The Wilmington College men's basketball team returns home to host league-leading Marietta.
THE NCAA SERIES: Wilmington College trails the series, 25-12, and the Pioneers have dominated recently claiming 12 of the last 13. The one win came in the 2014 Ohio Athletic Conference semifinals, vaulting Wilmington into the NCAA Tournament.
THE LAST MEETING: The Wilmington College men's basketball team fell to #4 Marietta on December 17, 2016, 104-77, in Ohio Athletic Conference action at the Ban Johnson Arena.
The Pioneers had runs of 14-2 and 27-6 in the first half enabled them to lead Wilmington 56-30 at the break. Wilmington shot 36 percent in the first half in falling behind by 26 points.
Sophomore Andrew Russell led the team with 13 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Kevin Lewis added 13 points and four rebounds.
Freshman Noah Chatman finished with eight points and four boards.
MEET THE PIONEERS: Preseason favorite Marietta comes into the game on a nine-game winning streak, and tied for first place with Ohio Northern with three games remaining. The two teams will meet in Marietta for the season finale.
Senior A.J. Edwards, a three-time OAC Player of the Week this season, is the proverbial straw that stirs the Pioneers' drink. He is third in the league with 19.0 points and 8.6 boards. He scored a season-high 31 points in the teams' earlier meeting. Edwards has eight double-doubles this season while shooting a team-best 57 percent from the field.
While Edwards is the team's leading scorer, all five starters are averaging double figures. Junior Keith Richardson is second on the team with 15.0 points, while leading the team with 3.5 assists and 31 steals.
Sophomore Anthony Wallace adds 13.4 points and 2.0 assists. His 83 three-point attempts are second on the team. Sophomore Kyle Dixon is fourth on the team with 10.6 points and junior Dillon Young is fifth with 10.2 points. Young leads the team with 99 three pointers.
DOUBLE FIGURES: Wilmington enters the game with four players averaging more than 10 points.
Junior Christian Jones, who is coming off a 21-point performance against Otterbein, leads the team with 12.4 points with a team-high 45 three pointers.
Junior Nathan Scott is second on the team with 11.3 points, but he has missed the last three games with an injury. Freshman Noah Chatman is third with 11.0 points and sophomore Andrew Russell is fourth with 10.2 points.
GIVE ME MOORE: Freshman Kameron Moore has given the Wilmington frontcourt a tremendous boost since transferring in over break. He is averaging 9.3 points in his 12 games, but he starting to show his potential as he gets comfortable with his surroundings. Moore has scored at least nine points in eight of the last nine games.
EFFICIENT FROSH: Freshman Noah Chatman currently leads the Ohio Athletic Conference, making 65.1 percent of his attempts. Earlier this season, he set a Wilmington NCAA-era record with 14 made field goals. He ranks third in NCAA Division III in field goal percentage.
WE ROLL DEEP: Wilmington's rotation features 11 players that are averaging at least 10 minutes per game, and only one player - junior Christian Jones - averaging more than 25.
IMPROVEMENTS: With three games to play, Wilmington has already seen a four-game improvement over its win total from a season ago. The Fightin' Quakers have matched their OAC win total of four from last season.
TOURNAMENT: To have a chance to qualify for the OAC Tournament, Wilmington probably need to win two of the last three games.
