CLARION DOWNS WEST CHESTER 72-61
CLARION COACH RON RIGHTER GETS 300TH WIN
CLARION -- Clarion University’s men’s basketball team raised its overall record to 9-3 today with a 72-61 win at Waldo S, Tippin Gymnasium over visiting West Chester (9-4) in a PSAC crossover game.
Clarion head coach Ron Righter, in his 17th year at Clarion, won his 300th collegiate game as a head coach (including 24 at Wilkes College). He has a 19-year collegiate record of 300-190 (61.2%), and a 17-year record at Clarion of 276-166 (62.4%).
With the Golden Eagles ahead 39-38 in the second half, Frank Torbert’s three-pointer at 13:08 gave Clarion a 42-38 lead and ignited a 9-0 run and was capped by a Ryan Wells layup at 10:28 and a 48-38 lead.
Clarion maintained a 10-point lead throughout most of the rest of the game, winning by a final of 72-61.
Senior Ryan Wells (South Park/Library) led Clarion with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Michael Clarke chipped in with 20points. Point guard Bobby Franklin (Pgh-Plum) had 9 points and Terrance Vaughns (Uniontown) collected 8 points and 8 rebounds.
West Chester was led by Shawn Werdt who had 22 points and Mark Gerhart who had 11.
The win is Clarion’s second in two days, after the Golden Eagles defeated Kutztown on Saturday by a 69-63 margin at Tippin Gym. Kutztown was ranked #4 in the East Region. Wells, a 6-2 forward, had 20 points and 19 rebounds in that game and in the two wins for Clarion totaled 44 points and 29 rebounds.
Coach Righter has led Clarion to the PSAC team title and a spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2001, PSAC-West titles in 1997 and 2000, and leads all PSAC teams with eight consecutive trips to the PSAC playoffs.
Since 1997 the Golden Eagles are 150-72 (67.6%) overall, 61-35 in the PSAC-West and have averaged almost 18 wins per season,
Righter, 52, is a native of Doylestown, Pa., and Central Bucks West High. Righter graduated from CBW in 1970 and accepted a basketball scholarship to Duke. After two years at Duke, he transferred to St. Joe's in Philadelphia and played his final two seasons (1973-75) averaging 13ppg as a junior and 17.8ppg as a senior as the team's captain and MVP. A 1975 St. Joe's grad in Humanities and Theology, he received his Master's from Lehigh in Counseling Education in 1979.
Righter started his coaching experience at Lafayette (1977-78) under Tom Davis (former Iowa coach), was an assistant at Lehigh (1978-79) and the head coach at Wilkes College. He left Wilkes to join Raveling at Washington State. Raveling's first assistant, Righter helped get the Cougars to the NCAA Div.I Playoffs in 1983. Righter then went with Raveling to Iowa as first assistant and recruiting coordinator and saw the Hawkeyes post a 54-38 record in three seasons, plus make 2 NCAA Div.I Playoff appearances. As Recruiting Coordinator, Righter posted three straight top 20 recruiting classes. He helped Raveling rebuild at USC for two years before coming to Clarion.
Inducted into the St. Joe's basketball "Hall of Fame" in the Summer of 1991, Ron and wife Juliet reside in Shippenville. They have a son Matthew and daughter Emily.
Clarion head coach Ron Righter poses with his team and the game ball from his 300th career win as a head coach following a 72-61 win over West Chester Jan. 9 at Clarion's Tippin Gym. Righter is 300-190 in his 19th season as a head coach including 276-166 in his 17th season at Clarion.