The Mount Union men's basketball team seeks its first victory in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament since 2005 when the No. 7 seed Purple Raiders travel to No. 6 seed Ohio Northern for a first round Monday at 7:30 pm in Ada, Ohio. This is the first year of the renovated conference tournament that rewards regular play by giving the top two seeds a double-bye to the semfinals. With a win, the Purple Raiders would travel to No. 3 seed Marietta Tuesday night for a quarterfinal game.
The Purple Raiders (11-14, 7-11 OAC) hope the third time is the charm as they look to extend their third three-game winning streak of the season to four for the first time this year. Monday night's game is a short turnaround for the Raiders, who needed overtime to complete a double-digit comeback at Heidelberg on Saturday. Senior forward Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) played like a man not ready for his collegiate career to conclude, leading the way with a career-high 39 points in the 91-89 victory.
First-year head coach Mike Fuline will try to carry that momentum into the conference tournament against a foe they have defeated twice already this season, including just a week ago in Alliance by a score of 67-57. The Raiders outscored the Polar Bears 138-123 during their two earlier meetings, including a 17-point advantage in the first half of those games.
Mount Union had one of the conference's top defenses during the regular season, holding opponents to a conference-best 65.3 points per game. The Raiders are second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.425) and turnovers forced (14.9). Stellar defense has allowed the Raiders to win games, as they are the OAC's ninth-best scoring team at just 65.4 points per game.
Wood, one of only two seniors on the squad, is enters the postseason as the top scorer in the conference at 18.4 points per game. The versatile forward leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 rebounds per game and is one of three Raiders who have made at least 40 three-pointers (62).
Freshmen guards Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) and Stevie Griffin (Canton/Massillon Jackson) continued their steady play down the stretch, combining for 24 points in the win over Heidelberg on Saturday. Jacubec is second in the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game, followed by Griffin's 9.2 points per game.
Junior point guard Justen Little (Galion/Galion) delivered a career-high 15 points in Saturdays' win and is second in the OAC in assists at 3.4 per game while leading the conference with a four-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio.
Ohio Northern (12-13, 8-10 OAC) enters as losers of two of their last three games, including a 73-65 loss at Baldwin-Wallace on Saturday. The Polar Bears are looking to win an OAC Tournament for the first time since 2009 after losing in the first round each of the past two years. They score 67.9 points per game while allowing opponents to score 67.8 points per game on the season.
Senior center Scott Schnelle, who is the conference's tallest player at 6-9, averages 13.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game on the season to lead the way for the Polar Bears. Sophomore guard Branden Rushton gets 13.7 points per game to be the team's top scorer. Guards Jared Horstman, Taylor Kohlman, and Jordan Martin along with forward Dominique Royal and center Adam Bair all average at least five points per game for the Polar Bears.
The Series
This will be the 85th meeting all-time between Mount Union and Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears hold a decisive 54-30 advantage overall in the series and have won four of five meetings in the OAC Tournament all-time. However, the Raiders have been victorious in five of the past seven meetings, including a regular season sweep this year.
Projected Mount Union Starters
- #32 Stevie Griffin, 6-3, Fr., G – 9.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg
- #4 Jimmy Wood, 6-6, Sr., F – 18.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg
- #31 Matt Wier, 6-7, Sr., F/C – 4.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg
- #20 Nate Jacubec, 5-11, Fr., G – 11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg
- #3 Justen Little, 5-11, Jr., G – 2.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.9 rpg
Projected Ohio Northern Starters
- #30 Jared Horstman, 6-3, So., G – 7.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg
- #33 Adam Bair, 6-5, Fr., C – 5.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg
- #50 Scott Schnelle, 6-9, Sr., C – 13.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg
- #14 Branden Rushton, 6-2, So., G – 13.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg
- #10 Tony Meyer, 5-11, Sr., G – 3.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg
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 led the Purple Raiders to an 11-14 overall record and 7-11 in Ohio Athletic Conference play to qualify as the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.
John Rhodes (Ohio '88) is in his third season at the helm of the Polar Bear basketball program. Rhodes has led the Polar Bears to 30-35 record overall and a pair of upper-division finishes in the Ohio Athletic Conference. He came to Ohio Northern after one year as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Northeastern University and had 13 years of coaching experience. After completing a four-year playing career at Ohio University in 1988, Rhodes played eight seasons of professional basketball in Europe, including stints in Germany, France, and Iceland.
OAC Tournament History:
Mount Union is making its 52nd OAC Tournament appearance, which ties Capital for the most in conference history. The Purple Raiders are 23-50 in tournament games and won its only tournament title in 1997. The last Mount Union win in the tournament was as the No. 7 seed in the 2005 quarterfinals when they beat No. 2 seed Capital, 95-75 in Bexley.
Ohio Northern is making its 37th OAC Tournament appearance. The Polar Bears boast a 38-32 record with five titles (1980, 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2001) all-time.
