STATE COLLEGE — Police are trying to find out whether there is a connection between two stabbings in as many days during brawls between large groups.

Police said dozens were involved in the fight outside a club early Sunday that injured two men, ages 21 and 22.

At almost exactly the same time the night before and 2 miles away, a brawl at a social club sent three men to hospitals in critical condition. That happened at the Knights of Columbus Hall, and club president George Pytel said those attending were Penn State students and recent alumni.

Club manager Lionel Bassett said more than 500 people were there or trying to get in, and officials eventually told everyone to leave, after which the stabbings occurred. The stabbing victims were between 19 and 21 years old.

UNIONTOWN — A man apologized for beating his lifelong friend to death over a $25 debt payment, saying the two often fought but always made up the next day.Tommy Daniel Williams, 26, of Uniontown pleaded guilty earlier this month to third-degree murder, robbery and theft in the October 2008 beating death of Barry Strosnider, 41.Fayette County Judge John Wagner Jr. imposed a 12- to 24-year prison sentence Friday. Williams' plea deal originally called for a 10- to 20-year sentence, but prosecutors modified the offer after the victim's family objected to the shorter sentence.Police said Williams beat the victim after he refused to repay $25 of a $300 loan. Authorities said the victim had a blood-alcohol content more than four times the legal limit for driving, and the suspect's was three times the limit.

ALIQUIPPA — Authorities said a teenage relative was charged in the stabbing death of a man near a convenience store.Police in Aliquippa said the 16-year-old faces manslaughter charges in the death of Arthur Motton, 47, Thursday night. They say the victim was found near Curenton Market and flown to a hospital in Pittsburgh, where he died from his injuries.Police are still trying to determine a motive.