Basketball lucky in Kentucky

11.12.09 / Sports / By The Clarion Call

Clarion basketball player, No. 1 Llyod Harrsion, a junior guard from Detroit, lays the ball up against the glass against a Kentucky defenseman in Friday’s game. (Megan Shewell / The Clarion Call)

Clarion basketball player, No. 1 Llyod Harrsion, a junior guard from Detroit, lays the ball up against the glass against a Kentucky defenseman in Friday’s game. (Megan Shewell / The Clarion Call)

The Clarion Golden Eagles men’s basketball team kicked off its season with an exhibition game last Friday night.

The team traveled to the University of Kentucky to take on Coach John Calipari and the Wildcats in historic Rupp Arena, where it lost 117-52.

The Golden Eagles, coached by Ron Righter, put forth a valiant effort against the Wildcats. Junior Mike Sherry, of Pittsburgh, PA, was the high scorer for the team with 11 points. He was followed by Shameel Carty, a junior from Queens, NY, who had 10 points.

The Golden Eagles were ranked eigth in the PSAC-West for the 2008-09 season.

Although they only posted a 2-12 record in the conference, they finished the season with an overall record of 11-16, with a total of eight wins at home.

Coach Righter graduated from St. Joseph’s University in 1975, and has been coaching college basketball for 23 years with an overall record of 365-250; 21 of those years have been at Clarion University with a record of 341-226.

With the Golden Eagles, he has won three PSAC-West titles (1997, 2000, and 2005) and one PSAC title in 2001.
The matchup between the Golden Eagles and the Kentucky Wildcats was the second exhibition game of the season for the Wildcats.

Previously, they faced the Campbellsville Tigers, winning the game 74-38. Against the Golden Eagles, John Wall, a freshman from Raleigh, NC, was the high scorer with a total of 27 points.

DeMarcus Cousins, a freshman from Mobile, Ala., followed with a total of 20 points.

The Wildcats finished the 2008-09 season with an overall record of 22-14, making it their 53rd season with 20 wins.

For the first time in 18 years, the Wildcats missed the NCAA tournament and instead played in the NIT tournament, where they lost to Notre Dame 77-67 in the quarterfinal round.

To begin the 2009-10 season, they were ranked fourth in the AP poll – the highest they’ve been ranked in the preseason poll since the 2001-02 season, when they were also ranked 4th.

Coach Calipari is a Clarion alumnus, having graduated in 1982. He also played for the Golden Eagles as a point guard from 1980-82 and led the team in free throw percentages and assists.

Calipari is well known in the D-I basketball community, having coached the men’s basketball teams for both the University of Massachusetts and the University of Memphis.

The Clarion Call is Clarion University's student newspaper since 1913.

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