WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team opens postseason play at Marietta College for an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday evening. Tip-off from Ban Johnson Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Marietta. The Fightin' Quakers finished the regular season with a 10-15 overall record including an 8-10 mark in OAC competition. Wilmington has lost its last three games, one of which was a 105-74 loss at Ban Johnson Arena back on Feb. 15. The Pioneers finished their regular season 20-5 overall and 14-4 in OAC play. Their second-place finish snapped a streak of five-straight OAC regular season titles. Marietta most recently lost 85-68 at Heidelberg University.
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. Jon VanderWal has been Marietta's head coach since 2007. The program's all-time winningest coach, VanderWal has led the Pioneers to seven NCAA Division III Tournaments including each of the last five seasons.
The Players: A quartet of Quakers – Jeffery Mansfield, DaeShawn Jackson, Abdul Kanu and Colin Myers – all score in double figures including Mansfield's 19.3 points per game. The sophomore also leads Wilmington in rebounding at 4.6 boards per 40 minutes. The other three also score in double figures, grab over four rebounds per game and, alongside Mansfield, combine to score over 75 percent of the squad's points. Payton Smith dishes out over four assists per game for Wilmington. A trio of Pioneers – Jason Ellis, Tim Kreeger and Lukas Isaly – score in double figures including Ellis's 16.3 points per game. Both Kreeger and Caleb Hoying grab over six rebounds per game for Marietta.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 76.0, Marietta 85.6 opponents' points per game – Wilmington 79.2, Marietta 71.5; field goal percentage – Wilmington 43.8, Marietta 46.3; three-point percentage – Wilmington 31.1, Marietta 35.9; free throw percentage – Wilmington 68.3, Marietta 71.6; rebounds per game – Wilmington 31.5, Marietta 44.2; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 1.08, Marietta 1.20.
Top 25: Marietta checks in at No. 16 in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
Recent History: Wilmington is 17-36 against Marietta since the 1988 season. The Pioneers won both meetings this season by double digits. Additionally, the Quakers have not won at Ban Johnson Arena since Feb. 27, 2014. More information on the series history can be viewed by visiting the link above.
OAC Tournament History: Wilmington, as a program, holds an 11-16 record in the OAC Tournament games. The Quakers are 0-2 as a No. 7 seed, 5-8 in quarterfinal round games and 1-4 against Marietta. More information on the program's history in the OAC Tournament can be found 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: If Wilmington wins, the Quakers will travel to the winner of No. 3 John Carroll University and No. 6 Capital University for an OAC Tournament semifinal game on Thursday.
