Edinboro Fighting Scots (0-0, 0-0 PSAC West) vs. Slippery Rock The Rock (1-1, 0-0 PSAC West)
Wednesday, November 18, 2015 7:30 PM
McComb Fieldhouse
Edinboro, PA
 
The Game Story
The Edinboro men's basketball team begins their 2015-16 season on Wednesday, November 18 hosting PSAC West opponent Slippery Rock at 7:30 p.m. in McComb Fieldhouse. Edinboro was ranked third in the PSAC West Preseason Poll.
 
Head coach Pat Cleary returns for his third season leading the Fighting Scots. Cleary looks to build off of last year's success, when the team finished 14-13 overall and 11-11 in the PSAC West, qualifying for the PSAC Tournament for the first time under Cleary's tutelage. The Fighting Scots lost in the first round to Slippery Rock, 64-60. The PSAC Preseason Poll ranked Edinboro third in the PSAC West.
 
The Fighting Scots are led by senior guard Henri Wade-Chatman, a 2015 first team All-PSAC West selection, redshirt sophomore guard and the PSAC West Freshman of the Year Jaymon Mason, and senior center Tommy Scales. Wade-Chatman led the team in scoring in 2014-15 with 18.9 points per game, connecting on 70 3-pointers. Mason was second with 14.5 points per game and hit 46 shots from behind the arc. Scales averaged 7.7 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game.
 
Slippery Rock was ranked fifth in the PSAC Preseason Poll and started its season this weekend, splitting a pair of games at the PSAC-CIAA Challenge in Petersburg, Va. They defeated Virginia State on Friday, 65-59, and fell to St. Augustine's on Saturday, 60-50.
 
All-Time Series
Edinboro leads, 86-82
Slippery Rock has won 11 of the last 12 matchups against Edinboro, and have won the last six games. The Rock completed a three-game season sweep of the Fighting Scots last season, winning both regular season contests and the PSAC Tournament game.
 
The Last Meeting
2/28/15 – PSAC Tournament First Round - Slippery Rock 64, Edinboro 60
With Slippery Rock leading 60-50 with 6:39 to play, the Fighting Scots answered with a 9-1 run keyed by eight points from Will Marrow to shrink The Rock's lead to just two points at 61-59 with 59 seconds showing on the clock. Unfortunately for Edinboro, that is as close as the Fighting Scots would come, as Slippery Rock's Antonio Butler knocked down 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute of the game to seal the postseason victory for The Rock. Edinboro stayed in the game thanks to great rebounding, out-rebounding The Rock, 43-30. Slippery Rock was the top rebounding team in NCAA Division II with a margin of +13.4 boards per game. Wade-Chatman had 20 points for the Boro, going 2-for-6 in 3-pointers. Mason had 14 points and four assists. Will Marrow had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Casey Baker finished with 10 boards. Slippery Rock's Antonio Butler had 19 points and four assists, while Desma Nicholson came off the bench and collected 15 points. Frank Holloway grabbed seven rebounds.
 
The Head Coaches
Edinboro: Pat Cleary (24-29, 3rd Year)
Pat Cleary sat at the right side of Edinboro head men's basketball coach Greg Walcavich for 14 years. On March 26, 2013, Cleary moved over a seat as he was officially introduced as Edinboro's tenth head coach after Walcavich announced his retirement. Cleary's first season ended with a 10-16 record. Edinboro lost three games to nationally-ranked teams and suffered a number of close losses, including two overtime losses and two defeats at the buzzer. Season number two saw the Fighting Scots make the PSAC playoffs as the number five seed after being picked to finish eighth in the PSAC West preseason poll. Edinboro ended the year with a 14-13 record, falling at Slippery Rock, 64-60, in the first round of the PSAC Playoffs. Among the victories was a 79-77 overtime upset of 16th-ranked Indiana(Pa.). The Crimson Hawks would go on to reach the NCAA Division II national championship game.
 
