WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's basketball opens the first full week of Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a road test at Ohio Northern University (ONU) on Wednesday evening. Tip-off from the ONU Sports Center is slated for 7 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Ohio Northern. The Fightin' Quakers stand at 3-3 overall after dropping their OAC opener 76-73 to the University of Mount Union on Saturday. The Polar Bears are 3-2 on the season after an 86-84 victory over Capital University on Saturday.
The Coaches: K.C. Hunt enters his 11th season as head coach of Wilmington's men's basketball program. Hunt, who has coached two All-Americans and seven of the school's 1,000-point scorers, led the Quakers to OAC Tournament titles in 2010 and 2014. He garnered Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors for guiding Wilmington to OAC Tournament title and a win in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2010. Rich Bensman is in his sixth season at ONU including his second as head coach. The Polar Bears finished 16-10 last season under Bensman's watch.
The Players: A trio of Quakers lead Wilmington in scoring as Christian Jones (17.2 points per game), Will Patrick (12.5 points per game) and Nathan Scott (10.7 points per game) all score in double figures. Jones and Payton Smith team up to dish out 4.5 assists per contest while six Quakers grab at least three rebounds per game. Nate Burger and Ryan Bruns combined for 34.0 points per game for ONU. Burns leads the squad on the boards as he grabs 7.6 rebounds per game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 78.5, Ohio Northern 86.2; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 75.2, Ohio Northern 76.8; field goal percentage – Wilmington 43.1, Ohio Northern 48.2; three-point percentage – Wilmington 31.5, Ohio Northern 38.9; free throw percentage – Wilmington 74.3, Ohio Northern 75.3; rebounds per game – Wilmington 30.2, Ohio Northern 41.2; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.90, Ohio Northern 1.20.
Newest Member of 1,000-Point Club: Christian Jones recently crossed the 1,000-point career scoring plateau with his 17 points against Mount Union on Saturday. He became the program's 27th individual to score over 1,000 career points.
Recent History: Ohio Northern owns a 14-9 record against Wilmington over the last 10 seasons. The Polar Bears have won the last three meetings including an 86-65 triumph in Ada last year. More information on the history of the match in the last decade can be found by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics, live video and live audio of the game will be available – visit the links above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Up Next: Wilmington returns home to Hermann Court to face Heidelberg University on Saturday afternoon.