CLARION Golden Eagles (5-19, 3-12 PSAC West) AT EDINBORO Fighting Scots (9-16, 2-13 PSAC West)

DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 2014
TIPOFF: 7:30 p.m.
SITE: McComb Fieldhouse
RADIO: WFSE 88.9 FM
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/edinboro/mbball

Edinboro Game Notes , Clarion Game Notes
Edinboro Season Stats, Clarion Season Stats
 
SERIES RECORD
Edinboro Leads 96-70

LAST MEETING
January 25, 2014 - Edinboro 81, Clarion 74
Edinboro used a strong first half to earn its first PSAC West victory of the season over Clarion at Tippin Gymnasium. Possessing a slim 27-25 lead with 6:18 to play in the first half, Edinboro constructed a 17-0 run to close out the opening period fueled by Johnathan Logan's five points. Logan capped off the surge with a basket to end the half, giving the Scots a 44-27 advantage at the break. The Golden Eagles clawed back in the second half, trailing by only six points with 49 seconds left at 76-70 when Marques Jones hit a three-pointer. Edinboro made five of six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Logan led four Fighting Scots in double figures with 18 points off the bench. Theriot added 17 points and seven rebounds followed by Jonny Marsh with 11 markers. Xavier Churnac chipped in 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Will Marrow pulled down a game and career-high eight rebounds. DeMarius Miller led all scorers with 26 points for Clarion, making 9 of 20 shots on the night. Jones and Mike Kromka added 20 and 12 points, respectively.  Edinboro won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Clarion, 47-27 including 19-3 on offensive boards. The Fighting Scots outscored Clarion in the paint, 38-20, with 22 of those points coming in the first half.
 
LAST GAME'S STARTERS
 

Edinboro	Clarion
#2 Henri Wade-Chatman (G, 6-2, So.)	#3 BJ Andrews (G, 6-4, Fr.)
#5 Alex Moore  (F, 6-4, Sr.)	#5 Marques Jones (G, 5-10, Jr.)
#15 Jonny Marsh (G, 6-0, Jr.)	#12 Mike Kromka (F, 6-6, Sr.)
#21 Xavier Churnac (F, 6-5, Sr.)	#23 DeMarius Miller (G, 6-2, Jr.)
#55 Bryan Theriot (C, 6-9, Sr)	#31 Aaron Johnson (F, 6-4, So.)

HEAD COACHES
Edinboro: Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99)
Record at Edinboro: 9-16, 1st year
Career Record: 9-16, 1st year

Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99) is in his first year as head coach of the Fighting Scots, taking over for his predecessor Greg Walcavich, who spent 24 years at the helm of the Edinboro program. Cleary previously worked as an assistant under Walcavich for 16 years, first as a student aide before becoming a full-time assistant coach. He is credited for recruiting many of Edinboro's top contributors in recent years. The first-year head coach takes over a team that finished 18-10 a year ago and reached the PSAC Tournament Semifinals. Cleary has led the Fighting Scots to a 9-16 record this season.

Clarion: Ron Righter (St. Joseph's '75)
Record at Clarion: 402-298, (26th year)
Career Record: 426-323, (28th year)


Ron Righter is in his 26th season as the head coach at Clarion, showing a 402-298 ledger during that period. The all-time leader in coaching victories at Clarion, he recently earned his 400th coaching triumph at Clarion in the Golden Eagle's 64-61 win over Seton Hill on January 18. Since taking over the Clarion program in 1988­-89 he has guided the Golden Eagles to 17 seasons of at least 15 wins and three 20-­win campaigns. Clarion won the PSAC West in 1997, 2000 and 2005 under his guidance, along with the PSAC championship in 2001. He was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year in 1997 and again in 2005. Clarion experienced a down year last season, posting a record of 6-20. Righter's coaching back­ground includes assistant coaching stints at Washington State, Iowa and USC, along with Lafayette and Lehigh. He also served as the head coach at Wilkes for two years, posting a 24­-24 record to give him a career record of 420­-302 in 27 years. In the Summer of 1988, Righter was one of eight assistants helping U.S. Olympic coach John Thompson narrow the 1988 U.S. Olympic team at Colorado Springs, CO.
 
 
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Edinboro
#55 Bryan Theriot (C, 6-9, Sr.) earned first team All-PSAC West accolades a year ago after averaging 18.1 ppg. and 8.9 rpg. Theriot was named a preseason All-PSAC choice. He shot 55.4 percent from the floor and 87.2 percent at the line. He was named the PSAC West Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week ending January 12, after averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in two contests.  He leads the team in scoring at 17.2 points per contest, also ranks seventh in scoring average in the PSAC. He is fifth in the league in rebounding average at 8.0 boards per game, and third in the conference in field goal percentage at 59.1 percent (149 of 252). The senior ranks 12th in school history with 1,337 career points and 13th with 666 career rebounds. Theriot now holds the career record for free throws made with 397. He also sits at second all-time in career field goal percentage, shooting 58.8 percent from the field for his career (469 of 797). Theriot is second in school history in free throws made in a season with 132.
 