The teams have just five previous meetings in the tournament with the last one coming in the 2000 quarterfinals when then top-seeded Ohio Northern beat No. 8 seed Mount Union 86-66 in Ada. The only win by the Purple Raiders came in the 1997 championship game when top-seeded Mount Union beat No. 2 seed Ohio Northern, 71-52.
2000: #1 Ohio Northern 86, #8 Mount Union 66 (Quarterfinals at Ohio Northern)
1999: #1 Ohio Northern 80, #8 Mount Union 58 (Quarterfinals at Ohio Northern)
1997: #1 Mount Union 71, #2 Ohio Northern 56 (Championship game at Mount Union)
1995: #1 Ohio Northern 95, #8 Mount Union 71 (Quarterfinals at Ohio Northern)
1992: #7 Ohio Northern 63, #10 Mount Union 45 (First round game at Ohio Northern)
2012 OAC Tournament
First Round: Monday, February 20
#8 Otterbein (6-12) plays at #5 Wilmington (10-8)-8p.m.
#7 Mount Union (7-11) plays at #6 Ohio Northern (8-10)-7:30
Second Round: February, Tuesday 21
Winner of Wilmington/Otterbein game plays at #4 Baldwin-Wallace (11-7)-7:30
Winner of Ohio Northern/Mount Union game plays at the #3 Marietta (12-6)-7:30
Third Round: Thursday, February 23
Winner of the Wilmington/Otterbein vs. Baldwin-Wallace plays at #1 John Carroll (13-5)-7:30
Winner of the Ohio Northern/Mount Union vs. Marietta plays at #2 Capital (13-5)-7:30
Finals: Saturday, February 25
At the highest remaining seed-TBA
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 9th on the school's career scoring list with 1,280 career points and needs 20 points to pass Tommy Wilson for 8th place. He scored a career-high 39 points in the Purple Raiders' 91-89 overtime win over Heidelberg on Saturday.
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.
The Raiders connected on 11 three-pointers against Heidelberg, giving them 196 makes on the season to surpass the old record of 189 in the 2008-09 season.
Mount Union Player Notes
Jimmy Darnley - So., F, Canton/GlenOak
- Averaging 6.1 mpg in 18 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 7.2 ppg
- Has scored in double-figures eight 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 (9.2) and three-pointers (40)
- Has scored in double-figures 10 times this season
- Scored the go-ahead points in wins over Ohio Northern and Baldwin-Wallace in January
- 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 vs. Westminster (11/22/11) and at Muskingum (2/1/12)
- Season-high/career-high 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 (11.8), assists (45), and three-pointers (42)
- Has scored in double-figures 15 times this season
- Leads the OAC in free throw shooting (.821)
- Season-high/career -high 21 points at Otterbein (1/21/12) and at John Carroll (1/25/12)
- Season-high/career-high 5 three-pointers at John Carroll (1/25/12)
- Season-high/career-high 8 rebounds vs. Wilmington (12/17/11)
- Matched season-high/career-high with 5 assists at Heidelberg (2/18/12)
Matt Kiger - Jr., F, Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown
- Averaging 4.1 ppg and 2.5 rpg
- Leads the team in field goal percentage (.596)
- Has started 10 games this season
- 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
- Fourth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.0)
- Ranks second in the conference in assists (3.4)
- Season-high/career-high 15 points at Heidelberg (2/18/12)
- 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 3.0 ppg
- 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)
Matt Piloto - Jr., F, Rotonda West, Fla./Lemon Bay
- Averaging 2.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg in 11 games
- Made first career start vs. Marietta (2/8/12)
- Season-high/career-high 5 points and 7 rebounds vs. Ohio Northern (2/10/12)
- Played quarterback for the Mount Union football team, leading them to a seventh consecutive Stagg Bowl appearance
Colton Troyer - Jr., F, Millersburg/Berlin Hiland
- Averaging 5.5 mpg in 11 games off the bench
- Transferred from Hesston College (Kan.)
Matt Wier - Sr., F, New Castle, Pa./Mohawk
- Averaging 4.4 ppg and 3.3 rpg
- Has started 13 games this season
- 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
Keith Williams - Jr., G, Louisville, Ky./Brown
- Averaging 3.4 ppg off the bench
- Season-high/career-high 15 points on Saturday at Wilmington (2/4/12)
- Season-high/career-high 4 steals and 3 assists in season-debut vs. Westminster (11/22/11)
Jimmy Wood - Sr., F, Wintersville/Indian Creek
- Leads the conference in scoring (18.4) and three-pointers (61)
- Leads the team in rebounding (5.4)
- Has scored 20+ points nine times this season
- Ranks 9th on school's all-time scoring list with 1,280 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 39 points at Heidelberg (2/18/12)
- Season-high/career-high 16 rebounds vs. Immaculata (1/22/12)
- Father, Jim, played basketball at Georgia Tech
