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CoBL-Area D-III Notebook: Dupriest a major addition for Neumann men; PSU-Abington women rolling

01/22/2025, 1:00am EST
By David Comer

By David Comer

The Neumann University men’s basketball team was off to a solid 8-4 start this season when it received an addition to the roster in 6-foot-4 junior forward Donte Dupriest. Since joining the team, Dupriest, a Bartram High grad who transferred in from Cochise College in Arizona, has been dominant.

Dupriest has recorded a double-double in the five games he’s played — all wins — and is averaging a team-best 16.6 points and 14.6 rebounds per game.  With Dupriest in the lineup, the Knights have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 17.4 rebounds per game.

“He’s a kid who just plays extremely hard,” Neumann coach Jim Rullo said. “He’s driven to win. He’s very selfless. He’s relentless on the glass. He just has a positive energy that impacts the game. We are thrilled to have him.”


Dupriest (above) has been averaging a double-double since arriving at Neumann. (Photo courtesy Neumann Athletics)

Dupriest and the Knights, who sit at 13-4 overall and 4-0 in the Atlantic East Conference, will visit the other undefeated team in the league, Marymount University, on Wednesday night in a battle for first place. Rullo is happy to have Dupriest along for the ride.

“He’s been a great fit,” he said. “He’s just selfless. He takes shots when they’re available. He does anything to help the team win.”

Rullo, who is in his 12th season at Neumann after a successful seven-year stint at Malvern Prep, has led a turnaround from last season’s team that finished 9-17. Rullo credits the depth of this year’s team.

“We have a core group of guys who on any given night can go for big numbers,” he said. “We share the ball, and that puts pressure on our opponents. We have a core group that understands that. We don’t force too many shots and understand shot selection.”

Six players average at least 9.8 points per game. Following leading scorer Dupriest are junior guard DJ Earl (15.6), senior guard TJ Lewis (13.1), junior guard Mike Smith III (10.9), junior guard Bryan Etienne (10.4) and senior forward Gary Francis (9.8).

Lewis is a Friends’ Central product who is a four-year starter and career 1,000-point scorer.

“He’s had a great career,” Rullo said. “He’s a consummate leader and a great kid.”

Smith went to Chichester High and is a transfer from Shippensburg University.

“He’s worked really hard,” Rullo said. “He’s been shooting the ball a lot better.”

Francis is a Pennsbury High grad who is at this third school after spending time at Lackawanna College and Moravian University.

“He has ability inside and out,” Rullo said. “He’s a great kid. He works hard. We’re happy to have him.”

Rullo said that an exhibition game at Lehigh University helped his team’s confidence. Despite an eventual 87-67 loss to the Division I opponent, the game was tied 42-all at halftime and it was a nine-point game with less than 8 minutes to play.

“It was a neat opportunity to take advantage of,” he said. “It’s proven to be a good move for us.”

The Knights have not lost since playing at Stabler Arena. Rullo knows that Wednesday night’s game at Marymount will be a challenge.

“It’s a tough place to play,” he said. “They’re well-coached. They have good players. And going on the road adds another element.”

The season holds much promise for Neumann. They are looking to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Rullo has enjoyed this year’s team.

“They’re very coachable,” he said. “They’re good kids. When guys miss a shot or make a mistake, they have each other’s backs.”

And Rullo, who has 194 career wins, is closing in on his 200th victory with the Knights.

However, he is not concerned about his individual accomplishments. He is forever hoping his team can play the perfect game.

“We control what we can control,” he said. “I’m always in search of the perfect game, but I know I’m never going to get it.”

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Penn State-Abington women return to winning ways

When Tiara White was hired as the Penn State-Abington women’s basketball coach in August with the team’s first game just three months away, she knew she didn’t have much time to get her squad ready for the season. But she had a plan.

“I wanted to build team chemistry,” she said. “I was trying to create a culture that would translate onto the court. I was just trying to create that family dynamic. The plan was to create that family bond and a great culture.”

Mission accomplished thus far. The Nittany Lions are 11-4 overall and 7-1 in the United East Conference and on their way to their first winning season since 2017-18.

White served for two seasons as an assistant at Penn State-Abington to former coach Megan Fox, who left to take the head coaching job at Division II Chestnut Hill College in June. White was named the interim coach at the time and then elevated to head coach in August.

