CLARION’S RIGHTER NAMED PSAC-WEST COACH OF THE YEAR; TWO EAGLES NAMED ALL-PSAC-WEST

Wells first-team selection, Vaughns second-team choice

            Clarion University men’s basketball coach Ron Righter is the PSAC-West Coach of the Year, and two Golden Eagles players are all-conference selections.

            Senior Ryan Wells (Library/South Park) is a first-team selection, while junior Terrance Vaughns (Uniontown/Uniontown) is a second-team choice.

RIGHTER EARNS SECOND COACH OF THE YEAR HONOR

            Righter’s Coach of the Year award is the second in his 17 seasons at Clarion. He also won the award in 1997.

            This season he led the Golden Eagles to a 19-9 overall mark, an 8-4 record in the PSAC-West and a share of the PSAC-West title. In the annual preseason coaches’ poll, Clarion was picked to finish fourth in the West, yet Righter’s Golden Eagles earned the division’s No. 1 seed entering the league playoffs with one game left in the season. The playoff appearance was the school’s ninth straight, a streak that is unmatched by any Western Division team. Clarion has won PSAC-West titles in 1997, 2000 and 2005 and the PSAC Title in 2001.

            In 17 seasons at Clarion, Righter is 286-172 and 310-196 in 19 seasons overall. He is the winningest coach in school history.

WELLS NAMED FIRST TEAM FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

            Wells is a first-team PSAC-West selection for the second consecutive year after ranking in the top 10 in the PSAC in three categories.

            He was sixth in scoring (16.8 ppg), sixth in rebounding (8.6 rpg) and 10^th in steals (1.78 spg) while adding 45 assists and six blocked shots. He did all of this while being a 6-2, 205 pound forward in a guard’s body playing against players four or five inches taller than him and 30 and 40 pounds heavier than him every game.

            In two seasons at Clarion, Wells, the son of Clarion Hall of Famer Reggie Wells, Sr., the second leading scorer and rebounder in school history, scored 772 points, grabbed 474 rebounds, dished out 92 assists and came away with 107 steals.  

VAUGHNS EARNS FIRST ALL-CONFERENCE HONOR

            Vaughns’ second-team selection is his first PSAC-West honor and comes in a season which saw him finish third in the PSAC in 3-pointers made (184), 4^th in free-throw percentage (82.3) and seventh in steals (1.82). He also averaged 12.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.79 apg.

            Vaughns is 24 points shy of becoming the 25^th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and currently has 976 points, 378 rebounds, 184 assists and 147 steals in his Clarion tenure while shooting 86 percent (202 of 235) from the free-throw line, a mark that currently ranks second in school history.

Head Coach Ron Righter

Sr. Ryan Wells

Jr. Terrance Vaughns