They call Adam Bilinsky “Bomber.”
The former Norwin basketball standout was on full blast for Pitt-Johnstown against Seton Hill.
The junior guard erupted for a career-high 35 points in a 97-88 victory over the visiting Griffins.
The top number is impressive. But so is how he got to it. Bilinsky made 13 of 14 shots, including a career-best 6 of 7 3-pointers, adding six rebounds and five assists.
Bilinsky has scored in double figures 13 times this season. He had never scored more than 20 in a game at UPJ.
Freshman Rashaad Williams scored 26 for Seton Hill.
Geneva: Sophomore Austin Matthews (Yough) had 12 points and six rebounds in a 70-63 loss to Saint Vincent.
Pitt-Greensburg: Senior Jackson Byer scored a game-high 22 points, senior Michael Bigley added 19 points and seven assists and senior Trent Rozich went for 15 points and 11 assists to power UPG to a 102-77 victory over Mount Aloysius.
It was the second time the Bobcats scored more than 100 points in a game this season.
The Bobcats moved to 17-3 overall and 9-2 in the AMCC with a 67-55 win over Penn State Behrend — a key conference victory — as senior Trent Rozich had 18 points, senior Matthew Marinchak (Ligonier Valley) added 14 and senior Jackson Byer had 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Saint Vincent: The Bearcats posted a a 90-83 home win over Bethany as senior Jaden Gales led SVC with 20 points, senior Mike Iuzzolino had 15 and grad student Jevontae Jones and sophomore Terek Crosby (Yough) had 14 apiece in the win.
Jones added nine rebounds and six assists.
A 70-63 win over Geneva followed as Jaden Payne scored 18, and Gales had 17 and 11 rebounds for the Bearcats (12-7, 7-3). The Bearcats have won five in a row.
Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore Cam Rowell (Franklin Regional) had 15 points and six rebounds to pace the Presidents to a 72-61 victory over Grove City.
Baseball
IUP: Senior outfielder Elijah Dunn (Norwin) was named to the National College Baseball Writers Association All-Atlantic Region Team.
Dunn, who made the NCBWA All-Atlantic second team and PSAC West first team last season, slugged .639, hit 11 home runs and drove in 35.
He has 22 career homers, putting him fifth all-time in the program.
Seton Hill: No stunner here: The Griffins are the favorite to win the PSAC West again.
Seton Hill is No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth time in six years.
The team also is ranked No. 20 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Division II Preseason Poll.
It is No. 2 in the NCBWA Atlantic Region Preseason Poll.
The Griffins reached the NCAA Division II Atlantic Super Regional for the third straight season last year before finishing 40-18.
They will open the season Feb. 14 when they take on Findlay in a three-game series in Wingate, N.C.
Some of the top players returning for the Griffins are senior outfielder Jack Whalen (Norwin), junior outfielder Gage Wheaton (Hempfield), senior infielder Joe Fiedor (Hempfield), grad pitcher Christian Zilli (Hempfield), junior first baseman Jakob Haynes (Penn-Trafford), junior infielder Owen Mandler, sophomore infielder Brady McGuire, junior infielder Owen Henne and junior pitcher Zach Herb.
McGuire, Henne, Haynes and Herb were picked for the NCBWA All-Atlantic Region Preseason First Team.
Henne batted .375 with 14 doubles, eight homers and 54 RBIs. McGuire stole 14 bases, had 16 doubles and drove in 28, Haynes hit a team-high 12 home runs and Herb was 3-2 with a 1.52 ERA and eight saves.
Herb and Henne also earned a preseason All-America nod from the NCBWA, Herb as a first teamer, and Henne on the second team.
Women’s basketball
Clarion: Freshman Kendall Berger (Norwin) scored 18 points, including 9 of 12 free throws, and grabbed five rebounds in an 83-74 loss to Gannon in overtime.
Berger played 41 minutes.
Holy Family: Sophomore Lauren Palangio (Norwin) scored 10 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and dished three assists in an 87-28 win over Post.
Penn State Behrend: Junior guard Lilly Palladino (Penn-Trafford) scored 11 points, adding five rebounds and three steals, as Behrend rolled over Pitt-Greensburg, 103-47.
Point Park: Freshman Kamryn Pieper (Penn-Trafford) had a team-high 10 points and four rebounds over 38 minutes, but the Pioneers fell to West Virginia Wesleyan, 65-46.
Robert Morris: Senior Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) scored 20 points, her 10th double-digit-scoring game of the season, and grabbed six rebounds in a 76-71 win over IU Indy.
Saint Vincent: Senior Makenna Maier scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and sophomore Emerson Peffer had 11 points and eight rebounds in an 82-58 victory over Geneva.
SVC improved to 14-5 overall and 9-1 in the PAC.
Seton Hill: A big third quarter propelled the Griffins to an 86-70 win at Pitt-Johnstown. They put up 27 points in the third to open a 17-point cushion.
Senior Helene Cowan had 25 points to lead all scorers, senior Hallie Cowan added 21 and junior Mia Kalich finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior Abby Mankins (Greensburg Salem) grabbed nine rebounds.
Helen Cowan made 12 of 13 free throws.
