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| T.J. Gillespie helps make the
Mount Union offense go. See how we avoided making a quarterback
reference? Mount Union athletics photo |
Mention Mount Union and football comes to mind. Winning 11 national championships in a particular sport will do that for a school’s reputation.
But this winter has been more than just a time to countdown to the next football season in Alliance. There is a buzz on campus about the men’s basketball team, which is in the midst of its first winning season in nearly 10 years.
The last time the Purple Raiders were above .500 was 2004-05 when they finished 14-13.
“Football has always been in the spotlight because of what they have accomplished, but it’s been fun creating excitement for basketball,” senior guard T.J. Gillespie said. “Professors are telling us ‘good job’ in class the day after a game and the following we have at games is the best I’ve seen in my time here. It’s fun to be a part of it.”
Gillespie has played a pivotal role in helping the Purple Raiders rise to the top of the Ohio Athletic Conference a year after making a surprising run to the OAC tournament title game.
Until this year, Gillespie had never won more than 13 games in a season, but he has taken his game to another level and so has Mount Union, which has won 20 games for the only the second time in program history.
Gillespie is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game, marking the first time in his career he has averaged double figures. He has knocked down 40 treys, dished out 107 assists and has racked up 29 steals.
“I’ve taken on more responsibility as a player and I feel like I’m a much smarter player this year,” Gillespie said. “I improved my game a lot in the offseason.
Gillespie has steadily made strides during his career.
He started 18 games as a freshman and averaged 6.5 points per outing, scoring 20 points in a win over Ohio Northern.
A year later, he averaged 7.1 points per game. Last season, the former star at Toledo St. John’s Jesuit clicked for 6.4 points per outing and dished out 2.4 assists per game.
His success this year is not only a credit to the work he has put in to be a better player, but also the confidence coach Mike Fuline has him to step up on any given night.
“Coach has put me in a position where I can be more of a scorer,” Gillespie said. “If I feel like I can attack, I have the green light to do it. He has a lot of confidence in me.”
But the Purple Raiders, who are 20-5 overall and 15-3 in the conference, are hardly a one-man show.
Sophomore guard Cody Dillon leads the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game, fueling his scoring effort on the strength of 62 3-pointers.
Sophomore forward Jarrett Ruffin is averaging 12.6 points per game and is grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game as well. Junior guard Nate Jacubec is clicking for 9.5 points per outing. Five other players are averaging at least five points per game.
“It’s nice having a team with a lot of balance,” Gillespie said. “You never know who is going to step up on any given night. Anyone can be that guy who can give us a spark.”
Mount Union is averaging 86.6 points per game and allowing 77.3. Gillespie said stepping it up on defense is the key to success in the postseason as the Purple Raiders take aim at a league title and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
It would be only their second NCAA tourney trip in school history. The first was in 1997 during a 25-5 season. That was also their last 20-win season.
“We’ve had times where we have broken down defensively, but if we can play well on that end of the floor, we should be in good shape because we know we can score,” Gillespie said. “We’ll be a tough team in the tournament if we are playing well on offense and defense.”
A year ago, the Purple Raiders were just 13-15 but gave Marietta all it could handle in an 80-76 loss in the conference tourney title game.
“Getting that far last year gave us a lot of confidence,” Gillespie said. “We have a lot of guys back from that team and we went into this season expecting to win games. We know we are capable of winning the tournament if we play our best.”
No matter how this season plays out, Gillespie has no doubt enjoyed the ride. Not only has he had success at Mount Union as an athlete, but he he’s thrived as a student as well.
“I’ve gotten a great education here and I’m prepared for life after basketball,” Gillespie said. “It’s been an incredible experience here and I’m thankful for my experiences at Mount Union.”
On a crusade
Mary Hardin-Baylor’s men’s basketball team will head into the American Southwest Conference tournament on an eight-game win streak after knocking off No. 17 Texas-Dallas on Saturday.
The Crusaders, who were the national runner-up a season ago, are now 17-8 overall and 15-7 in the league. They will be the third seed in this weekend’s conference tournament.
Back in mid-January, the Crusaders had hit a tough stretch where they lost three of four, including an 83-77 overtime loss to Sul Ross State on Jan. 25. But they have been on a roll ever since and seem to have the momentum it needs for another run at an NCAA tournament bid.
