The Mount Union men's basketball team begins another three-game stretch of road games when they travel to Marietta Wednesday for a 7 pm tip-off. Winners of three straight games for the second time this season, the Purple Raiders seek their first four-game winning streak since December of 2008 and their first four-game Ohio Athletic Conference winning streak since February of 2005.
The game will feature two very contrasting teams. Mount Union (7-8, 3-5) seems to be hitting its stride after winning four of five games in since the New Year. The Purple Raiders, who allow the third-fewest points per game in the conference (65.9) have held their last two opponents under 50 points. Marietta (9-6, 4-4) began the season ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation among media outlets, but the Pioneers find themselves at just .500 in conference play after losing two of five games since the New Year. The Pioneers are allowing 75.1 points per game, which is the most in the OAC.
Mount Union has won three in a row after sweeping the trio of Ohio Northern, Baldwin-Wallace, and Heidelberg for the second straight January. A win over Marietta would put the Raiders in good position to host an OAC Tournament game at the midpoint of conference play.
Senior Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) has been the rock in the lineup for the Raiders this season. Woods, who leads the OAC in scoring (19.8) and three-pointers (39) and is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.433), has scored at least 12 points in all but one game this season. He also leads the Raiders in rebounding (6.0) and steals (22).
Freshmen Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) and Stevie Griffin (Canton/Massillon Jackson) have been major contributors for the Raiders this season. Jacubec is second on the team in scoring (10.8) and assists (31) while shooting 83-percent from the free throw line to rank second in the conference. Griffin is third on the team in scoring (8.8) and is shooting 44.2-percent on three-pointers to rank third in the conference.
Junior point guard Justen Little (Galion/Galion) is in the nation's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.8) and second in the conference with 3.5 assists per game. Little has posted a career mark in each of his last two outings, scoring seven against Ohio Northern and ten against Heidelberg. Guard T.J. Gillespie (Toledo/St. John's) came off the bench to score 11 points in the Raiders' win over Heidelberg on Saturday.
Marietta returned all five starters from last year's team that went 27-4 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, but have not been able to perform to the expectations placed upon them prior to the season. The Pioneers are second in the OAC in scoring at 77.0 points per game and have are committing fewer turnovers (11.7) than any other conference team.
Two straight conference losses on the road have placed Marietta in the middle of the OAC standings. Leading 60-42 with 14:17 to play at John Carroll on Saturday, the Pioneers were outscored 48-20 the rest of the way, falling 90-80.
All-American Trevor Halter (6-6) has only managed to play in six games this season due to an injury sustained during the offseason. Halter, who did not play against John Carroll, is averaging 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Preseason All-American Kevin Knab (6-6) has led the way for the Pioneers in Halter's absence. Knab is fifth in the conference in scoring (16.2) and third in field goal percentage (.596) and free throw percentage (.812). He also leads Marietta in rebounding, grabbing 4.8 boards per game.
The Pioneers are very deep with 10 players who average at least 13 minutes and four points per contest. Six different players have led the Pioneers in scoring this season, including Knab, point guard Jacob Owens, posts Jason Humphrey and Conner Kilpatrick, and wings Scott Kimmey and Brennan McKean.
Re-writing the Record Books
Senior Jimmy Wood became the 26th player in school history to score 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone against Wilmington on December 17th. Wood currently ranks 18th on the school's career scoring list with 1,118 career points and needs 34 points to surpass Zettie Sims for 17th place. He scored 18 points in the Purple Raiders' 49-47 win over Baldwin-Wallace on Wednesday. At his current pace, Wood will end his career as one of the top ten scorers in school history.
While the scoring record is out of reach for Wood, there are a few records that he has a chance to break. The records for most consecutive games played and three-point field goals in a season could fall by season's end.
The Raiders have tied a pair of school records this season. They made 13 three-pointers in back-to-back games against Immaculata (Pa.) and Lycoming (Pa.), tying the school record set against Baldwin-Wallace during the 1996-97 season. Their 33 three-point field goal attempts against Lycoming beat the school record previously set in the season-opener against Hiram.
At the halfway-point of the season, the Raiders are on pace to set the record for most three-pointers in a season. The current record, set during the 2008-09 season, is 189 and the Raiders have made 120 already this season.
Raiders Rank Among Nation's Best
Mount Union has a player among the top 100 nationally in four statistical categories this season.
Last Meeting
With the score tied at 37 early in the second half, No. 18 Marietta went on a 23-7 run to take control and go on to an 81-66 victory over Mount Union.
Jimmy Wood had 21 points to lead three Purple Raiders in double-figures. Matt Kiger scored 15 points while Dave Pellerite had 11 points.
Marietta got a game-high 24 points from Trevor Halter. Kevin Knab nearly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds and Joe Puch scored 11 points in reserve duty for the Pioneers.
Projected Mount Union Starters
- #32 Stevie Griffin, 6-3, Fr., G – 8.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .442 FG%
- #4 Jimmy Wood, 6-6, Sr., F – 19.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .433 3FG %
- #45 Matt Kiger, 6-5, Jr., C – 5.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg
- #20 Nate Jacubec, 5-11, Fr., G – 10.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.1 apg
- #3 Justen Little, 5-11, Jr., G – 2.3 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.9 rpg
Projected Marietta Starters
- #23 Joe Puch, 6-3, Sr., W – 4.5 ppg
- #32 Jason Humphrey, 6-5, Jr., P – 7.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg
- #44 Kevin Knab, 6-6, Sr., P – 16.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg
- #22 Jacob Owens, 5-8, Jr., PG – 7.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.1 apg
- #15 Tyler Hammond, 5-10, So., PG – 8.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.9 apg
Coaches
Mike Fuline (Kent State '98) is in his first season at Mount Union after a successful career at the high school level that included winning the 2010 OHSAA Division I State Championship at Massillon Jackson. Fuline has the Purple Raiders off to a 7-8 start.
