Box Score CLARION, Pa. – Clarion used a late-game 13-0 run to beat visiting Seton Hill 64-61 and give Golden Eagle men's basketball coach Ron Righter his 400^th win at Clarion Saturday night at Tippin Gym.
 
"To be honest with you, it's just a number," a humble Righter, who is 400-290 in his 26^th year at Clarion, said after the game. "It's really more a team award than an individual award. It's about all the players, assistant coaches, graduate assistant coaches we've had here over the last 26 years. It's about them, and it's about the guys on this team. They've battled hard through difficult times this year. I'm proud of them, and hopefully this is a win we can build off of."    
 
Clarion (3-11 overall, 1-5 PSAC West) trailed by seven, 58-51, following a 3-pointer by Seton Hill's Oliver McGlade with 5:10 to play.
 
But the Golden Eagles proceeded to score the game's next 13 points to take a 64-58 lead on a pair of DeMarius Miller free throws with 26 seconds to play.
 
Mike Kromka, who finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists, started the run with an old-school 3-point play at the 3:53 mark. Aaron Johnson, who recorded his first double-double of the season with season highs in both points (13) and rebounds (13), followed with a jumper at 3:03, and Marques Jones tied the game, 58-58, with a layup with 2:15 left. Jones, who finished with a team-high 17 points, then gave the Golden Eagles the lead, their first since the 12:33 mark of the second half, with a jumper with 50 seconds left. Four straight free throws, two by Johnson and two by Miller, put Clarion ahead by six before Malachi Leonard hit a three as time expired for Seton Hill (11-5, 3-3).
 
Corey Bellovich, making his third start of the season, added nine points and five rebounds, while Miller added nine points coming off the bench as did BJ Andrews, who also tied a season high with six rebounds.
 
Leonard led all scorers with 24 points for Seton Hill while adding 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. He shot 10 of 16 from the field. But Leonard was the lone Griffin in double figures. McGlade and Max Kenyi each scored nine points for Seton Hill with Noah Davis adding seven.
 
The game was close throughout with 11 lead changes and nine ties and neither team leading by more than eight, which Seton Hill did once, 51-43, in the second half. In the first half alone there were six lead changed and four ties with Seton Hill grabbing a 28-27 halftime lead on a David Windsor jumper with five seconds left in the half.
 
Clarion, which broke an eight-game losing streak, outrebounded Seton Hill 48-38 and scored 15 second-chance points to the Griffins three. The Golden Eagles also tied their season low with nine turnovers.
 
Despite it being the first conference win of the year for Clarion, the Golden Eagles find themselves right back in the thick of the PSAC West race just two games back of sixth-place Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill and a 1 ½ back of seventh-place California (Pa.) with the top six teams making the postseason.   
Clarion returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mercyhurst before returning home to host Edinboro at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25.
 
NOTES – Righter is the winningest coach in school history and has had 15 seasons of at least 15 wins including three 20-win seasons at Clarion. He led the Golden Eagles to the only PSAC title in school history (2001) and has taken them to three PSAC West titles as well (1997, 2000, 2005) … The double-double was the third career double-double for Johnson and his first recording one Jan. 8, 2013, vs. Central Penn … Prior to the game, Clarion announced that it will make up its postponed game with Central Penn from Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Tippin Gym … the 17 points by Jones were his second-highest total of the year behind an 18-point effort against PSU-DuBois in the season opener.