Feb. 18, 2009
Box Score
CLARION – Clarion senior forward Josh Yanke scored his 1,000th career point and poured in 25 points to help Clarion defeat Mercyhurst 69-66 in PSAC-West men’s basketball action Wednesday night at Tippin Gym.
Yanke, who also added six rebounds, needed eight points coming into the game to reach 1,000 and reached the mark with 14:23 left in the first half. He had gotten his first six points on a pair of 3-pointers. Later in the game, Yanke, who scored 15 points as a freshman at Gannon, scored his 1,000th career point at Clarion. He has 1,017 career tallies including 1,002 at Clarion.
Yanke’s efforts were crucial in helping Clarion (11-13 overall, 2-9 PSAC-West) pick up its second PSAC-West win of the season while also securing a winning record at home for the 21st time in head coach Ron Righter’s 21 years at the school. The Golden Eagles, who close out their home season at 3 p.m. Sunday with Slippery Rock, are 8-6 at home on the season. It is also believed to be Clarion’s 39th consecutive winning season at home.
The Golden Eagles trailed 37-36 at halftime and 46-45 with 15 minutes to play but used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good at 52-46. Yanke’s old-school 3-point play capped the spurt.
Mercyhurst (15-9, 3-8) cut the lead to 58-57 with 8:41 to play on a Brian McTear layup, but Clarion responded with the next five points to restore the six-point lead. The advantage then stayed between three and six points until an Anthony Terry 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left closed the gap to 68-66. But Clarion got the ball inbounds, and Ron Hollis was fouled with 1.6 remaining. Hollis made the first of two free throws, and Mercyhurst was left trying a full-court desperation shot after he missed the second one that fell well short.
Mike Sherry added 11 points for the Golden Eagles, while freshman point guard Aaron Trail, making his first collegiate start, had 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and a blocked shot.
Nnamdi Nnadili led all scorers with 26 points for Mercyhurst, but Clarion held Nnadili to just five points in the second half after he had scored 21 in the first. Jordan Armstrong and McTear each chipped in 10 points for Mercyhurst.
NOTES – Yanke is the first Golden Eagle to score 1,000 career points since Terrance Vaughns did it in 2006 … Sunday’s game with Slippery Rock is Senior Day. The Golden Eagles will honor Yanke, Hollis and David Blanks … Righter is now 11-1 all-time vs. Mercyhurst, which has never beaten him at Tippin Gym.
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| Josh Yanke (center) receives the game ball from his 1,000th point game from Clarion head coach Ron Righter (right) and Clarion president Dr. Joseph Grunenwald during halftime of Wednesday night's games. Yanke scored his 1,000th career point in the first half of the game and finished the night with 1,017 career tallies. |
