LORETTO — Saint Francis Athletics Hall of Famer Larry Lewis died last Friday at 78 in Illinois.

Lewis, a 1969 graduate of Saint Francis, played basketball three seasons in Loretto from 1966-69. He finished his career with 1,293 points and 1,324 rebounds.

He is one of three players in program history to finish his career with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (with Maurice Stokes and Keith Braxton) and ranks second only to Stokes in program history for rebounds.

Lewis’ career rebound total was the 33rd most in NCAA Division I history when he graduated and still ranks 66th in the nation. When Lewis’ career ended in 1969, he ranked seventh in career points at Saint Francis; now, he sits in 20th place.

Lewis set a single-game program record with 46 points in a 111-88 win against Saint Vincent at the Jaffa Mosque in Altoona on Feb. 10, 1969, his penultimate collegiate home game of his career. He is one of nine players in team history to register a 40-point game.

Lewis posted at least 386 rebounds in all three seasons in Loretto, and the only player to grab more boards in a campaign was Stokes.

He averaged a double-double all three seasons and ranked second in NCAA Division I in his senior campaign with 20.6 rebounds per game. Spencer Haywood (Detroit), who had a 13-year ABA/NBA career, won the rebounding title that season with 21.5 rebounds per game.

Pitt playing ‘Nova

PITTSBURGH — Pitt has renewed an old Big East basketball rivalry with a home-and-home series with Villanova over the next two seasons.

The Panthers will travel to Philadelphia for a Saturday, Dec. 13 matchup at Finneran Pavilion before welcoming the Wildcats back to the Petersen Events Center during the 2026-27 season.

“We are excited to add the Villanova series to our schedule for the next two seasons,” said head coach Jeff Capel. “We were focused on adding another high-caliber non-conference series to our schedule this offseason. The Pitt-Villanova rivalry speaks for itself, and we look forward to adding to the history of the series over the next two seasons.”

PSU introduces nine

UNIVERSITY PARK — Earlier this month, head coach Guy Gadowsky and the Penn State men’s ice hockey team finalized its 2025-26 recruiting class.

Comprised of four forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders, the class features seven incoming freshmen and a pair of transfers.

The recruits include forwards Gavin McKenna, the consensus No. 1 overall pick for the 2026 NHL draft, Lev Katzin, Luke Misa and Shea Van Olm,

On defense, PSU has recruited Nolan Collins, Mac Gadowsky and Jackson Smith.

The goaltenders are Josh Fleming and Kevin Reidler.