Matt Durisko

Men's Basketball 11/13/2019 3:18:00 PM Bob Shreve, Sports Information Director

Fighting Scots Return to Action at Roberts Wesleyan on Thursday

Junior forward Alex Jay

After playing back-to-back games last Friday and Saturday, Edinboro returns to the court on Thursday, November 14 playing at Roberts Wesleyan. The Fighting Scots opened the season with a 95-72 win over Thiel. A day later, the Fighting Scots played an exhibition game at Cleveland State, losing to the Division I Vikings 79-54. Roberts Wesleyan opened the 2019-20 campaign last weekend, as well, playing in the ECC-CACC Challenge. The Redhawks opened the season with a 75-72 win over Nyack at home before dropping an 82-74 decision at Felician. The two teams are meeting for the first time since 1997-98, when Edinboro claimed a 108-98 decision at McComb Fieldhouse.
Edinboro comes off a 9-17 finish a year ago and is picked to finish in a tie for seventh in the Western Division in the PSAC Coaches' Preseason Poll. Roberts Wesleyan was 16-14 last year under head coach Mark Saladzius, who is in his second year as head coach. The Redhawks were recently picked to finish sixth in the East Coast Conference Preseason Poll.
Head coach Pat Cleary begins his seventh season at Edinboro, and welcomes back five players who started 11 games-or-more. But the key player may be one who started just four games in 2018-19. Anthony Coleman was a second team All-PSAC West selection in 2017-18 after averaging 15.2 ppg. The 6'3" guard went down with a season-ending injury early in the fourth game. Now a redshirt senior, he averaged 12.3 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. in three-plus games last year. Coleman is one of the top 3-point threats in the PSAC, making 72-of-174 (41.4 pct.) as a junior. He ranked sixth in the PSAC in 3-point field goal percentage and was tied for seventh in 3-point field goals made per game (2.5). He opened the season with a bang, scoring a game-high 27 points vs. Thiel, including 23 in the first half, while making 5-of-6 3-pointers. Coleman led Edinboro with 18 points while playing in his hometown at Cleveland State.
With Coleman missing, Jaryn Simpson made a huge jump in productivity. The 6'3" guard went from 3.4 ppg. to 18.0 ppg., ranking ninth in the PSAC. He made 76-of-210 3-pointers, and was at 90.2 percent from the line (110-of-122). He set a school-record for free throw percentage while leading the PSAC, as well. His 76 3-pointers made ranks eighth in a season, and the 210 3-pointers attempted are fifth. Simpson was tied for second on the team in rebounds at 5.5 per game, while leading the team in assists (115) and steals (22). He had Edinboro's first triple-double since 2008 with 25 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and career-best 11 assists in the second meeting with Pitt-Johnstown. Simpson had 16 points and seven assists vs. Thiel.
With his four years of eligibility in football used up, Trey Staunch is using his fifth year of eligibility on the basketball court. He started playing two years ago and has continued to improve. Now he can concentrate on just basketball. The 6'4", 285 lb. graduate student muscled his way for 14.4 ppg. and a team-leading 7.4 rpg. a year ago. When not playing basketball, he is a graduate assistant in the sports information office. Staunch had 11 points and six rebounds vs. Thiel.
Turner Kurt started 16 games as a true freshman a year ago. The 6'8" forward averaged 8.7 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. Daylon Harris, a senior forward, came off the bench to score 10 points and pull down five rebounds against Thiel.

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. ROBERTS WESLEYAN

Edinboro leads 6-1
First Meeting: 1961-62 – Edinboro 73, Roberts Wesleyan 64
Last Meeting: 1997-98 – Edinboro 108, Roberts Wesleyan 98
Current Streak: Edinboro has won the last three meetings.
Cleary vs. Roberts Wesleyan: 0-0

HEAD COACH
Pat Cleary (Edinboro '99) -- 75-86, 7th Year

After serving as an assistant coach under Greg Walcavich for 14 years, Pat Cleary was introduced as Edinboro's tenth head coach on March 26, 2013. He is now in his seventh season at the helm and has a 74-86 record, with three teams making the PSAC Tournament.
Cleary's first three teams improved each year, with his 2015-16 team earning the third seed in the PSAC West Tournament with a 15-11 overall record and 14-8 league mark.
The 2017-18 Fighting Scots were picked to finish eighth in the PSAC West Coaches' Preseason Poll. They would surprise the league with a fourth place finish at 13-9 in league play, and 18-11 overall. Edinboro would defeat Pitt-Johnstown in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament, then hand top-seeded Indiana(Pa.) a defeat in the quarterfinals. The playoff run came to an end with a loss to eventual PSAC champion East Stroudsburg in the semifinals. It marked Edinboro's first appearance in the PSAC Final Four since 2008.
Cleary was named the 2018 PSAC West Coach of the Year. The 18 wins were the most by the Fighting Scots since the 2012-13 team won 18 games.
He guided Edinboro to the PSAC Tournament for the first time in 2014-15 with a 14-13 record, a four-game improvement over his first year, after being chosen to finish eighth in the PSAC West preseason poll.

SCOUTING ROBERTS WESLEYAN

Roberts Wesleyan head coach Mark Saladzius was named the interim head coach last year, and in February 2019 was appointed full-time to the position. He led Redhawks to a 16-14 finish, including 10-8 in the East Coast Conference, claiming the fifth seed in the conference tournament. Roberts Wesleyan opened the 2019-20 season last weekend, splitting a pair of games in the ECC-CACC Tournament. On Friday, Roberts Wesleyan defeated Nyack, 78-75, before dropping an 82-74 decision vs. Felician on Saturday.
Reggie Clark provided the winning points against Nyack, hitting the game-winning shot with two seconds remaining. The 5'10" junior finished with a game-high 22 points, going 7-of-10 from the field including 5-of-6 from three-point range. Clark added 17 points against Felician and comes in averaging 19.5 ppg. and has made 7-of-11 3-pointers.
Roberts Wesleyan features four players in double digits. Redshirt freshman guard Amari Lee adds 18.0 ppg., with Armon Nasseri, a 6'7" junior who previously played at Mercyhurst, adding 13.0 ppg. and a team-high 7.0 rpg. Zecaree Veiga contributes 10.0 ppg. He is a 6'4" junior swingman.
Three st

NEXT FOR THE FIGHTING SCOTS: Monday, November 18 at Notre Dame(Oh.) – 6:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Anthony Coleman: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#11 Jaryn Simpson: G; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#45 Trey Staunch: F; 6' 4"; Senior

#3 Daylon Harris: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#33 Turner Kurt: F; 6' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Anthony Coleman
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#11 Jaryn Simpson
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: G

#45 Trey Staunch
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

#3 Daylon Harris
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#33 Turner Kurt
: 6' 8"; Freshman
: F

Edinboro University Athletics

Scoreboard

Scoreboard

Fighting Scots Return to Action at Roberts Wesleyan on Thursday

Players Mentioned

#4 Anthony Coleman

#11 Jaryn Simpson

#45 Trey Staunch

#3 Daylon Harris

#33 Turner Kurt

Players Mentioned

#4 Anthony Coleman

#11 Jaryn Simpson

#45 Trey Staunch

#3 Daylon Harris

#33 Turner Kurt