MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 4 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team defeated Marietta 77-68 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night.

The Purple Raiders (20-2, 13-2 OAC) had three players score in double figures with senior Collen Gurley (Akron / Hoban) leading the way with a game-high 27 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. Senior Jeffery Mansfield (Wilmington) and freshman Corey Hudson (Columbus / Pickerington) added 14 and 11 points respectively to round out the Raiders in double figures.

The Pioneers (13-9, 8-7 OAC) were led by Frank Waganfeald who scored a team-high 15 points and David Sanford who added 12 points.  

After a back and forth first five and a half minutes an 8-1 run gave Marietta a 17-10 lead with 10:35 remaining in the first half. The Pioneers would maintain that lead until back-to-back baskets by Gurley sparked a quick 7-0 over 2:14 of game time for Mount Union and tied the game at 19 with six and a half minutes to play in the first half. A little under a minute later an and one by Gurley started a 17-9 run over the final 5:45 of the half for the Raiders, which also saw Gurley score 13 of the final 17 points and gave Mount Union a 36-30 lead heading into the halftime break.

The Raiders and Pioneers went back and forth over the first six minutes of the second half until a quick 8-2 run gave Mount Union a 47-37 lead with 13:51 remaining in the game. Marietta would cut the lead down to five with just under nine minutes left in the game. The Pioneers were never able to get closer than five over the final eight minutes of the game as the Raiders would go on to win 77-68.

The Raiders return home next when they host Capital for an OAC matchup on Friday, February 10 at 6 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.