THE CAPITAL TIMES
Harrisburg men en route to
By MEGAN RESSER
Sports Reporter
MKRIS7@PSU.EDU
On Feb. 6 and Feb. 12, the Penn
State Harrisburg men’s basketball
team split a pair of home contests,
losing 54-50 to Penn State Fayette
on Feb. 6 and upsetting the
previously undefeated Penn State
McKeesport team on Feb. 12,
66-65. Between these two home
contests, the men’s team traveled
to Penn State Beaver and came
away with a close 65-62 win.
Following the home contests, the
men’s team split another pair of
games. They traveled to Delaware
County, where they lost 86-61,
then traveled to Penn College
where they exacted revenge from
an earlier loss and came away with
a 91-77 victory. This now brings
the men’s overall win-loss record
to 11 wins, 10 losses.
Coming off of a previous 7-
point loss to Penn State Fayette,
the men’s team was hoping to
exact some revenge at their home
court. Although Harrisburg fought
hard, Fayette managed to come
out on top as the last buzzer rang.
The low scores are indicative of
how close a game it actually was.
Fayette took an early lead, but
Harrisburg never allowed them to
lead by more than a 4-point margin.
At half-time, the score was Fayette
23, Harrisburg 19.
Harrisburg started the 2nd half
strong by tying the score at 25-25.
The score continued to go back and
forth with Harrisburg taking a 48-44
lead with about three minutes left
to play. However, Fayette fought
back. George Lemon, who would
score 20 points, tied the game at
50-50 with 40 seconds left. He
Grap gabs
about Penn
State bball
By JAMES GRAP
Sports Reporter
JPGSO26@PSU.EDU
While the entire focus of Nittany
nation was on Penn State football
recruiting, the Penn State basketball
team picked up a top recruit very
much under the radar. If you blinked,
you would have missed it. That is
what I’m here for.
The Penn State basketball team
made big headlines this year toppling
Indiana and dismantling Illinois in
what may have been the upset of
the year. They are in contention for
the NIT and the current players are
playing good basketball.
However, they lack a major scorer
at the guard position to take some
pressure off Geary Claxton and
Jamelle Comley. They may have just
filled that need with big time recruit
Talor Battle. This 5’11” 160 pound
guard hails from Albany, NY.
Only a junior, Battle was already
a nationally ranked player. He is
an outstanding shooter averaging
an amazing 29 points per game,
and a pure scorer with two
40-point games under his belt
already. Basketball analyst Dave
Komykoski said, “Battle is the
scoring punch Penn State has been
lacking in the guard position.”
He is not only a tremendous scoring
threat but has the ability to get his
teammates involved in the game as
well. He is a fast paced player and
should fit into the Penn State system
very well. He is capable of driving
the lane or pulling up from long
distance making him a very hard
match up.
Playing point guard for his high
school right now, Battle has developed
great leadership skills. Even though
offense is his strength, Battle is a good
defender who should give the Nittany
Lions a much-needed lift on that end
of the floor. Maybe, most importantly,
he is a winner.
Battle has the winning attitude
that is much needed at Penn State.
Basketball analyst Steve Barkanic
had this to say, “[Battle] is a
tremendous pickup for Penn State,
just a tremendous pickup.” Don’t
look now but the basketball team is
gaining ground on the football team
February 27, 2006
Photo by SUPAT KANCHANASAKU/The Capital Times
Harrisburg and McKeesport watch the basketball in anticipa
tion. Harrisburg squeaked out a victory from McKeesport,
which they will face in their opening playoff round.
scored again by tipping in a loose
bounce to make the score 52-50.
At this point, Harrisburg still had
a chance to win. Unfortunately, a
Fayette player was fouled. He made
two clutch free throws, bringing
their lead to 4, which was just too
much for the Harrisburg team to
overcome in the remaining time.
The Harrisburg men put forth a
phenomenal team effort, with no
one player taking center stage.
Nealy Rawlings, senior, played
solid defense, coming up with
three big blocked shots in a row.
He also contributed offensively
by dumping in 13 points.
Abe Hitz, sophomore, added 13
points of his own, while Steve
Molek, sophomore, had 10 points.
Padraic Wood, Hasahn Wright,
Craig Martin, and Tim Hurtack
also scored.
U.S. skates away empty
if to say Conen was going to do wrnat
she wants to do.
Indeed, she was going to win - or
lose - on her own terms.
She knew she had to skate four
nearly perfect minutes, but she also
knew when she fell on a jump in her
warm-up that this was not likely to
be that night.
Just 15 seconds into her program
she was already on her rear. On her
next jump she ended up sprawling
and having to grab the ice with both
palms to keep from falling farther.
“I had a really tough time with my
jumps in warm-ups,” Cohen said. “It
By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Columnist
TURIN, Italy (AP) - Moments like
this don’t come often. Chances for
redemption sometimes don’t come
at all.
Sasha Cohen took the ice Thursday
night a favorite to win gold in the
premier event of the Olympics.
She left it with a forced smile, the
moment having gotten the best of her
once again.
The gold was gone on her first jump.
She thought she lost both the silver
and bronze on her second.
Four long years of training didn’t
prepare her for what turned out to
be four of the longest minutes of
her life.
The falls were shocking enough,
winning a silver medal anyway
almost a gift.
Still, she had hoped to be the
third different American winner of
women’s figure skating in the last
three Olympics. Instead, she will
be remembered for one medal that
got away.
That’s because gold matters to
Americans as much as it does
to Cohen.
The sponsors were ready to put her
on cereal boxes and in soft drink ads
as America’s new skating darling.
