ALLIANCE, Ohio – The No. 4 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team defeated Otterbein 88-76 in their regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.
The win clinched the Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship for the Purple Raiders as well as set a new program record for wins in the regular season with 23. This is Mount Union's twelfth OAC Regular Season Championship in program history and the fourth under current head coach
Mike Fuline.
The Raiders (23-2, 16-2 OAC) had four players score in double figures with senior
Collen Gurley (Akron / Hoban) and junior
Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) leading the way with 17 points apiece. Seniors
Darrell Newsom (Twinsburg) and
Braedon Poole (McDonald) scored 15 and 12 respectively to round out the Raiders in double figures.
The Cardinals (14-11, 8-10 OAC) were led by Cam Evans who scored a game-high 18 points and Brennan Rains who added in 14 points.
Otterbein jumped out to an early 6-0 lead just a minute and a half into the game, but Mount Union would come storming back with a 12-3 run over the next 3:03 to take a 12-9 lead with just over 15 minutes to play in the first half. The Cardinals would answer with a 7-0 run of their own over the next 1:32 to reclaim the lead, leading 16-12 with 13:24 remaining in the first half. A pull-up jumper from freshman
Corey Hudson (Columbus / Pickerington) would spark a massive 22-3 Raider run over the next 9:01 of game time giving Mount Union a 34-19 lead with four minutes left to play in the first half. The Raiders and Cardinals would trade baskets over the final four minutes of the half giving Mount Union a 45-31 lead heading into the halftime break.
The Raiders opened the second half on a 14-4 run to extend their lead to 22 with 15:10 remaining in the game. The Cardinals would cut the lead down multiple times throughout the second half but the closest they were able to get was 12 as Mount Union would go on to win 88-76.
The Raiders will return to action on Thursday, February 23 for OAC Tournament action at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.