WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Mount Union men's basketball team put on a defensive clinic in defeating Otterbein on the road Saturday night, 48-44. The Purple Raiders have held three of their last four opponents under 50 points.

The Purple Raiders (8-9, 4-6) held the Cardinals to a season-low 44 points, which is 16 fewer than their previous low. Mount Union's defense caused Otterbein to shoot just 34.1-percent from the field (14-of-41) and 6.3-percent on three-pointers (1-of-16). The Cardinals made more free throws (15) than field goals (14) and committed 17 turnovers, two short of their most on the season.

Points were at a premium in the first half and Mount Union took a 25-17 lead with them into the locker room. A basket by freshman Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) put the Raiders ahead by 10 just over a minute into the second half. Otterbein would battle back and take a brief 31-30 lead with 10:46 remaining. Senior Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) made his fourth three-pointer of the game a minute later to regain the lead for the Raiders.

A four-minute scoreless stretch ensued for both teams and Mount Union was able to extend its lead to 42-34 on a basket by Jacubec with 2:29 to play. The lead was cut to two with 44 seconds left, but the Raiders got an easy layup on their next possession and connected on four-of-five free throws down the stretch to close the game.

Only two players scored more than four points for Mount Union.  Jacubec nearly matched Otterbein with 15 first half points on his way to a career-high 21. Wood added 16 points and led the team with seven rebounds and three steals.

RaNeal Ewing came off the bench to score a team-best 12 points for Otterbein. Brice Rausch added 11 points and Chris Davis, the conference's sixth-leading scorer, had just eight points and 12 rebounds.

Mount Union completes their three-game road swing when they visit John Carroll Wednesday night at 7:30 pm.

Newspaper Box Score

Mount Union vs Otterbein

01/21/12 7:30 pm at Westerville, Ohio

MOUNT UNION 48, OTTERBEIN44

MOUNT UNION (8-9, 4-6 OAC) Nate Jacubec 8-17 2-3 21; Jimmy Wood 5-8 2-1 16; Matt Piloto 2-6 0-0 4; Stevie Griffin 1-4 1-2 3; Matt Kiger 1-1 0-0 2; T.J. Gillespie 0-3 2-2 2; Justen Little 0-2 0-0 0; Keith Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Clayton Patton 0-1 0-0 0; Matt Wier 0-1 0-0 0; Jimmy Darnley 0-0 0-0 0; Tom Berlekamp 0-1 0-0 0; Colton Troyer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 7-9 48.

OTTERBEIN (5-12, 2-8 OAC) RaNeal Ewing 4-8 4-6 12; Brice Rausch 3-9 5-9 11; Chris Davis 2-6 3-4 8; Zach Bakenhaster 2-3 0-2 4; Mark Louks 0-0 3-6 3; Max Van Meter 1-5 0-0 2; Andy Yazrombek 1-1 0-0 2; Tommy Waterwash 1-6 0-0 2; Jason Davis 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 14-41 15-27 44.

Mount Union...................   25   23  -   48

Otterbein.....................   17   27  -   44

3-point goals--Mount Union 7-21(Jimmy Wood 4-6; Nate Jacubec 3-7; T.J. Gillespie 0-3; Steve Griffin 0-2; Clayton Patton 0-1; Matt Wier 0-1; Justen Little 0-1), Otterbein 1-16 (Chris Davis 1-3; Max Van Meter 0-1; RaNeal Ewing 0-4; Tommy Waterwash 0-4; Brice Rausch 0-2). Fouled out--Mount Union-None, Otterbein-None. Rebounds--Mount Union 33 (Jimmy Wood 7), Otterbein 38 (Chris Davis 12). Assists-- Mount Union 9 (Justen Little 4), Otterbein 7 (Mark Louks 4;RaNeal Ewing 3). Total fouls-- Mount Union 19, Otterbein13. Technical fouls-- Mount Union-None, Otterbein-None. A-685