WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team heads to Marietta College in search of season sweep on Saturday. The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest is slated to begin at 3 p.m. in Ban Johnson Arena.
The Teams: Wilmington and Marietta. The Quakers enter the game 7-15 overall and 3-12 in OAC games having most recently beaten Muskingum University 69-58 at home on Wednesday. The Pioneers are 13-9 on the season and 8-7 in league games after falling 77-68 at home to No. 4 the University of Mount Union 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. Jon VanderWal has led Marietta to seven OAC regular season titles in his 14 years as Marietta's head coach. The winningest coach in school history, the Pioneers made the national semifinals last year under his direction.
The Players: Abdul Kanu and Obed Achirem both score in double figures for Wilmington with Kanu leading the team in scoring (13.6 PPG) and Achirem in rebounding (8.3 RPG). Collin Barker and Domenic Farley, both of whom scored in double figures in the Quakers' win over the Muskies, combine to score over a dozen points per game. A trio of Pioneers - David Sanford, Lovenson Xavier and Cooper Parrott - score between 10-12 points per game with Sahmi Willoughby grabbing a team-best seven rebounds a contest.
Tale of the Tape: Points per game – Wilmington 68.5, Marietta 75.8; opponents' points per game – Wilmington 78.5, Marietta 72.7; field goal percentage – Wilmington 40.2, Marietta 40.4; three-point percentage – Wilmington 33.0, Marietta 32.7; free throw percentage – Wilmington 64.2, Marietta 65.5; rebounding margin – Wilmington -3.4, Marietta +3.0; assist-to-turnover ratio – Wilmington 0.69, Marietta 1.1.
Recent History: Wilmington is 18-42 against Marietta since the 1988 season. The Quakers defeated the Pioneers 76-66 at Hermann Court 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 will open the final week of its season on Wednesday at Otterbein University. Tip-off from the Rike Center is slated for 7 p.m.
