WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team puts its perfect Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) record on the line on Saturday when the Fightin' Quakers travel to the University of Mount Union for a 3 p.m. contest.
The Teams: Wilmington and Mount Union. The Quakers are 3-5 overall and 2-0 in OAC play after dispatching Ohio Northern University 85-69 in Ada on Wednesday. The Purple Raiders are 5-2 overall and also a perfect 2-0 in conference competition. Coincidentally, Mount Union also played ONU most recently, defeating the Polar Bears 81-60 at home last Saturday.
The Coaches: K.C. Hunt is in his 13th 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 ninth season as Mount Union's head coach. The Purple Raiders have won two OAC regular season and one tournament title during his tenure.
The Players: Jeffery Mansfield and DaeShawn Jackson lead Wilmington in scoring and are also among the top individuals on the team in rebounding. Mansfield scores 18.8 points per game, grabs 3.6 rebounds per contest and dishes out two assists per 40 minutes. Jackson, who is coming off a career-high, 29-point performance on Wednesday, scores 16.5 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 boards a contest. Payton Smith dishes out 4.6 assists per game for the Quakers. A trio of Purple Raiders – D'Vontay Friga, Nathan Bower-Malone and Collen Gurley all scores between 13.5-14.5 points per game. Bower-Malone leads the team in assists per contest a 7.3 while Logan Hill grabs a team-best 5.0 rebounds a game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 72.8, Mount Union 82.6; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 76.5, Mount Union 70.0; field goal percentage – Wilmington 43.6, Mount Union 48.8; three-point percentage – Wilmington 31.3, Mount Union 40.7; free throw percentage – Wilmington 71.5, Mount Union 76.3; rebounds per game – Wilmington 30.0, Mount Union 35.7; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 1.02, Mount Union 1.17.
Recent History: Wilmington is 17-23 against Mount Union over the last three decades. The Purple Raiders were the only team the Quakers did not beat during last year's 13-5 conference mark. 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 closes out the 2019 calendar year with a road contest at Olivet College (Michigan) on Dec. 18.
