UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The No. 12 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team lost to No. 8 John Carroll in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup between top 25 teams 96-61 on Wednesday evening.

The Purple Raiders (12-2, 5-2 OAC) were led by senior Collen Gurley (Akron / Hoban) who scored a team-high 10 points.

The Blue Streaks (13-1, 7-0 OAC) were led by Chase Toppin who scored a game-high 21 points and Luke Frazier who added in 18 points.

John Carroll jumped out an early 9-2 lead just three minutes into the game, Mount Union would answer and cut the lead down to two over the next two minutes of game. The Blue Streaks would then respond with a 22-7 run over the next 5:16 of game time to stretch their lead to 31-14 with 9:24 to play in the first half. John Carroll would continue to extend their lead over the final nine minutes of the half, including a 21-5 run over the final 5:48 of the half to take a 58-25 lead into the halftime break.

The Blue Streaks would open the second half on an 18-4 run over the first 5:20 of the half to extend their lead to 76-29 with 13:31 left to play in the game. Mount Union would go on a 12-2 run over the next 4:41 of action to cut the lead to 78-41 with eight and a half minutes left, however the Raiders wouldn't be able to get closer than 35 as John Carroll would go on to win 96-61.

The Raiders return home next when they host Heidelberg for an OAC matchup on Saturday, January 13 at 1 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.