suffered back-to-back losses at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Southern Scuffle Dec. 29 in the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.
Wrestling up two weights at 197 pounds, Caldwell was majored decisioned 13-2 by Anthony Biondo of Central Michigan and then defaulted to teammate Travis Stem at 6:18 in their first-round consolation match.
Caldwell is 3-5 with a 1-1 dual meet log.
