Lions’ trio honored

Vanguard University’s Rhett Soliday has been named NAIA Coach of the Year in men’s basketball, while senior guard Preston Wynne (first team) and junior guard Chris Gorman (second team) earned All-American honors.

Soliday, in his fourth season, guided Vanguard to the program’s first NAIA Division I title, its third Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season crown and its first GSAC Tournament championship. The Lions won their final nine games to finish 32-6, capped by a 70-65 triumph over Emmanuel of Georgia in the NAIA title game on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.

Wynne, the GSAC Player of the Year, averaged 20.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game, in his second season after transferring from Spokane Community College. The 6-foot-1 standout scored 42 in the NAIA Tournament semifinal win, a game in which he made 14 of 19 field-goal attempts and six three-pointers. He sank 112 three-pointers during the season and scored at least 20 points in the Lions’ last seven contests, including a team-best 20 in the title game.

Gorman, a 5-11 point guard, averaged 15.8 points, 2.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and two steals per outing in his second season at Vanguard after transferring from Palomar Community College in San Marcos.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University’s Dominique Rambo shared Player of the Year honors with Vic Moses from Georgetown of Kentucky. Rambo also won the top individual honor last season.

— Barry Faulkner