WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's basketball team continues Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play on Saturday when the Fightin' Quakers travel to Marietta College for a 3 p.m. contest.
The Teams: Wilmington and Marietta. The Fightin' Quakers are 10-11 overall and 6-9 in the OAC after a 101-59 drubbing of Otterbein University on Wednesday. The Pioneers are 17-5 overall and 11-4 in conference competition after a 79-74 victory over Capital University.
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: A trio of Quakers score in double figures including Christian Jones who averages 19.5 points per game. Nathan Scott, who scored nearly 13 points per contest, grabs 3.9 boards per contest while Will Patrick scores 12.6 points per game off the bench. Andrew Russell, who netted 17 points in Wilmington's victory over Otterbein, leads the squad in rebounding at 4.1 rebounds per game while D.J. Iles dishes out 3.7 assists per contest. The Pioneers feature a balanced scoring attack as all five starters average double figures in scoring. Anthony Wallace and Kyle Dixon both average over 13 points per game while Avery Williams, who also scores in double figures, grabs 7.4 boards per game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 83.4, Marietta 81.7; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 82.6, Marietta 72.9; field goal percentage – Wilmington 43.2, Marietta 47.1; three-point percentage – Wilmington 38.0, Marietta 39.2; free throw percentage – Wilmington 78.8, Marietta 73.8; rebounds per game – Wilmington 31.6, Marietta 38.6, assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 1.15, Marietta 1.11.
Recent History: Wilmington is 8-19 against Marietta in the last decade. The Pioneers have won the last eight meetings including a 104-77 win at Ban Johnson Arena last season. Further information on the series history can be found in the link above.
First Time Around: Marietta defeated Wilmington 100-71 at Hermann Court on Dec. 16, 2017.
OAC Tournament: Marietta is tied for second place in the OAC and one game behind league-leading John Carroll University. Wilmington currently sits in a tie for seventh place with Muskingum University. The top eight teams qualify for the OAC Tournament later this month.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video 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 to Hermann Court for the final time this season against Capital University on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.