White said that her team, without a player over 5-foot-11 on the roster, has to focus on the little things - like boxing out with proper technique, making the extra pass and communicating on the court. She described her team as “fast and scrappy.”

“We like to run people off the court,” she said.

Leading the way is sophomore Amina Reid, a 5-foot-5 guard who played at West Catholic. Reid averages a team-best 15.3 points per game and is shooting 35.9% (37-of-103) from three-point range.

“Last year she was trying to get acclimated,” White said. “This year she’s stepped up and into her role. Overall, she’s just a solid player. She’s just a kid who is really dedicated to the sport.”

White said that Reid is also the leader of the team’s defense that creates 24.8 turnovers per game.

Another contributor is junior Nia Newman, who is a 5-foot-6 guard/forward from Rockville, Md. She averages 13.9 points and a team-best 10.4 rebounds per game.

The team’s third-leading scorer is sophomore Amirah Hackney, a 5-foot-9 guard/forward who played at Neumann-Goretti. She also averages 7.5 rebounds per game.

“We’re a smaller team,” White said. “We all have to get on the boards.”

The Nittany Lions will look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Penn State-Brandywine on Wednesday. A year after finishing 13-15, Penn State-Abington sits just one-half game out of first place in the league as February approaches.

“It’s been a humbling experience,” White said.

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Jack Vreeswyk excelling at TCNJ

Former George School standout Jack Vreeswyk is the top reserve for The College of New Jersey men’s basketball team. On Saturday, his steal and layup with three seconds left propelled TCNJ to a 74-72 comeback win over New Jersey City University. The victory improved TCNJ to 12-4 overall and 5-4 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Vreeswyk, a 6-foot-4 graduate student, is a big reason for his team’s success. He has played in all 16 games off the bench and is averaging 23.8 minutes and 11.9 points per game. Not surprisingly, Vreeswyk, son of former Temple sharpshooter and Big 5 Hall of Famer Mike Vreeswyk, is a terrific three-point shooter. This season, he is shooting 39.4% (43-of-109) from deep, which is best on his team for anyone with more than five attempts. He also has at least one made three-pointer in 15 of 16 games and at least two made three-pointers in 13 of 16 games.

Last season, Vreeswyk was a key member of a TCNJ team that reached the NCAA tournament, playing in 23 games - including eight starts - before suffering a season-ending injury. He averaged 8.3 points per game and shot 33.3% from long range.

This season, Vreeswyk has been even better. He is the type of player - like Vinnie Johnson of the great Detroit Piston teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s - who can heat up in a hurry. He’s had games off the bench of 24 points (6-of-9 from deep) against Drew University and 23 points (5-of-7 from downtown) against Rowan University. 

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Ironwoman at Cairn University

Senior Kailee Sobrino leads the Cairn University women’s basketball team in scoring at 16.7 points per game. What is even more impressive, though, is that Sobrino, a 5-foot-5 guard from Vail, Ariz., is averaging 39.36 minutes per game to rank third nationally in Division III in minutes per game. The Highlanders have played 14 games - they are 1-13 with a roster of nine players - and Sobrino has played all 40 minutes in 10 of those games. She also has played 39 minutes in one game, 38 minutes in two games, and 36 minutes in another. She has played 399 out of a possible 400 minutes in her team’s last 10 games.

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Layups

Ursinus College has both a men’s player and a women’s player who rank among the top 25 nationally in Division III scoring. Senior Trevor Wall is 25th at 22.1 points per game, while senior Chinwe Irondi is 17th at 20.8 points per game. … Speaking of Irondi, she is now second on the school’s all-time women’s scoring list with 1,625 career points. She trails only Ellen Cosgrove (1,878). With nine regular-season games and the postseason left, Irondi needs 254 points to become the program’s top scorer. … Chris Patton, a senior guard at King’s College who played at Devon Prep, ranks 20th nationally in scoring at 22.4 points per game. The 6-foot-3 lefty is shooting an impressive 46.5% from three-point range to rank 15th nationally and 88.1% from the foul line to rank 43rd nationally. He is one of 31 players in program history to score at least 1,000 career points. … Carl Schaller, a senior guard at Gettysburg College who played at Garnet Valley High, was named the Centennial Conference men’s basketball player of the week after leading his team to a pair of key road conference wins last week, averaging 22.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The 6-foot Schaller is enjoying a terrific career for the Bullets. His 1,193 career points tie him for 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list.


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