By some estimates, $2O million in
endorsements was at stake. Divide
that by two falls and you have $lO
million a fall on a night when the
gold w as there for the taking.
Figure skating is all about rising to
the moment, and no place is that more
magnified than at the Olympics.
Win, and you win the lottery. Lose,
and you’re just another pretty face
on skates. Unfortunately for Cohen,
it’s a story she knows well.
She came in burdened with a
history of bombing when it counted.
After winning the short program, she
carried even higher expectations on
the night when America finally paid
attention to the Winter Olympics.
Four years ago she was in third
place the final night and skated
poorly to fall from medal contention.
She lost nationals, too, after winning
short programs and faltering when it
really mattered.
But she thought she had put
the failures behind her, and she
was determined to do things her
own way in Italy. Cohen trained
far from teammates, avoided the
media and even skipped practice on
Wednesday.
Her own coach shook his head, as
On Feb. 12, the men’s team hoped
to have a better outcome against
undefeated McKeesport. In their
previous meeting, McKeesport won
by a 16 point margin. Harrisburg
accomplished this goal by fighting
hard, keeping the score close and
having 83% overall free throw
accuracy. McKeesport gained an
early lead, but it didn’t last long.
Hitz was fouled while sinking a 3
point shot and he scored the free
throw to give Harrisburg a 13-11
lead with about 10 minutes left.
Harrisburg held onto that lead for
the rest of the half, heading into the
locker rooms with a 36-32 score.
Harrisburg continued their scrappy
offensive play and had a 10-point
lead for the first part of the second
half. McKeesport was then handed
several technical fouls and Hitz
capitalized on this by scoring six
wasn’t a surprise.”
She skated well after that, but all
that was left seemed to be to see how
far she would drop in the standings
behind eventual winner Shizuka
Arakawa of Japan, who skated
brilliantly just behind Cohen.
Cohen kept her composure off the
ice, just as she did after she fell on
it. She was proud that she had been
able to come back from the falls and
skate well.
“I was able to believe when
everything looked very dark and
gray,” she said.
Still, Cohen had no illusions that
it was good enough for a medal.
She took off her skates, changed
from her costume and got ready to
congratulate the winners.
When the skaters after Arakawa
faltered, she had to quickly put
the costume back on and lace up
her skates to take the medalists’
curtain call.
“I definitely didn’t think I was
going to get any medal, so it was a
surprise,” she said.
Somewhere back home, meanwhile,
Michelle Kwan had to be wondering
what could have been.
Kwan was the rare skater who
prospered despite never winning
Olympic gold, but her career will
always be noted for the lack of it.
She came to Turin hoping she
would finally get that elusive gold.
She left after a day knowing that her
body would simply not give her one
last chance.
Cohen seems even more fragile.
The chance of her lifetime was here,
and just as quickly it was gone.
Cohen has an agent and sponsors.
She knows the riches that could have
been her reward. “Ultimately,” she
said, “it’s four minutes of one day of
my life.”
It was, but it was the four biggest
minutes of the biggest day Cohen
will likely ever have.
playoffs
free throws in a row. Rawlings
and Wood also had great offensive
games, with Wood scoring 11 of his
16 points in the second half alone.
Things were looking very good
for Harrisburg, as they lead 62-49.
McKeesport didn’t just sit back and
watch. They went on a 13-0 run
to tie the game up at 62-62 with
a 1:15 left. Wood sank a 3-point
shot, but McKeesport answered
right back with three of their own.
The score was tied at 65-65, and
it was looking like overtime. The
excitement continued, however,
when Harrisburg’s Mike Schweigler
was fouled taking a shot as the
game-ending buzzer rang. Much
to the chagrin of the McKeesport
team, he missed his first free
throw, but made the second, giving
Harrisburg a 66-65 win.
On Feb. 22, Harrisburg beat Penn
State York 82-68, while Mont
Alto upset heavy favorite Penn
College. The combination of these
two events earned Harrisburg a
playoff spot. Harrisburg will now
face McKeesport Tuesday, Feb. 28
in the first round. Good luck to the
Harrisburg Nittany Lions!!!
PSH volleyball Club
Men’s Game vs. Messiah College
First
Thurs. Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.
Students
volleyball club
team, contact
KPLARKIN@COMCAST.NET
By ANDREW KOSER
Staff Reporter
AJK233@PSU.EDU
After scoring 45 points in a
big win over Penn College,
Abe Hitz helped earn the
win that solidified a spot for
the team in the Penn State
Athletic Conference
playoffs. A week
earlier, Hitz led the
Lions with 27 points
to their biggest win
of the season over
previously unbeaten
McKeesport.
“The win over
McKeesport was
a great confidence
builder for our team
to see that we can be
a top contender in this league,”
said the sophomore business
management major.
A 2003 graduate of Annville-
Cleona High School, Hitz was
recruited by other colleges for his
basketball ability but chose PSH
interested
BVDSOOI@PSU.EDU or
Kevin Larkin @
Featured
Athlete
in the CUB
in joining th
or the men's
Ben Davis
because he wanted to be part
of a new program. “I definitely
wanted to be a part of building
the foundation for it. I also
(chose here because it was
closer to my hometown
and my family could
attend more games ”
As the season is
winding down,
Hitz’ reflections
are positive.
“It is a great
feeling because
for this being
our first year,
we have grown
at unbelievable
rates, and the
future of this
program is looking
very bright. We wanted to
develop together ultimately
to become like a family, and
the friendships that have come
about are very important to the
success of the squad.”
Photo by AN DREW KOSER/The Capital