ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Mount Union men's basketball team, ranked No. 9 in the nation, lost its Ohio Athletic Conference opener to Heidelberg 91-72 on Saturday night.

The Purple Raiders (5-1, 0-1 OAC) had two players score in double figures, being led by sophomore Christian Parker (Canton / Glenoak) who scored a game high 25 points, this also marked a new career and season high for Parker. While junior Chris Painter Jr. (Akron / St. Vincent – St. Mary) added a season high 17 points.

The Student Princes (6-1, 2-0 OAC) were led by Dylan Woods and Seth Hohman who scored 24 and 17 points respectively.

A three by senior Darrell Newsom (Twinsburg) with 18:13 remaining in the first half gave the Raiders an early 5-2 lead over Heidelberg. The Student Princes then went on a 13-5 run over the next 4:31 to take a 15-10 lead with 13:42 in the first half. A layup by Parker tied the game at 15 with 11:49 remaining in the half. Heidelberg went on a 9-2 over the next 2:27 that was capped off by a Woods hook shot to take a 24-17 lead. The Raiders were able to cut the lead to 2 with 2:06 left in the half off a three-point jumper by Parker, but the Student Princes were able to take a six-point 43-37 lead into the half.

A dunk by senior Logan Hill (Massillon / Jackson) cut Heidelberg's lead to 54-50 with 14:36 remaining in the game. But then Heidelberg went on an 18-8 run over the next 7:17 to take a 72-58 lead with 7:16 to go in the game. The Raiders were able to cut the lead to 10 with 6:06 to go off a Painter jumper, but that was the closest they would get as the Student Princes would go on to outscore the 19-10 over the final five minutes of the game to cap off the victory.

The Student Princes forced the Raiders into 18 turnovers and scored 25 points off those turnovers.

The Raiders hit the road next for an OAC matchup against John Carroll on Wednesday, December 8 at 7 p.m. in University Heights, Ohio.