ALLIANCE, Ohio - - Sophomore Stevie Griffin (Canton/Massillon Jackson) and freshman Jarrett Ruffin (Northfield/Nordonia) each scored a team-high 13 points, but the Mount Union men's basketball team fell 69-63 in an Ohio Athletic Conference basketball game, Saturday afternoon (Jan. 5) in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex. 

With the win, Ohio Northern improves to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in the OAC, while Mount Union falls to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in the conference.  

Sophomore Nate Jacubec (Struthers/Struthers) had 10 points and grabbed six rebounds to round out the double-digit scorers for the Raiders.

Lucas Pennington scored a game-high 21 and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Polar Bears. 

Senior Justen Little (Galion/Galion) hit a three-pointer with 17:20 to go in the first half to give the Raiders a 6-2 lead in the early going. 

Freshman Taylor Moore (North Canton/Hoover) hit two-free throws with 14:16 to go in the first half, to give the Raiders a four point lead at 11-7, which was their biggest lead of the half. 

Dominique Royal hit a jumper with 2:42 to go in the first half to give the Polar Bears a seven point lead, at 23-20, which was their biggest lead of the half. 

The Purple Raiders would go on a 10-0 run over the last 2:42 of the first half, and would take a 33-30 advantage with them into the locker room. 

Jared Horstman scored a layup with 11:25 to go in the game, which capped a 13-2 run for the Polar Bears and gave them their biggest lead of the second half, 11 points at 51-40. 

Freshman Cody Dillon (Newton Falls/Newton Falls) scored a layup with 30 seconds to go in the game, to cut the Polar Bears lead to two at 65-63.

The Polar Bears would go 4-4 from the line in the last 26 seconds, as they would come out with the victory 69-63. 

Mount Union's next game will be Wednesday (Jan. 9) when they travel to Marietta for a conference matchup with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.