*Story by Casey Miller
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team hits the road Saturday with an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest against John Carroll University. Tip-off from the Tony DeCarlo center is set for 4 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and John Carroll. The Fightin' Quakers are 5-18 overall along with an OAC record of 3-14. Wilmington is coming off a close loss against Otterbein where the Cardinals pulled away late to win 76-66. The Blue Streaks are 7-14 on the season and 2-12 in OAC competition after an 88-77 loss at home to Baldwin Wallace.
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. Pete Moran, a 2008 JCU alumnus and son of long-time coach Mike Moran, is in his fifth season as the Blue Streaks' head coach. He led his alma mater to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament in his first year as head coach, the 2017-18 season.
The Players: Jeffery Mansfield, who was recently awarded as the 28th player in Wilmington College men's basketball history to score over 1,000 points, leads the Quakers in scoring (15.9 PPG) and assists (4.4). Noah Dado leads Wilmington on the boards averaging 7.4 rebounds per game. Collmann Aaron and Anthony Freeman contribute with their sharp shooting as they each average over half a dozen points per game. Chase Toppin leads JCU in scoring with an average of 18.8 PPG along with Jackson Sartain's 17.7 PPG. The Blue Streaks also star two other scorers in double figures in Eric Hanna and David Gentry.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 66.3, JCU 82.6; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 73.7, JCU 87.8; field goal percentage – Wilmington 39.0, JCU 42.5; three-point percentage – Wilmington 29.3, JCU 33.0; free throw percentage – Wilmington 67.2, JCU 69.7; rebounding margin – Wilmington -5.6, JCU -1.8; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.93, JCU 1.1.
Recent History: Wilmington is 14-31 against John Carroll since becoming an OAC member prior to the 2000-01 season. The Quakers outplayed the Blue Streaks on January 15th at Hermann Court on their way to a 94-73 win previously this year. 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: Due to several contests not happening due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the OAC presidents voted to revert to last year's structure for the OAC Tournament, which had all 10 teams qualifying. Seeding in matchups for the tournament will be announced sometime Saturday evening.
