WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team looks for its first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) win of the year on Saturday when the team travels north to Tiffin and Heidelberg University. Tip-off from Seiberling Gymnasium is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Heidelberg. The Fightin' Quakers are 2-5 overall and 0-2 in OAC competition after failing to hold a six-point lead in the final minute of a 72-68 overtime loss at Ohio Northern University on Wednesday evening. The Student Princes enter the matchup at 7-1 and one of the hottest teams in both the region and the country. Heidelberg has won three straight road games that include a 92-59 triumph at Baldwin Wallace University, a 91-72 victory at the University of Mount Union and a 72-67 win at Trine University. Both Mount Union and Trine were nationally-ranked at the time.
The Coaches: K.C. Hunt is in his 15th 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. Andy Bucheit, the reigning OAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year, is in his ninth season as Heidelberg's head coach. The Student Princes finished last year's COVID-19-shortened season with a 9-3 record.
The Players: Jeffery Mansfield, a two-time First Team All-OAC selection, leads Wilmington in scoring at 16.0 points per game while assisting on nearly five (4.4) other baskets per 40 minutes. The Wilmington High School alumnus is second to Obed Achirem's 11.0 boards per contest in rebounding at 7.1 per game. Bilal Sow is the other individual to score in double figures as the sophomore averages 11.7 points per contest. A trio of Quakers - Jayden Lewis, Achirem and Collmann Aaron - score at least six points a game. A trio of Polar Bears - Dylan Woods, Emmanuel Perdue and Isaiah Young - score in double figures while four other Student Princes average over nine points per game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 68.4, Heidelberg 81.3; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 69.1, Heidelberg 71.0; field goal percentage – Wilmington 38.2, Heidelberg 47.3; three-point percentage – Wilmington 29.9, Heidelberg 32.3; free throw percentage – Wilmington 68.3, Heidelberg 75.4; rebounding margin – Wilmington -2.7, Heidelberg 0.0; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.97, Heidelberg 1.30.
Double-Double Machines: Both Jeffery Mansfield and Obed Achirem had double-doubles in the game at Ohio Northern on Wednesday. It's the second time the duo have notched double-doubles in the same game.
1,000-Point Scorers: Jeffery Mansfield (Wilmington) and Dylan Woods (Heidelberg) both recently crossed the 1,000-point mark in their careers.
Recent History: Wilmington is 21-26 against Heidelberg since becoming an NCAA Division III member in the early 1990s. The Student Princes won both regular season meets a season ago, but the Quakers won the game that mattered most - an OAC Tournament quarterfinal in Tiffin. More information on the series history can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of both games 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 hosts Mount Union for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday, Dec. 18.
