The Mount Union men's basketball team plays at Wilmington Saturday afternoon in what will be their ninth game away from Alliance since New Year. The Purple Raiders are currently tied with Heidelberg for the final spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament while the Quakers sit in fourth place. Wilmington was able to pull out a 75-71 victory in overtime during the teams' first meeting in Alliance back in December.
The Purple Raiders (8-12, 4-9) have dropped three of their last four games and are in need of a win as they enter the final stretch of the season if they are going to qualify for the OAC Tournament. They fell on the road to Muskingum Wednesday night, 63-60, catapulting the Muskies to sixth place in the conference. Mount Union defeated three of the five OAC teams remaining on their schedule the first time through the conference schedule.
Mount Union boasts the conference's top defense, holding opponents to a conference-low 65.6 points per game and just 42.2-percent shooting from the field. The Raiders, who average 66.2 points per game, have not found success in the first half of late. They are averaging just 23.7 first-half points over the past seven games.
Senior Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek), freshman Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers), and freshman Stevie Griffin (Canton/Massillon Jackson) give the Raiders a potent three-point attack that is second in the OAC with 7.95 three-pointers per game. The trio has combined for 118 three-pointers and Wood leads the conference in made three-pointers (48) while Griffin is fourth in three-point shooting (.430).
Wood is the conference's top scorer at 18 points per game, ranks third in minutes (33.2), and fifth in three-point shooting (.417). He also leads the Raiders in rebounding (5.6) and steals (29). The first game against Wilmington this season was one of the best of Wood's outstanding collegiate career. Wood scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. His three-pointer in the final minute of regulation gave him 1,000 points for his career and also gave Mount Union a brief two-point lead.
Jacubec has blossomed into a second scoring threat for the Raiders over the past month, over which he has averaged over 13 points and scored a career-best 21 points on two occasions. On the season, he is second among OAC freshmen in scoring at 11.4 points per game. Griffin led the Raiders with 16 points Wednesday night and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to tie his career-high. The team's third-leading scorer (9.6), Griffin has reached double-figure points in six of the last nine games after doing so just twice in the first 10 games.
Wilmington (10-9, 8-5) lost 59-51 to Marietta on Wednesday night in a battle for third place in the conference. The Quakers have allowed opponents to score more points (68.5) than they have scored (67.8) on the season.
Multi-sport standout Malcolm Heard II and preseason All-American Antonio Bowman lead the way for the Quakers. The leading receiver on the football team, Heard II is also the top scorer (14.7) and rebounder (6.3) on the basketball team. The sophomore ranks fourth in the nation in field goal percentage (.630) and is third in the OAC in blocked shots (29). Bowman is a dynamic guard who is averaging 14 points per game and a team-best 2.7 assists per game this season.
Last Meeting
Mount Union held a 36-25 advantage at halftime, but Wilmington opened the second half with a 17-4 run to take its first lead of the game. A three-pointer by Jimmy Wood gave the Purple Raiders a 61-59 lead with 46 seconds remaining. Wilmington tied the game on a layup by Miles Bankston, and the game headed to overtime. The Raiders were outscored 14-10 in the extra session and fell by a final score of 75-71.
Wood scored a career-high 32 points as he surpassed 1,000 career points and also matched career-high at the time with nine rebounds.
Antonio Bowman led the way for Wilmington with 21 points off the bench. Malcolm Heard II scored 14 points and R.J. Leppert added 13 points while leading the Quakers with seven rebounds and four assists.
The Series
This is the 24th meeting between the schools since Wilmington joined the OAC in 2000. Mount Union holds a 14-9 lead in the series.
Projected Mount Union Starters
- #32 Stevie Griffin, 6-3, Fr., G – 9.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 34 3FG
- #4 Jimmy Wood, 6-6, Sr., F – 18.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 48 3FG
- #44 Matt Wier, 6-7, Sr., C – 4.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
- #20 Nate Jacubec, 5-11, Fr., G – 11.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg
- #3 Justen Little, 5-11, Jr., G – 2.4 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.0 rpg
Projected Wilmington Starters
- #14 R.J. Leppert, 6-4, Fr., G – 7.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg
- #20 Malcolm Heard II, 6-5, So., F – 14.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .630 FG%
- #34 Ben Vonderhaar, 6-7, So., C – 3.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg
- #24 Brandon Candella, 6-3, Sr., G – 10.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg
- #12 Antonio Bowman, 6-1, Sr., G – 14.0 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.9 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 has the Purple Raiders off to an 8-12 start.
K.C. Hunt (Ohio State '95) is 74-53 in his fifth season at Wilmington, where he has been on the staff since the 2004-05 season. During the 2009-10 season Hunt guided the Quakers to school-record 22 wins and its first OAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. The Quakers advanced to the second round, losing to No. 10 Eastern Mennonite. Prior to his arrival at Wilmington, Hunt had coaching stints at St. Lawrence University as well as Dublin Coffman and Perry high schools. Hunt played collegiately at Wichita State.
Up Next
Mount Union opens a three-game homestand when they host Marietta Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. Ohio Northern and Baldwin-Wallace also come to Alliance before the Purple Raiders travel to Tiffin to play Heidelberg in the regular season finale. The Raiders defeated three of those teams earlier this season.
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 17th on the school's career scoring list with 1,182 career points and needs 8 points to surpass Todd Simons for 16th place. He scored 8 points in the Purple Raiders' 63-60 loss at Muskingum on Wednesday. At his current pace, Wood will likely end his career as one of the top ten scorers in school history.
While the scoring record is out of reach for Wood, he has a chance to break the record for most consecutive games played. He needs to just three more games to tie Kyle Schlabach's record of 101 consecutive games played.
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 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 159 already this season.
Mount Union Player Notes
Jimmy Darnley - So., F, Canton/GlenOak
- Averaging 5.8 mpg in 14 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 6.9 ppg
- Has scored in double-figures six times this season
- Shooting a team-best 90% from the free throw line
- 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 (9.6) and three-pointers (34)
- Has scored in double-figures eight times this season
- Scored the go-ahead points in wins over Ohio Northern and Baldwin-Wallace earlier this month
- 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 (11.4), three-pointers (36), and assists (40)
- Has scored in double-figures 12 times this season
- 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 Lycoming (1/3/12)
Matt Kiger - Jr., F, Williamstown, W.Va./Williamstown
- Averaging 4.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg
- Leads the team in field goal percentage (.627)
- Has started 10 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 (3.9)
- Ranks second in the conference in assists (3.6)
- 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 3.6 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 2.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg in six games off the bench
- 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 5.6 mpg in 10 games off the bench
- Transferred from Hesston College (Kan.)
Matt Wier - Sr., F, New Castle, Pa./Mohawk
- Averaging 4.8 ppg and 3.5 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
Keith Williams - Jr., G, Louisville, Ky./Brown
- Averaging 2.9 ppg off the bench
- Career-high 13 points to go with 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 (18.0) and three-pointers (48)
- Leads the team in rebounding (5.6)
- Has scored 20+ points seven times this season
- Ranks 17th on school's all-time scoring list with 1,182 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
