ALLIANCE, Ohio – The No. 7 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team got a season opening win 84-74 over Whitworth on Friday night.
The Raiders (1-0) had five players score in double figures and were led by senior Collen Gurley (Akron / Hoban) who scored a game-high 27 points. Junior
Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) added 17, with seniors
Braedon Poole (McDonald) and Jeffrey Mansfield (Wilmington) each adding 11. Freshman Corey Hudson (Columbus / Pickerington) rounded out the Raiders double digit scorers with 10.
The Pirates (0-1) had three players score in double figures with Jake Holtz leading the way with 20 points. Michael Smith and JT McDermott scored 19 and 17 respectively.
After a back and forth opening five minutes Gurley found Parker underneath to spark a 12-3 run over the next 4:19 to give Mount Union a 19-11 lead with 11:34 remaining in the half. The Raiders and Pirates would then trade baskets over the next six minutes before a Gurley three-pointer extended the Mount Union lead to 11 with just over five minutes remaining in the half. A Mansfield jumper with just two seconds remaining in the half would give the Raiders a 50-38 halftime lead.
Whitworth would open the second half on a 10-4 run to cut the lead down to six with 16:31 left in the game. The Raiders would respond with a 15-5 run over the next 5:23 capped off by a Gurley three pointer to get the lead back up to 16 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. With 7:07 left Smith hit a jumper for the Pirates to start a 15-6 run over the next 5:39 to cut the lead down to seven with 1:44 remaining in the game. But Mount Union would go on to outscore Whitworth 5-2 over the last 1:26 and go on to win 84-74.
The Raiders return to action tomorrow at 5 p.m. when they take on Maryville in the championship game of the M Club Tip-off Tournament in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.
