WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team opens the second half of Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play at the University of Mount Union. Tip-off from the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday (note the day/time change).
The Teams: Wilmington and Mount Union. The Fightin' Quakers are 10-5 on the season and 6-3 in OAC play after defeating Muskingum University 92-81 on Wednesday evening. The Purple Raiders are 13-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play after falling 81-69 at No. 10 Marietta College on Wednesday.
The Coaches: K.C. Hunt is in his 12th 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. Mike Fuline is in his eighth season as Mount Union's head men's basketball coach. The Purple Raiders won OAC championships in 2013-14 (regular season) and 2014-15 (tournament) under his tutelage.
The Players: A trio of Quakers – DaeShawn Jackson, Kevin Lewis and Will Patrick – all score in double figures with Jackson leading the bunch at 16.7 points per game. Lewis, who scored 16.0 points per contest, leads the team on the boards with 5.9 rebounds a game while Abdul Kanu also grabs over four rebounds per game. Both Jackson and Payton Smith dish out 2.3 assists per game. Lewis is also the OAC's leader in steals per game at 2.3 per game. Mount Union features a balanced scoring attack as four Purple Raiders – Tommy Stenger, Nathan Bower-Malone, D'Vontay Friga and Collen Gurley – all score between 10-15 points per game. Stenger, Mount Union's scoring leader, also leads the team in rebounding at 4.4 boards per contest.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game - Wilmington 80.0, Mount Union 81.3; opponents points per game - Wilmington 77.2, Mount Union 68.6; field goal percentage - Wilmington 42.2, Mount Union 48.8; three-point percentage - Wilmington 34.3, Mount Union 35.9; free throw percentage - Wilmington 68.5, Mount Union 72.2; rebounds per game - Wilmington 37.1, Mount Union 35.9; assist-to-turnover ratio - Wilmington 0.91, Mount Union 1.21.
OAC Player of the Week: Kevin Lewis is the reigning OAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week. The senior averaged 20.0 points per game and hit 16-of-24 shots in two wins last week.
Recent History: Wilmington is 16-22 against Mount Union since joining the OAC prior to the 2000-01 season. The Purple Raiders won the first matchup between the two teams this season, 92-74 at Hermann Court on Dec. 8, 2018. More information on the series history can be viewed by visiting the link 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".
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the game will be available - visit the links above.
Up Next: Wilmington travels to Ohio Northern University for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday.
