TIFFIN, Ohio – The No. 2 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team dropped their first game of the season 82-70 in their Ohio Athletic Conference opener to Heidelberg on Saturday afternoon.

The Purple Raiders (5-1, 0-1 OAC) had three double-digit scorers and were led by junior Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak), who scored a game-high 24 points. Senior Darrell Newsom (Twinsburg) and freshman Corey Hudson (Columbus / Pickerington) both scored 14 points to round out the Raiders in double figures.

The Student Princes (6-1, 2-0 OAC) were led by Seth Hohman who scored a team-high 15 points and Tre Watkins who scored 14 points.

After the Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead, the Student Princes would go on a 17-3 run over 5:42 to take a 17-7 lead with 13:14 remaining in the first half. A three-pointer by Newsom would spark an 18-8 Mount Union run to tie the game at 25 with just under nine minutes to go in the half. The Student Princes would respond with an 11-3 run over the final 5:43 of the first half to take a 36-28 lead into the halftime break.

Heidelberg would stretch their lead to 12 over the first six minutes of the second half. Mount Union would answer with a quick 7-2 run to cut the lead down to 54-47 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Raiders wouldn't be able to get closer than seven for the remainder of the game as the Student Princes would go on to win 82-70.

The Raiders return home next when they host No. 16 John Carroll in a top 25 OAC matchup on Wednesday, December 7 at 7 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.