[naviga:h3]Hardman secures bronze in fencing[/naviga:h3]

CRANBERRY TWP — Harry Hardman, a fencer at Aquinas Academy and a Cranberry Township resident, recently won a bronze medal at the Indiana University of Pa. “Crimson Cup” Senior Mixed Foil competition.

Hardman has now won medals in six consecutive competitions, winning a gold, two silver and two bronze medals earlier in the year.

He was scheduled to close the year at the Western Pennsylvania Division Junior Olympic Qualifiers Sunday, where he was to compete in the Cadet (under 17) and Junior (under 20) Men’s Foil.

[naviga:h3]Gophers’ grid coach defends his players[/naviga:h3]

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota football coach Tracy Claeys doubled down on his support for players who boycotted practices and threatened to skip a bowl game if 10 teammates suspended after a sexual assault investigation weren’t reinstated.

Speaking publicly for the first time since a standoff between 110 Golden Gophers football players and the administration, Claeys said he understands the players’ frustration with a Title IX investigation that they felt was inherently unfair to teammates who were accused of assaulting a woman at an off-campus dorm in September.

“As kids, they have no problems being held to a higher standard than the university requires and should require,” Claeys said after Minnesota’s practice. “This is all about the due process.”

The boycott ended Saturday when the team backed down and said they would play in the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl against Washington State in San Diego, even though officials declined to reinstate their suspended teammates. The players agreed after getting assurances that those accused will get a fair hearing next month.

[naviga:h3]Louisville, Va. Tech each fined $25,000[/naviga:h3]

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference has fined Louisville and Virginia Tech $25,000 each after reviewing the findings of a Wake Forest investigation that concluded a former Demon Deacons assistant coach-turned-broadcaster leaked game plans to opponents.

Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement he is “deeply disturbed something like this would occur.”

[naviga:h3]Penn State cruises to 92-76 victory[/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — Shep Garner scored 21 points and was 6 for 9 from 3-point range to lead Penn State (7-5) to a 92-76 men’s basketball victory over St. John’s on Sunday in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

[naviga:h3]Hopkins, 51, loses by 8th-round TKO[/naviga:h3]

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Joe Smith Jr. stopped Bernard Hopkins 53 seconds into the eighth round of their WBC international light heavyweight title fight Saturday night.

Smith used a six-punch combination to send Hopkins through the ropes and on to the floor, effectively ending the 51-year-old’s 28-year boxing career.

Smith successfully defended his title when Hopkins was unable to return to the ring after 20 seconds. Hopkins hit his head on the way down and twisted his right ankle — he cited the ankle as the reason he couldn’t finish. A WBC official said the injuries incurred forced a TKO.