Jerard Graham has played a pivotal role in the success of Mary Hardin-Baylor, averaging 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He has drilled 32 3-pointers as well. Against the Comets, he scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Kitrick Bell is averaging 12.2 points per game and grabbing 8.1 rebounds per outing. He also turned in a double-double against Dallas, scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 boards.
The Crusaders are no doubt balanced, with four players averaging 10 or more points per outing, and they haven’t been bad on defense either, holding opponents to 67.7 points per game.
Light it up
Mark Ghafari made sure his final basketball game at Kalamazoo was memorable, even if the Hornets did come up short on the scoreboard in an 85-80 loss to Alma
Ghafari broke the single-game scoring record as he torched the Scots for 46 points, beating the old scoring record by two points. John Schelske set the previous record of 44 points in a game against Olivet in 1981. Ghafari connected on 13 of his 23 shots from the field and drilled four 3-pointers. He hit all 16 of his free throws as well.
Ghafari, who was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American earlier this month, helped Kalamzoo finish 10-14 overall and 5-8 in the conference. He led the Hornets in scoring 13 times and averaged 22.9 points per game.
He shot 45 percent from the field this season and knocked down 54 3-pointers. He also dished out 42 assists and tallied 16 steals.
Stunning win
Ohio Wesleyan was the latest team to take aim at trying to knock off top-ranked DePauw, and the Bishops ended up succeeding in that mission as they stunned the defending national champions 65-64 on Saturday.
Taylor Dickson scored with 17 seconds to play for the win as the Bishops ended the Tigers’ 58-game win streak. The win also ends DePauw’s 71-game regular-season win streak and the streak of 47 consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference wins.
LaNiece McRae scored 18 points to pave the way as the Bishops extended their win streak to seven games.
In the first meeting against the Tigers, the Bishops fell 76-61 on the road. Ohio Wesleyan has lost only once since then and will be the second seed in the NCAC tournament.
The interesting thing about the Bishops is no one is averaging in double figures. McCrae has the highest scoring average (9.8) while Sarah McQuade is averaging 9.3 points per outing. Six other players are averaging at least five points per outing.
The Bishops are averaging 68.8 points per game and allowing 64.4.
Polar Bears heating up
Michele Durand won her 200th game as the head coach at Ohio Northern as her Polar Bears edged Capital 75-73 in overtime on Saturday. The win was the ninth in a row for Ohio Northern, which wraps up the regular season at 21-4 overall and 14-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
Durand is 321-301 in her college coaching career. The record includes a 200-144 at Ohio Northern. Carly Thomas helped deliver the big win as she scored 20 points. Jordan Kimes turned in her ninth double-double as she finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Polar Bears have really gotten after it on defense during the win streak, allowing only two opponents to score more than 70. The other seven opponents have been held to under 60.
Ohio Northern is giving up just 59.9 points per game and forcing opponents to shoot only 36.1 percent from the floor. The Polar Bears have forced 325 steals, including 167 off steals. Six players have at least 10 steals, with Cenzie (pronounced Kenzie) Yoder tallying a team-best 35 on the season.
20 and counting
Randolph-Macon assured itself of another 20-win season with a 68-62 come-from-behind win over Washington and Lee on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets are 20-5 overall, marking the seventh consecutive season they have won at least 20 games. It’s the fifth time they have done it under coach Nathan Davis.
Andre Simon led the way against the Generals as he scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Yellow Jackets win their third consecutive game and earn the top seed for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament.
Simon has led the Yellow Jackets in scoring 14 times and is averaging 15.4 points per outing. He is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and has racked up 35 steals and 13 blocks.
Perfect Saints
Florida Gators transfer Sydney Moss made her presence felt once again as she turned in her 11th double-double of the year in Thomas More’s 87-69 win over Saint Vincent.
The win caps the third unbeaten regular season in program history as the Saints are now 25-0 overall and 18-0 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. They picked up eight No. 1 votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25.
Moss scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the way. She is averaging 27.4 points per game and shooting a blistering 61.7 percent from the field.
Moss has helped Thomas More crank out 94.4 points per outing, which is more than 40 points better than what the Saints are giving up on average (53.6).
Only one game this year has been decided by less than 10, and that was an 85-76 win over Wittenberg in the season opener. The Saints have scored 90 or more 16 times, hitting the century mark eight times.
