ALLIANCE, Ohio--Mount Union's men's basketball team opens the regular season at home Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Compex in Alliance.
Mount Union returns three starters and six letterwinners from a team that finished 10-16 and seventh in the Ohio Athletic Conference last season. The Purple Raiders were picked ninth of ten teams in the OAC preseason coaches' poll.
Senior forward Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) was an All-OAC selection and averaged 15.8 points per game to finish fourth in the conference last season. Senior forward Matt Wier (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) averaged 9.6 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game while sophomore point guard T.J. Gillespie (Toledo/St. Johns) made 18 starts and averaged 6.5 points per game during his freshman campaign.
Hiram returns one starter and five letterwinners from a team that finished 14-11 last season. The Terriers were picked seventh of ten teams in the Northeast Coast Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.
Sophomore guard Aaron Stefanov, the 2010-11 NCAC Newcomer of the Year averaged 9.2 points per game and shot 45.7% from behind the three-point line last season. Senior guard Andrew Wiegand started 12 games and averaged 8.0 points per game while senior guard Jamaal Watkins averaged 6.7 points per game last season.
Hiram lost 95-65 to Akron in an exhibition game Saturday at James A. Rhodes Arena. Stefanov led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, including six three-point field goals. Watkins scored 11 points and was the only other Terrier in double-digits. Sophomore forward Chris Zurowski grabbed a team-high five rebounds in 15 minutes of action off the bench.
Last Meeting
Mount Union trailed by just three points at halftime, but Hiram used a 25-8 surge in the second halftime for the 71-53 victory. Sophomore forward Matt Kiger (Williamstown, W. Va./Williamstown) scored 10 points as the only Purple Raider in double-digits. Wier added seven points and a game-high nine rebounds while Wood was hampered with foul trouble and finished with just six points.
Hiram had three players in double-digits, but none of them return this season. Wiegand and forward Steve Zivoder both started and scored five points for the Terriers. Watkins and Stefanov came off the bench to score four points and three points, respectively.
Coaches:
Mike Fuline (Kent State '98) is enters his first season at Mount Union after a successful career at the high school level. Fuline's last coaching venture was at Massillon Jackson High School, where he accumulated a 95-42 record and won the 2010 OHSAA Division I State Championship. In 2004, Fuline was named the Division III Co-Coach of the Year while at Rootstown.
Steve Fleming (Hiram '94) is 57-72 entering his sixth season as the head coach at his alma mater. Fleming's last head coaching experience was from 1999-2002 at Tiffin, where he finished with a 33-47 record. His combined record as a head coach is 90-119.
Mount Union Player Notes
Jimmy Darnley - So., F, Canton/GlenOak
- Played in 15 games
- Career-high 5 points at Ohio Northern (2/12/11)
- Career-high 4 rebounds against Wilmington (2/5/11)
T.J. Gillespie - So., G, Toledo/St. John's
- Played in 25 games and started 18
- Sixth on team in scoring (6.5) and third in assists with (45)
- Career-high 20 points vs. Ohio Northern (1/8/11)
- Career-high 5 assists vs. Otterbein (1/22/11)
Matt Kiger - Jr., F, Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown
- Played in all 26 games and made five starts
- Finished fifth on team in scoring at (6.7) and fourth in rebounding (3.6)
- Scored double-figures 7 times
- Career-high 20 points twice: at Otterbein (12/4/10) and vs. Waynesburg (12/30/10)
- Career-high 9 rebounds vs. Waynesburg (12/30/10)
Justen Little - Jr., G, Galion/Galion
- Played in all 26 games and started 6
- Career-high 4 points vs. Ohio Northern (1/8/11) and at Ohio Northern (2/12/11)
- Career-high 6 assists at Baldwin-Wallace (2/16/11)
Matt Wier - Sr., F., New Castle, Pa./Mohawk
- Third on the team in scoring at (9.6) and rebounding at (4.1)
- Score in double-figures 12 times
- Career-high 28 points vs. Ohio Northern (12/12/09)
- Career-high 9 rebounds twice at Hiram (11/15/10) and vs. Waynesburg (12/30/10)
- Played one season on a baseball scholarship at West Virginia
Jimmy Wood - Sr., F, Wintersville/Indian Creek
- Led team in scoring at 15.8 ppg and blocks (9)
- Finished second on the team in rebounding (4.9) and steals (25)
- Scored in double-figures 22 times, including the final 12 games
- Career-high 30 points at Wilmington (1/30/10)
- Career-high 12 rebounds at John Carroll (2/22/11)
- Dad (Jim) played basketball at Georgia Tech