#2 Henri Wade-Chatman (G, 6-2, So.) is a first-year player for the Fighting Scots after transferring from Community College of Allegheny County. He is coming off a team-high 22 points against Indiana (Pa.). Wade-Chatman has scored in double-figures in 9 of last 11 games and is the team's third-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game. Known as "Booka" to his teammates, Wade-Chatman is also team leader in steals with 23. He dished out a game-high eight assists with no turnovers vs. Clarion, while ranking fifth in the PSAC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.9 (86/45), and eighth in the league in assists per game at 3.4. He scored 17 points in the win over California, including a game-winning jumper with 3.1 seconds remaining. He has dished out 33 assists in the last five games while surrendering just 11 turnovers.


Clarion
#23 DeMarius Miller (G, 6-2, Jr.) Miller is the Golden Eagles' leading scorer and ranks 12th in the PSAC, hitting at 16.3 points per game. He sits 18th in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 42.0 percent from the field for the season. A Morton College transfer, he led the NJCAA in scoring in 2011-12 at 27.6 points per contest. He dropped in a career-high 42 points on 13 of 20 shooting against Penn State Beaver earlier this season, tying the fifth-most points in a game by a Clarion player.
 
 
 
#12 Mike Kromka (F, 6-6, Sr.) A preseason All-PSAC West selection, Kromka leads the team and ranks second in the PSAC in rebounding (8.8 rpg.). He is also the Golden Eagles's second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game. Kromka is 14th in the conference in blocked shots, averaging 1.1 blocks per contest. The 6'6'' senior has posted six double-doubles this season, including a 26-point, 15-reound effort in a win over Slippery Rock on January 29. He has scored in double figures in nine of the last ten games.
 
 
 
THE GAME STORIES
• Edinboro enters the Clarion game after a 78-65 road loss at #12 Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday night to fall to 2-13 in PSAC West play and 9-16 overall. The game against Clarion marks the final game of the 2013-14 campaign. Both teams are eliminated from the playoff chase, as The Scots lost four straight contests and Clarion has dropped three games in a row. Five of six spots in the Western Divisions for the PSAC Tournament have been solidified, with one spot remaining. Pitt-Johnstown and California (Pa.) are in the hunt for the final playoff spot with 5-10 records and one game remaining.
 
• The Fighting Scots' nine wins this season are the fewest since the 1980-81 season, when the Fighting Scots posted a 7-17 record. Edinboro needed wins in each of its last two games to avoid its lowest win total since 2009-10, when Edinboro posted an 11-16 record. With 16 losses on the season, the Scots look to avoid 17 losses for the first time since the 1992-93 campaign.
 
• Edinboro will bid farewell to six seniors prior to Wednesday's game against Clarion, including forwards Alex Moore, Xavier Churnac, Johnathan Logan and Bobby Davis, guard Guy Rundle and center Bryan Theriot.
 
• Clarion comes into the matchup with Edinboro after a 100-87 non-conference loss against Central Penn on Monday night. The Golden Eagles sport a 3-12 record in conference play with a 5-19 ledger on the season. Clarion sits eighth in the PSAC West standings, one game ahead of the Fighting Scots. The winner of this game finishes eighth in the PSAC West, with the loser finishing ninth. The Scots have won the last four meetings with Clarion after an 81-74 victory over the Golden Eagles earlier this season.
 
•The Fighting Scots capped a difficult stretch of games against four of the top scoring defenses in the country with the IUP matchup. The Crimson Hawks pace the PSAC and rank second in Division II in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 58.7 points per game. Edinboro faced Gannon and Meryhurst, who ranked third and fifth in Division II, respectively. Slippery Rock was ninth in the nation in this statistic coming into the game against the Scots.
 
•Edinboro is currently on a four-game losing streak, matching its longest of the season. The Fighting Scots snapped their last four-game skid with a win over Clarion. Prior to this season, the last time Edinboro lost four straight games was during the 2011-12 campaign. The Scots have not lost five games in a row since 2010-11.
 
• Bryan Theriot is now second in Edinboro history in free throws made in a season with 132. He passed Dwayne Butler (1997-98) and Derek Walton (1990-91), who made 128 free throws in their respecitve seasons, and his own mark of 129 from the 2012-13 campaign.Theriot needs eight free throws to pass Billy Wade, who made 139 free throws during the 1989-90 season. The 6'9'' center continues to climb the ranks of several career records, after setting the record for most career free throws made. His total now sits at 397.
 
•Henri Wade-Chatman notched his fourth 20-point scoring effort at IUP, tallying a team-high 22 points. Wade-Chatman has scored in double-figures in six of the last seven games, averaging 16.0 points per game in these contests. The Pittsburgh native has also scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games.