Men’s Basketball: Lions earn top GSAC honors

Senior guard Preston Wynne, who led the Vanguard University men’s basketball team to the program’s first Golden State Athletic Conference title since 1990, its first outright crown since 1989, has been named Player of the Year by conference coaches.

Fourth-year Vanguard head man Rhett Soliday was named Coach of the Year and junior guard Chris Gorman was also recognized on the 10-player all-conference team.

The 6-foot-1 Wynne averaged 20.1 points per game to lead the conference in scoring for the second consecutive season after transferring from Spokane Community College. His 3.4 three-pointers per contest rank second in the conference and third in the nation.

A repeat All-GSAC performer, Wynne led the conference in free-throw percentage (89%), which is second in the nation.

Soliday a former assistant at UC Irvine and Concordia, where he both played and coached, guided the Lions to a 24-6 regular-season record and the No. 9 national ranking. The Lions are the top seed for the GSAC Tournament, in which they play host to San Diego Christian in one quarterfinal on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Gorman, a 6-0 point guard, who played one season at Palomar Community College, averages 15.9 points per game and leads the Lions in assists (3.8 per contest).

“Preston being named GSAC Player of the Year is very deserving and although there were other great individual efforts within the conference this year, there is no doubt that he has had one of the most special seasons I’ve ever seen in the GSAC,” Soliday said in a statement.

“Chris Gorman just keeps getting better and better and I believe that had Preston not won the Player of the Year award that Chris certainly would be as deserving as anyone else in the conference,” Soliday said.

— From staff reports