College hoops: Locals reach NCAA tournament
Northeastern graduate Khalid Nwandu is headed to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament with Mount St. Mary’s (Maryland). The senior guard has been a part-time starter during his career, but he mostly came off the bench this season while averaging 7.9 minutes per game.
The Mount punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament with a 71-61 victory against St. Francis (Pa.) in the Northeast Conference championship game on March 7.
Moore, PSU fall in tourney
Delone Catholic graduate and YAIAA career scoring leader Sierra Moore closed in on her final game with Penn State (19-10) when the Lions dropped their opening game in the Big Ten tournament to Minnesota, 70-64, on March 2.
Moore started 14 of the Lions’ 29 games this season, averaging 10.2 points per game. She ranked third on the team in scoring while shooting 49 percent from the floor.
The senior graduate student was a Duke commit out of high school before transferring to Penn State after her freshman season. She missed the 2013-14 per transfer rules and then had to sit out the 2015-16 season with a knee injury.
Albany mises out on NCAA bid
York Catholic graduate and University at Albany assistant coach Jon Iati narrowly missed out on another trip to the NCAA tournament Saturday when the Great Danes lost to Vermont, 56-53, in the America East Conference championship.
Albany appeared in the tournament three straight years, 2013-15, with Iati on the coaching staff.
A 2,000-point scorer for the Irish as a player, Iati went on to score more than 1,000 points at Albany despite playing with shoulder injuries. Iati played on two Albany teams that reached the NCAA tournament.
READ MORE: York Catholic's Iati in a good spot with Albany
Reichard, Hawks reach Sweet 16
Eastern York graduate Dalton Reichard helped Susquehanna University record the most successful season for the program in more than 30 years. The River Hawks reached the NCAA Division III Sweet 16, losing to Williams College, 78-61, on Friday night in Vermont.
Reichard was the No. 3 scoring option for the River Hawks, scoring an average of 7 points per game. He has also accumulated 24 steals, ranking third on the team. A transfer from Lock Haven University, Reichard was a senior point guard and one of just five Pennsylvania players on the River Hawks roster. He capped his college career by scoring 13 points in the loss.
Reichard scored 12 points in a first-round victory against Medaille, and he added five points in a second-round win against Eastern Connecticut State.
The River Hawks Sweet 16 run was the first for the program since advancing to the round of 16 in 1986.
Tarbert caps career
Kennard-Dale graduate Sara Tarbert continues to earn postseason honors, earning ECAC Division III South Player of the Year on Thursday. She was also named a first-team all-star for the third straight season. Tarbert, the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year for a second straight season, averaged 23.2 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. She shot 52.1 percent from the floor.
She finished her career with 30 consecutive double-doubles to set an NCAA Division III record. Stevenson finished the year 19-10 before losing to Carnegie Mellon, 65-50, March 4 in the ECAC Division III championship.
Tarbert began her college career at Division I UMBC, where she earned America East Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman before transferring to Division III Stevenson.