Jon VanderWal (Albion, Mich. '01) has a 55-53 record in his fifth season at Marietta. Last season, he led the Pioneers to a 27-4 record and an appearance of the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 to earn NABC All-Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors. VanderWal came to Marietta after four seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio Wesleyan.
The Series
This will be the 105th meeting all-time between with Mount Union holding a 64-40 advantage in the series. Marietta swept the season series a year ago.
Up Next
Mount Union will resume its January tour of the OAC with two more road games at Otterbein and John Carroll. The Raiders will play their next home game on January 28th against Capital.
Mount Union Player Notes
Tom Berlekamp - Jr., F, North Royalton/Holy Name
- Played and started in 7 games this season
- Averaging 2.6 ppg and 5.7 rpg
- Season-high/career -high in points (7), rebounds (14), and assists (4) vs. Grove City (11/18/11)
- Season-high/career -high 5 steals at Geneva (11/19/11)
- Transferred from Lakeland Community College
Jimmy Darnley - So., F, Canton/GlenOak
- Averaging 5.8 mpg in nine games off the bench
- Career-high 5 points at Ohio Northern (2/12/11)
- Career-high 4 rebounds vs. Wilmington (2/5/11)
T.J. Gillespie - So., G, Toledo/St. John's
- Averaging 6.8 ppg
- Has scored in double-figures four times this season
- Missed two games earlier in the season due to an injury
- Season-high 19 points vs. Grove City (11/18/11)
- Career-high 20 points vs. Ohio Northern (1/8/11)
- Career-high 5 assists vs. Otterbein (1/22/11)
Stevie Griffin - Fr., F, Canton/Massillon Jackson
- Third on team in scoring (8.9) and three-pointers (23)
- Has scored in double-figures five times this season
- Scored the go-ahead points in wins over Ohio Northern and Baldwin-Wallace last week
- Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off Tournament MVP
- Season-high/career-high 22 points and 6 three-pointers off the bench at Geneva (11/19/11)
- Season-high/career-high 8 rebounds and 4 assists vs. Westminster (11/22/11)
- Played for Coach Fuline and won 2010 OHSAA Division I state title at Massillon Jackson High School
Nate Jacubec - Fr., G, Struthers/Struthers
- Second on team in scoring (10.8), three-pointers (25) and assists (31)
- Has scored in double-figures nine times this season
- Matched season-high/career -high with 17 points at Lycoming (1/3/12)
- Season-high/career-high 4 three-pointers at Lycoming (1/3/12)
- Season-high/career-high 8 rebounds vs. Wilmington (12/17/11)
- Matched season-high/career-high with 5 assists at Lycoming (1/3/12)
Matt Kiger - Jr., F, Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown
- Averaging 5.3 ppg and 3.1 rpg
- Leads the team in field goal percentage (.643)
- Has started the past six games after coming off the bench in the first nine
- Season-high 11 points three times, most recently vs. Muskingum (12/21/11)
- Season-high 6 rebounds at Waynesburg (11/26/11) and vs. Muskingum (12/21/11)
- Career-high 20 points 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
- Leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.8)
- Ranks second in the conference in assists (3.5)
- Season-high/career-high 10 points vs. Heidelberg (1/14/12)
- Season-high/career-high 7 rebounds at Ohio Northern (1/7/12)
- Season-high/career-high 7 assists vs. Otterbein (12/3/11) and vs. Wilmington (12/17/11)
Clayton Patton - Fr., G, Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley
- Averaging 4.5 ppg in 10.2 mpg
- Scored 10 points at Lycoming (1/3/12), reaching double-figures for the second time this season
- Made first career start vs. Muskingum (12/21/11)
- Season-high/career -high 11 points at Capital (12/10/11)
Colton Troyer - Jr., F, Millersburg/Berlin Hiland
- Averaging 6.1 mpg in nine games off the bench
- Transferred from Hesston College (Kan.)
Matt Wier - Sr., F, New Castle, Pa./Mohawk
- Averaging 5.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg
- Season-high 19 points vs. Hiram (11/15/11)
- Career-high 28 points vs. Ohio Northern (12/12/09)
- Career-high 9 rebounds at Hiram (11/15/10), vs. Waynesburg (12/30/10), and vs. Hiram (11/15/11)
- Played one season on a baseball scholarship at West Virginia
Jimmy Wood - Sr., F, Wintersville/Indian Creek
- Leads the conference in scoring (19.8)
- Leads the team in rebounding (6.0) and 3-pointers (39)
- Has scored 20+ points seven times this season
- Ranks 19th on school's all-time scoring list with 1,100 career points
- Scored 1,000th career point on three-pointer to go ahead by 2 points with less than a minute remaining in regulation vs. Wilmington (12/17/11)
- Recorded third career double-double with 29 points and career-high 16 rebounds vs. Immaculata (1/22/12)
- Set Louis Fleming Basinger Memorial Tournament scoring record with 29 points against Immaculata (1/22/12) and was named to the all-tournament team
- Season-high/career -high 32 points vs. Wilmington (12/17/11)
- Season-high/career -high 16 rebounds vs. Immaculata (1/22/12)
- Father, Jim, played basketball at Georgia Tech
