WAYNESBURG, Pa.—The Mount Union men's basketball stumbled on the road, falling at Waynesburg (Pa.), 55-52 Saturday afternoon. The loss ends a three-game winning streak for the Purple Raiders.

The Raiders (3-2), who shot an incredible 67.8% from the field in Tuesday night's 88-64 win over Westminster (Pa.), could not get a basket to drop early in the contest, making just five of its 27 shot attempts in the half.

Mount Union used its defense to keep the game close most of the first half. With just 8:27 to go in the half, the score was tied 10-10. Waynesburg ended the half on a 21-7 run to head into halftime with a 31-17 lead.

The Raiders fought back in the second half. With 2:29 remaining, junior Justen Little (Galion/Galion) scored on a drive to give the Raiders a 50-48 lead.

Waynesburg responded by scoring five straight points to go back ahead, 53-50. A layup by senior Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) was followed by a pair of free throws for the Yellow Jackets to go extend the lead back to three points with only 18 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, the Raiders got had three attempts from beyond the three-point line to tie the game, but were unable to connect.

Freshman Stevie Griffin (Canton/Massillopn Jackson) led the Raiders with nine points, followed by eight points each from freshman Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) and Wood.

Waynesburg had two players in double-figures. Jeff Young led all scorers with 12 points and Jason Propst added 11 points.

Mount Union returns to action next Saturday when they open Ohio Athletic Conference play against Otterbein. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip-off at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.

WAYNESBURG 55, MOUNT UNION 52

MT. UNION (3-2)
Stevie Griffin 3-9 2-3 9; Jimmy Wood 3-12 0-0 8; Nate Jacubec 3-16 0-0 8;
Matt Kiger 2-3 3-5 7; Jordan Albert 3-5 0-0 7; Matt Wier 1-5 3-6 5; Justen
Little 2-4 0-1 4; Keith Williams 1-2 0-2 2; Colton Troyer 1-3 0-0 2; Tom
Berlekamp 0-3 0-0 0; Clayton Patton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-64 8-17 52.

WAYNESBURG (2-3)
Jeff Young 4-7 4-4 12; Jason Propst 3-6 5-5 11; Casey Hope 2-3 4-4 9; Jeff
Nairne 2-3 0-0 5; Larry Alexander 1-3 2-2 5; Lou Galante 1-4 1-2 4; Aaron
Cromwell 2-9 0-0 4; Kurt Bonnet 1-8 2-3 4; Luke Baker 0-4 1-2 1; Jacob
Fleegle 0-2 0-0 0; Patrick Crawford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-49 19-22 55.

Mount Union.....................   17   35  -   52
Waynesburg....................   31   24  -   55

3-point goals--Mt. Union 6-26 (Jimmy Wood 2-9; Nate Jacubec 2-8; Stevie
Griffin 1-5; Jordan Albert 1-1; Colton Troyer 0-1; Clayton Patton 0-2),
Waynesburg 4-14 (Lou Galante 1-4; Larry Alexander 1-2; Jeff Nairne 1-2;
Casey Hope 1-1; Luke Baker 0-3; Jacob Fleegle 0-2). Fouled out--Mt.
Union-None, Waynesburg-None. Rebounds--Mt. Union 35 (Tom Berlekamp 7),
Waynesburg 41 (Jeff Young 9). Assists--Mt. Union 8 (Justen Little 3; Tom
Berlekamp 3), Waynesburg 9 (Casey Hope 3). Total fouls--Mt. Union 21,
Waynesburg 15. Technical fouls--Mt. Union-Stevie Griffin, Waynesburg-None.
A-70