BETHANY, W.Va.--Mount Union's men's basketball team improved to 1-1 on the season defeating Bethany College by a final score of 71-50 Tuesday evening at Hummel Field House.

Three Mount Union starters finished with double-digit point totals as the Purple Raiders were led by senior Tommy Stenger (North Canton/Hoover) who recorded 17 points and five rebounds. Fellow classmate Diallo Niamke (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia) tallied his first double-double of the season finishing the contest with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior D'Vontay Friga (Cuyahoga Falls) nearly missed a double-double concluding with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Bethany College (0-2) was led by Allayasa Bray who had 16 points.

The Purple Raiders jumped out of the gate with a 13 point advantage at 15-2 at the 15-minute mark. A layup at the 10:50 mark, from Niamke pushed the Raider margin to 21-9. Mount Union would not surrender the lead for the rest of the half heading into the intermission break.

Mount Union shot 17-of-35 (48.6%) from the field and 5-of-5 (100%) from the free throw line while Bethany went 7-of-24 (29.2%) and 7-of-10 (70%) from the charity stripe.

The Purple Raiders picked up where they left off to start the second half as Stenger nailed a three-point shot to widen the lead to 46-24. Mount Union went on a 9-3 run capped off by a free throw from freshman Mario Caywood (Streetsboro/Benedictine) to extend the Raider lead to 55-27. At the 5:12 mark, Niamke converted on a layup and free throw to propel Mount Union to a 21 point margin. A final layup from Niamke sealed the victory for Mount Union.

The Purple Raiders shot 10-of-23 (43.5%) from the floor and 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the free throw line in the second half. Bethany went 9-of-29 (31.0%) and 4-of-8 (50%) from the foul line.

Mount Union stays on the road traveling to face Geneva (Pa.) on Thursday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m.