Slippery Rock: Kevin Reynolds (138-72, 8th year)
Kevin Reynolds enters his eighth season as head coach of Slippery Rock men's basketball. He previously served as an assistant coach for Edinboro under head coach Greg Walcavich. The Rock have recorded five 20-win seasons in the last seven seasons under head coach Kevin Reynolds. Slippery Rock had won at least 20 games in a season just three times in program history before Reynolds' arrival.
 
The Fighting Scots
Edinboro's Probable Starters
P / No. Player                         Ht/Wt/Yr         Hometown                 PPG / RPG
F / 23   Michael Beck              6-3/215/So.     Erie, Pa.                      2.5 / 1.3
F / 20   Quinn Lee Yaw           6-6/215/So.     Jamestown, NY          3.5 / 3.4
C / 13  Tommy Scales             6-8/220/Sr.     Maple Heights, Ohio   7.7 / 5.9
G / 2    Henri Wade-Chatman  6-2/180/Sr.     Pittsburgh, Pa.            18.9 / 4.1
G / 5    Jaymon Mason            6-3/185/R-So. Edinboro, Pa.             14.5 / 4.4
Top Reserves
G / 24  Sheldon Brogdon        6-0/170/Jr.       Warren, Ohio                                   
G / 24  Je'Land Head              6-0/180/Jr.       Cleveland, Ohio          
F / 3     Mikael Anderson         6-5/208/Jr.       Las Vegas, Nev.        
 
Players to Watch
Henri Wade-Chatman (G, Sr.) was named to the first team All-PSAC West after finishing second in the PSAC with 18.9 points per game and third in total points with 511. He enters the season ranked 37th at Edinboro with 870 career points and 13th in career three pointers with 105.

Tommy Scales (C, Sr.), a former transfer from Fairmont State, finished third on the team in scoring with 7.7 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding with 5.9 rebounds per game. He also shot 55.8 percent from the floor and blocked 23 shots.
 
Jaymon Mason (G, R-So.) was named the 2015 PSAC Freshman of the Year, the first Fighting Scot to receive this honor since Dan Grabill in 2002. Mason ranked second on the team and 13th in the PSAC in scoring at 14.5 points per game. In addition, he was third in the conference and 32nd in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage at 86.8 percent. He was 118-of-144 from the charity stripe, and made 24 consecutive free throws.
           
Scouting Slippery Rock
Slippery Rock enters Wednesday's contest with a 1-1 overall record, defeating Virginia State on Friday, 65-59, and falling to St. Augustine's on Saturday, 60-50. The Rock was picked fifth in the PSAC West Preseason Poll. The Rock return three starters from last year's team that went 21-11 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to eventual national runner-up Indiana (Pa.). They are senior center Cornelius Brown, senior guard Jamal Gatali, and junior forward Chaquille Pratt. In addition, Slippery Rock brings back senior guard Malcolm Richardson, redshirt senior forward Erik Raleigh, redshirt senior forward Jordan Grady, redshirt senior guard John Johnson, and redshirt junior guard Maxx Rynd. Richardson posted a double-double in The Rock's win over Virginia State with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Brown also registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, while Gatali had 16 points and nine rebounds. Against St. Augustine's Brown led with 19 points and eight boards, going 11-for-14 in free throws. Richardson had 15 points and four rebounds.
 
Slippery Rock's Probable Starters
P / No. Player                         Ht/Wt/Yr         Hometown                 PPG/RPG
F / 2     Chaquille Pratt            6-4/210/Jr.       Midland, Pa.                9.0/4.0
C / 30  Cornelius Brown          6-9/185/R-Sr.  Bridgeport, Conn.        15.0/9.0
G / 1    Malcolm Richardson   6-1/185/Sr.      Lansdowne, Pa.          18.0/8.0
G / 24  Jamal Gatali                6-7/200/Sr.      Toronto, Ontario          9.0/6.5
G / 4    Dontay Jackson           6-2/185/Sr.      Staten Island, NY        4.0/3.5