WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team hosts the nationally-ranked Purple Raiders of the University of Mount Union for an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest at Fred Raizk Arena on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Mount Union. The Quakers enter the matchup with a 6-14 overall record including a 2-11 mark in conference games after a 76-73 triumph over Capital University on Wednesday. The Purple Raiders come into the game 18-2 overall and 11-2 in league games having most recently defeated Baldwin Wallace University 102-69 at home on Wednesday.
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: A pair of frontcourt players leading Wilmington offensively as Abdul Kanu and Obed Achirem both score in double figures as the duo scores 13.6 and 10.6 points per game respectively. Kanu is coming off of a 20-point performance in WC's win over Capital while Achirem is one of the league's top rebounders at 8.1 per game. A trio of Purple Raiders - Christian Parker, Collen Gurley and Darrell Newsom - score in double figures with Parker leading the team in scoring (17.7 PPG) and rebounding (7.5 RPG). Jeffery Mansfield, who scored over 1,000points in a Quaker uniform the last four years, scores 8.6 points a game off the bench.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 67.7, Mount Union 82.7; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 78.7, Mount Union 69.1; field goal percentage – Wilmington 39.3, Mount Union 47.6; three-point percentage – Wilmington 31.9, Mount Union 35.4; free throw percentage – Wilmington 63.8, Mount Union 64.3; rebounding margin – Wilmington -4.1, Mount Union -2.2; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.65, Mount Union 1.2.
Top 25: Mount Union checks in at No. 5 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.
Recent History: Wilmington is 17-28 against Mount Union since becoming an NCAA Division III member in the early 1990s. The Purple Raiders have won the last nine meetings including a 96-69 triumph in Alliance earlier this season. 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 continues OAC play by hosting Muskingum University on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
