Mar 11, 2021 5 min read

ON THIS DATE

March 13

1954 – Washington County wrestlers dominate the PIAA Championships in State College by winning six championships. Trinity, with Bill Bane (95 pounds) and Joe Shook (112), has two champions, as does Canonsburg with Vic DeFelice (127) and Gene Smittle (185). Also winning state titles are Chartiers’ Francis Adams (103) and Washington’s Nick Petronka (138).

1959 – Jerry West scores 21 of his 36 points in the second half as West Virginia beats St. Joseph’s 95-92 NCAA basketball tournament’s East Regional semifinals in Charlotte, N.C.

1965 – John Abajace of Trinity decisions Jim Swineford of Lewistown 12-5 to win the 103-pound title at the PIAA Wrestling Championships at Penn State.

1965 – Waynesburg College’s Tony Gusic (137 pounds) and Mike Zrimm (167) win individual titles and the Yellow Jackets finish fourth in the team scoring at the NAIA tournament in Terra Haute, Ind.

1969 – North Carolina edges Duquesne 79-78 in the NCAA tournament’s East Regional semifinals at College Park, Md.

1973 – Washington’s boys basketball team overcomes an eight-point second-half deficit and defeats General McLane 48-44 in the PIAA Class B playoffs at Charleroi. Carl Grinage leads Wash High with 14 points.

1976 – Trinity clinches its sixth WPIAL wrestling team title, and becomes the first section runner-up to become champion. The Hillers have two champions, Ken Evans (119) and Bob Piatt (137), in the individual tournament held at California State College.

1974 – Duquesne University hires John Cinicola as its head basketball coach, replacing Red Manning, who resigned to become the school’s athletic director.

1979 – Steve Hamay scores 33 points, Kevin Tony has 25 and Bentworth overpowers Shade 84-61 in the first round of the PIAA Class A basketball playoffs at Chartiers Valley.

1982 – Jefferson-Morgan’s Gary Basinger (98 pounds) and Charleroi’s Jim Edwards each remain undefeated by winning individual titles at the WPIAL Class AA wrestling finals at Hamer Hall.

1985 – Waynesburg College loses in the opening round of the NAIA basketball tournament for the first time under head coach Rudy Marisa. The Yellow Jackets fall to Drury (Mo.), 66-57, at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City.

1991 – Washington High School overcomes an eight-point halftime deficit and beats Seton-LaSalle 57-53 in the PIAA Class AAA boys basketball Western Region quarterfinals at Chartiers Valley. Washington’s Terry Vaughn scores a game-high 17 points.

1992 – Two consecutive steals and baskets in overtime by California University’s James Kirkland proves to be the lift the Vulcans need in a 69-66 victory over Pace in the NCAA Division II East Regional semifinals at Hamer Hall. The win is the 27th straight for Cal.

1998 – Bryce Drew makes a leaning three-pointer as time expires to give Valparaiso a shocking 70-69 upset of Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.

1999 – Jeff Breese and Nick Richmond cap a strong showing by McGuffey wrestlers at the PIAA Championships by winning state titles. Breese wins the Class AA title at 103 pounds by pinning Jim Collins of Northern lebanon in 44 seconds. Two hours later, Richmond wins the 171-pound title by beating Justin Millard of Bald Eagle Area, 7-3.

2010 – Three local wrestlers win titles at the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Canon-McMillan’s Connor Schram wins the 103-pound title in Class AAA with a 2-1 decision over Austin Miller of Hempfield in District 3. Charleroi’s Cody Wiercioch wins the Class AA 152-pound title with an 8-3 decision over Kyle Dehaut of Bethlehem Catholic. Nick Carr of South Fayette wins at 145 pounds in Class AA with a 6-3 decision over Jordan Moss of Sharon.

March 14

1953 – Three of the 11 winners at the PIAA Wrestling Championships are from Washington County. Trinity’s Joe Shook (112 pounds), Washington’s Nick Petronka (133) and Canonsburg’s Bob DeFelice (154) win titles. Petronka registers his victory in the finals by pinning Dave Bates of Phillipsburg in 30 seconds.

1959 – Waynesburg, with three champions, wins the team title at the WPIAL Wrestling Championships at Washington High School. The Raiders’ Ron Mayle (120 pounds), Sam Fuller (154) and Jim Husk (165) win titles.

1961 – Fort Cherry wallops Wampum 77-56 to win the WPIAL Class B basketball championship at the Pitt Field House.

1967 – The first joint NFL-AFL draft is held. The expansion New Orleans Saints trade the No. 1 overall pick to the Baltimore Colts for quarterback Gary Cuozzo, lineman Butch Allison and a 17th-round draft pick. The Colts select Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith.

1972 – Denny Tanner scores 29 points and Mapletown overcomes a 10-point first-quarter deficit to beat Sparta, 75-68, in the first round of the PIAA Class C basketball tournament at Westminster College. It’s the first state playoff victory for Mapletown.

1972 – A crowd of only 500 shows up at Connellsville High School to watch the Virginia Squires beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 156-133. Rookie Julius Erving leads Virginia with 33 points.

1974 – Billy Knight scores 34 points as Pitt defeats Furman, 81-78, to advance to the East Regional final against top-ranked North Carolina State.

1978 – Dick Harter, head basketball coach at Oregon the last seven seasons, is hired by Penn State.

1992 – Jefferson-Morgan’s Cary Kolat becomes only the seventh wrestler in PIAA history to win four individual championships and is named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler in Class AA for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. In the process, he raised his PIAA record undefeated streak to 137 matches by beating Chris Bohn of Boiling Springs by injury default at 4:12 before 8,476 at Hersheypark Arena.

1995 – Emily Cokinos scores 21 points and grabs 14 rebounds to lead Ringgold to a 57-47 win over Shaler in the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA girls basketball playoffs.

1997 – Coppin State, a 30-point underdog, pulls off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA basketball tournament history, beating second-seeded South Carolina, 78-75, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

1997 – Pittsburgh Penguins forward Joey Mullen becomes the first American-born player to score 500 career goals, with a goal in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche. The New York native is the 25th player in NHL history to reach the milestone.

1998 – West Virginia’s Jarrod West banks in his fifth three-pointer of the game with eight-tenths of a second to play to give the 10th-seeded Mountaineers a 75-74 victory over second-seeded Cincinnati in the West Regional in Boise, Idaho.