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West Pittston native Chris Hine, Chicago Tribune writer criticizes NFL’s ‘anti-gay culture’

Our Opinion: Threat of mass school closings might compel Harrisburg to finally pass state budget

The Penn State men&#8217;s basketball program will not compete in a postseason tournament head coach Patrick Chambers announced on Sunday evening.&#8220;We have decided not to pursue opportunities for post-season play this season. I am proud of what this team accomplished and how hard they continued to work and battle each day to become the best team we could be in March. We will continue to work hard in the off-season to build on our successes and advance the process of developing Penn State Basketball.&#8221;Penn State finished 16-16 overall and had a 7-11 mark in the Big Ten, the most conference wins in five seasons under Chambers.The Nittany Lions lost in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament to Ohio State on March 10. The Buckeyes were awarded the No. 3 seed in the NIT Tournament which kicks off on March 15.Penn State will lose four seniors in Brandon Taylor, Donovon Jack, Jordan Dickerson and Devin Foster.Taylor, a second team All-Big Ten selection leaves Penn State with 1,289 points and ranked No. 16 on Penn State&#8217;s all-time scoring charts. The senior captain was one of just three league players to rank in the Top 10 in Big Ten scoring and rebounding for the regular season, finishing his career ranked sixth in scoring with 16.3 points per game and 10th in rebounding with 6.5 per game.Taylor finished his career ranked No. 8 in career blocks at Penn State, joining Jack and Dickerson to all rank in the Top 10. Dickerson completed his PSU career ranked third with 133, while Jack is sixth with 100.WOMEN&#8217;S BASKETBALL MAC Freedom 68, MAC Commonwealth 65The Middle Atlantic Conference Senior Basketball Games were held on Sunday at Lebanon Valley College&#8217;s Sorrentino Gymnasium. The MAC Freedom won both the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s senior games over the MAC Commonwealth.In the women&#8217;s game, the MAC Freedom took a 10-point lead, 43-33, at halftime. The MAC Commonwealth outscored the MAC Freedom seniors in the second half, 32-25, but came up short.Delaware Valley&#8217;s Eireanna Anastasi, the MAC Freedom Player of the Year and Jostens Trophy Finalist, led all scorers with 24 points. The Aggies&#8217; Kelsey Kilpatrick and DeSales&#8217; Jennifer Napolitano both scored 14 points in a winning effort. King&#8217;s Jennifer Fabian finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double and DeSales&#8217; Kelly Anthony had a game-high 15 rebounds.MEN&#8217;S BASKETBALLMAC Freedom 118, MAC Commonwealth 116In the men&#8217;s game, the MAC Freedom took a two-point lead, 54-52, into halftime. Both teams held a nine-point lead during the first half, but Wilkes&#8217; Amal Pillai hit a 3-pointer with one second remaining in the first half to give the MAC Freedom a two points lead.That 3-pointer and two point half time lead turned out to favor the MAC Freedom as both teams scored 64 points in the second half for the 118-16 win.The MAC Freedom had four players score 20-plus points, including Wilkes&#8217; Alec Wizar (26), Steve Stravinski (24), Amal Pillai (20) and Delaware Valley&#8217;s Chris Moran (26). Moran, the MAC Freedom Player of the Year, made a game-high 11 baskets. Stravinski also pulled down 11 boards for a double-double. King&#8217;s Connor Hughes scored 14 points, and Tommy Heston pulled down 10 boards.Albright&#8217;s Johnathan Amoroso led the MAC Commonwealth with 24 points and 11 made baskets. Amoroso also recorded 13 rebounds for a double-double. Five more players finished in double figures including, Albright&#8217;s Evan Ward (17), Lycoming&#8217;s John Monkam (14), Widener&#8217;s LaRon Byrd (13), Stevenson&#8217;s Chris Day (11) and Joe Kiely (10).Widener&#8217;s Byrd and Wilkes&#8217; Stavinski won the men&#8217;s 3-points contest prior to the game. Delaware Valley&#8217;s Chris Moran and Lycoming&#8217;s John Monkam won the men&#8217;s dunk contest.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports.</shirttailMeta></div>

Penn State men’s basketball won’t compete in postseason tourney