WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team heads to the University of Mount Union for an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest on Saturday. Tip-off from the McPhearson Academic & Athletic Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Mount Union. The Quakers enter the matchup with a 3-5 overall record and in search of their first conference victory after a 90-73 defeat at the hands of No. 19 Heidelberg University at Hermann Court on Saturday. The Purple Raiders are 7-1 on the season and 2-1 in conference competition after an 89-71 win over Ohio Northern University at home on weekend.
The Coaches: Micah Mills enters his eighth season with the Wilmington men's basketball program with the 2022-23 campaign being his first as head coach. He helped WC to a 17-8 record during the 2018-19 season and came within a game of the program's first OAC regular season championships. Mills, a graduate of Ohio Valley University, spent three seasons as an assistant coach at fellow OAC member Otterbein University before coming to Wilmington. Mike Fuline, who recently won his 200th game, is in his 12th season as Mount Union's head coach. He has guided the Purple Raiders to two appearances in the second weekend of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Players: Wilmington is led by a pair of frontcourt players as Abdul Kanu and Obed Achirem both score in double figures. Kanu leads the way at 14.9 points per game while Achirem nearly averages a double-double with 9.3 rebounds a contest. A trio of Quakers - Bryce Bird, Collin Barker and Lucas Doty - all score over seven points per game. Three Purple Raiders - Christian Parker, Collen Gurley and Jeffery Mansfield - score in double figures with Parker leading the team in scoring (17.4 points) and rebounding (7.8 boards) per game. Mansfield was a four-year member of the Wilmington program before transferring to Mount Union prior to this season. He scored 1,326 points in Quaker uniform.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 73.5, Mount Union 83.1; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 77.4, Mount Union 72.4; field goal percentage – Wilmington 44.3, Mount Union 48.2; three-point percentage – Wilmington 34.4, Mount Union 30.0; free throw percentage – Wilmington 59.6, Mount Union 62.7; rebounding margin – Wilmington +0.4, Mount Union -1.6; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.63, Mount Union 1.0.
Top 25: Mount Union checks in at No. 6 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
Recent History: Wilmington is 17-27 against Mount Union since becoming an NCAA Division III member in the early 1990s. The Purple Raiders have won the last eight meetings. More information on the series history can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Tickets: Digital ticketing will be used for the contest. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of game time at 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 heads to Christopher Newport University for a tournament on Dec. 29-30.
