WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's basketball team hosts Marietta College in the final Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest of 2017 for both teams on Saturday. Tip-off from Fred Raizk Arena is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Marietta. The Fightin' Quakers are off to a 3-5 start, but are still in search of their first OAC victory after falling 98-87 to Heidelberg University last Saturday. The Pioneers, ranked No. 20 in the most recent d3hoops.com Top 25 poll, are 6-2 overall but coming off a 93-82 loss at home to John Carroll 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. Jon VanderWal, also in his 11th season at Marietta, has led the Pioneers to five NCAA Division III Tournament berths in the last seven seasons. He was named the NCAA Division III Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year in 2015.
The Players: Christian Jones, who is coming off a 27-point performance against Heidelberg, leads the Quakers offensively by averaging 20.0 points per game. Andrew Russell and Nathan Scott pace Wilmington by averaging 10.6 points per contest. Rebounds is a team effort for the Quakers are five individuals average over three rebounds a game. Marietta features a balancing offensive attack as five individuals score in double figures. Anthony Wallace leads the bunch in scoring at 14.5 points per game while Avery Williams averages 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 80.1, Marietta 85.3; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 80.1, Marietta 75.3; field goal percentage – Wilmington 42.7, Marietta 49.9; three-point percentage – Wilmington 35.0, Marietta 43.3; free throw percentage – Wilmington 74.6, Marietta 69.9; rebounds per game – Wilmington 30.4, Marietta 38.6, assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.94, Marietta 1.32.
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 earlier this month. He became the program's 27th individual to score over 1,000 career points.
Recent History: Wilmington is 8-18 against Marietta in the last decade. The Pioneers have won the last seven meetings including a 94-79 win at Hermann Court last season. Further information on the series history can be found in the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics 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 steps out of conference play for a road contest at Trine University on Monday, Dec. 18.