No. 10 IUP beat the Griffins (14-5, 10-3 PSAC), 86-76.
Westminster: Sophomore Angelina Brush (Franklin Regional) had 11 points as the Titans rallied for a 71-65 victory over Thiel in PAC action.
She made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Wrestling
Army: Senior 133-pounder Ethan Berginc (Jeannette/Hempfield) scored an 11-1 major decision, but the Black Knights fell to Lehigh, 29-11.
Lock Haven: Redshirt sophomore Lucas Kapusta (Hempfield) landed at No. 23 in the first NCAA Coaches’ Rankings. The 149-pounder helped Lock Haven to a 19-15 win with a decision against Bucknell.
Another decision against Northern Illinois led to the Bald Eagles’ seventh straight victory.
Pitt: The 14th-ranked Panthers upset No. 11 North Carolina, 22-9, in Chapel Hill as two local products won matches.
Redshirt juniors Dayton Pitzer (Mt. Pleasant) and Briar Priest (Hempfield) helped the Panthers move to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.
Pitzer won a 15-2 major decision at heavyweight, whereas Priest secured a 2-0 win in the final dual at 141 pounds.
Saint Vincent: The Bearcats won 9 of 10 bouts in a dominant 52-3 victory over Waynesburg.
Sophomore Nate Barkley (Derry) and freshman Jonah McCoy had pins, and junior Dylan Klim (Derry) had a major decision for SVC.
McCoy was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week.
Thiel: Freshman Logan Ventura (Penn-Trafford) scored a 15-0 technical fall at 140 pounds as the Tomcats cruised past Washington & Jefferson, 34-12.
Men’s swimming
Grove City: Junior Charlie Cratty (Latrobe) was part of the winning 200-yard medley relay (1 minute, 38.02 seconds) in a 169-122 victory over Washington & Jefferson.
Saint Vincent: Freshman William Schauss was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week. He won the 200 freestyle (1:59.33) and 200 backstroke (2:01.83) in a meet against Westminster. He has the fastest time in the 200 butterfly in the PAC this season.
Westminster: Grad student Gino Piraino (Franklin Regional) tallied a score of 132.12 points as the lone competitor in the 1-meter dive in a 190-58 loss to Saint Vincent.
Women’s swimming
Cal (Pa.): Senior Ashlyn Hornick (Mt. Pleasant) won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.70 seconds in a 161-81 loss to Millersville.
Grove City: Freshman Chaeli Keenan (Derry) swept a pair of diving events with a total of 242.69 points on the 1-meter board and 240.61 in the 3-meter event as the Wolverines downed Washington & Jefferson, 209-63.
Men’s volleyball
Chatham: Junior Tim McCabe (Norwin), a right-side hitter and middle blocker, set a program record for hitting percentage in a game, delivering 15 kills in 17 tries for an .882 clip and no errors in a 3-0 sweep of Carlow.
Geneva: Junior Owen Kelly (Hempfield) had 12 digs and 10 kills for his first double-double of the season in a 3-1 loss to Wilkes.
Grove City: Junior Carson Good (Penn-Trafford) had nine kills, and sophomore Keith Otto (Penn-Trafford) contributed 10 digs in a 3-0 victory over Penn State Behrend.
Women’s track & field
Duquesne: Freshman Brandi Brozeski (Norwin) finished sixth in the pentathlon with 3,449 points at the YSU Mid-Major Invitational.
Her teammate, freshman Melani Schmidt (Norwin), took 32nd in the 400-meter run in 58.82 seconds at the Penn State National Open.
Edinboro: Senior sprinter Berna Zukina (Norwin) was named he PSAC Athlete of the Week after running a personal-record time of 55.17 seconds in the 400 — the 16th-best mark in the nation — at the YSU Mid Major.
Saint Vincent: Freshman Grace Neubert set a program record in the 3,000 with a time of 9:58.92 at the Penn State National Open.
No runner in program history had posted a sub-10-minute time before Neubert.
Shippensburg: Junior Ashley Laukus (Norwin) broke the school record in the high jump at the Schuylkill Showcase hosted by Widener. On her third attempt, Laukus cleared 5 feet, 8 inches for the win — setting a personal record for the second straight meet.
She broke a 16-year-old record set by Rebekah Newhart (5-7 3/4) at the 2010 PSAC championships. Laukus’ mark is tied for 10th on the NCAA Division II performance list.
Westminster: Sophomore Grace Iwig (Hempfield) finished second in the pole vault, clearing 3.48 meters, and took fifth in the high jump (1.55 meters) at the Jim Wuske Collegiate Invitational at Mount Union.
Men’s lacrosse
Seton Hill: The defending-champion Griffins were picked as the preseason favorite to win the Great Midwest Conference by league coaches.
The team earned 10 of 11 first-place votes.
The Griffins finished 18-2 last season, including a 9-0 mark in GMAC play. They reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
Seton Hill is ranked No. 6 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll.
Football
Memphis: Former Memphis lineman Trent Holler (Latrobe) is coaching for the Tigers. Holler is an offensive analyst focusing on the offensive line.
Holler also played at Marshall before spending his graduate season at Memphis.