News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Above, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, February 7, 1951, Roger Chadwick in action against Syracuse in Barton Hall. Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• The Rebounders Club is planning the Welcome Back Picnic for the players on August 28.

• The Pittsburgh Tribune writes on Nolan Cressler's summer:

Plum grad Cressler named to Pittsburgh Pro-Am all-league squad

Plum graduate Nolan Cressler, a rising sophomore at Cornell University, was one of six players to be named to the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro Am Summer League all-star team.

Pitt senior forward Talib Zanna helped PGT Trucking win the league title last week, and he is an all-star, as well as Duquesne forward Ovie Soko, former Pitt player Chevy Troutman, Beaver Falls and University of Nebraska alum Lance Jeter, Duquesne guard Derrick Colter and Robert Morris swing man Lucky Jones.

Cressler averaged 23 points over seven league games for the P&W BMW team.

“Everyone on the (all-league team) are great players,” Cressler said.

“It's an honor to be with those names.”

P&W BMW finished the six-game regular season in first place with a 5-1 record and received a bye into the playoff semifinals.

However, P&W BMW saw its season end suddenly with a 108-90 loss to The Lair, a squad made up primarily of players from Duquesne and West Virginia.

“We were disappointed because we had the top seed for the playoffs and thought we could win the whole thing,” Cressler said.

“The team we lost to in the semifinals (The Lair) we had beaten pretty good the week before. At the same time, it's a fun summer league, so you don't want to get too upset.”

Cressler had one of the highest-scoring games of the season when he pumped in 38 points on 14-of-20 shooting (60 percent) to help P&W upend PGT Trucking, 90-83, on July 1.

“I had been following the Pro-Am league for a number of years, and I knew what it was all about,” Cressler said.

“It was fun to have the opportunity to play at a high level over the summer. It was great to play against different guys I've never played against and play with some guys I never played with before.”

Cressler said he again enjoyed playing on the same team with brother, Andrew, a Plum grad and a rising senior at Pitt-Johnstown.

Andrew Cressler recorded several double-digit totals to help P&W reach the playoffs.

“We work out together almost every day, and we've played on the same summer-league teams for years,” Cressler said.

“It was just another great opportunity to be on the same court. We push each other, and a lot of my work ethic comes from watching him. We have a pretty good chemistry out there.”

The Cressler brothers hope to play in the league again next summer.