WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team hosts nationally-ranked Marietta College for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday. The game will also celebrate the careers of three seniors.
The Teams: Wilmington and Marietta. The Fightin' Quakers enter the game 5-16 overall with three Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) wins after defeating Muskingum University 77-73 on the road on Saturday. The Pioneers are winners of 17 straight games after starting the year 2-2 and have not lost a conference game yet this season. Marietta last defeated the University of Mount Union 84-64 on Saturday.
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. Jon VanderWal has been Marietta's head coach since the 2007 season. The Pioneers have qualified for the last six NCAA Division III men's basketball tournaments.
The Players: Two-time First Team All-OAC selection Jeffery Mansfield leads Wilmington in several categories including scoring (15.8 points) and assists (4.3) while also grabbed over six boards per game, good for second on the team. Noah Dado is the team's leading rebounder at 7.3 boards per contest while him, Collmann Aaron and Anthony Freeman all score over a half-dozen points per game. Marietta features a balanced scoring attack as four Pioneers - Jason Ellis, Lukas Isaly, Tim Kreeger and Mason Lydic - score in double figures with Ellis leading the bunch at nearly 17 points per contest. Sahmi Willoughby, who scores over nine points per contest, leads the Pioneer rebounding department by grabbing eight boards a game.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 67.3 Marietta 85.1; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 73.4, Marietta 70.7; field goal percentage – Wilmington 39.6, Marietta 47.2; three-point percentage – Wilmington 30.7, Marietta 37.2; free throw percentage – Wilmington 66.8, Marietta 70.4; rebounding margin – Wilmington -5.8, Marietta +3.7; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.93, Marietta 1.90.
Top 25: Marietta checks in at No. 2 in the most recent D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
Senior Day: The contest marks the final regular season weekend home game for the careers of Grant Mihalick, Collmann Aaron and Anthony Freeman. A brief ceremony will be held prior to the game.
Spectator Policy: Indoor athletic events at Wilmington College are open to a select group of spectators. Read more here.
Recent History: Wilmington is 17-41 against Marietta since the 1988 season. The Pioneers have won all but two matchups in the last decade. More information on the series history can be viewed by visiting the link above.
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 begins the final week of the 2021-22 regular season by hosting Otterbein University on Wednesday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
