NEW CONCORD, Ohio – The No. 3 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team beat Muskingum 81-55 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night.

The Purple Raiders (15-1, 8-1 OAC) had four players score in double figures, with junior Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) leading the way with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Senior Darrell Newsom (Twinsburg) added 13 points, with seniors Chris Painter Jr. (Akron / St. Vincent-St. Mary) and Braedon Poole (McDonald) scoring 12 and 10 respectively to round out Mount Union's double-digit scorers.

The Fighting Muskies (1-15, 1-8 OAC) were led by Luken Hill who scored a team-high 12 points.

The Raiders jumped out to an early 16-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game. The Muskies would answer with a 12-4 run over the next six minutes to cut the lead down to four with 7:55 remaining in the first half. A Poole layup would then spark a 20-2 Mount Union run over the final seven minutes of the first half to give the Raiders a 40-18 lead heading into the halftime break.

The Muskies were able to cut the lead down to 20 early in the second half by that is as close as they would get as Mount Union would go on to win 81-55.

The Raiders return home next when they host Heidelberg on Saturday, January 21 at 2 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.