ADA, Ohio--Mount Union's men's basketball team improved to 6-1 and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference after beating Ohio Northern 80-70 Saturday afternoon at ONU Sports Center.

The Purple Raiders were led by junior Nathan Bower-Malone (Stow) who finished with 18 points. Fellow classmate D'Vontay Friga (Cuyahoga Falls) chipped in with 14 points while senior Tommy Stenger (North Canton/Hoover) recorded 11 points.

Ohio Northern (3-3, 0-1 OAC) was led by Ryan Bruns who finished with 16 points.

The Polar Bears jumped to a quick 7-2 lead before a three-point bucket cut the Ohio Northern deficit. At the 11:59 mark, the Polar Bears sank a three-point field goal to take a 15-11 advantage. Back-to-back three-point field goals from Stenger saw the Raiders take the lead at 28-25. Ohio Northern took a slim 32-31 score into the intermission break.

Mount Union went 10-of-29 (34.5%) from the floor while shooting 5-of-8 (62.5%) from the charity stripe. Ohio Northern went 12-of-24 (50%) from the field and shot 4-of-6 (66.7%) from the free throw line.

The Purple Raiders started the second half with a 7-2 run capped off with a layup from Friga. After Ohio Northern took the lead at the 12:39 mark, Bower-Malone scored six straight points to knot the game at 50. Mount Union strung together a 10-1 run to take a 68-61 lead with 3:45 remaining in regulation. A final layup from Stenger sealed the victory for Mount Union 80-70.

The Purple Raiders shot 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the floor while shooting an impressive 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line. Ohio Northern shot 12-of-27 (44.4%) from the field while shooting 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the charity stripe.

Next up, the Purple Raiders return home to face John Carroll on Tuesday, December 5 with a 7 p.m. tip-off.