WOOSTER, Ohio – The no. 19 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team defeated Bluffton 95-72 in a non-conference matchup at the Wooster Rotary Classic on Friday evening.

The Purple Raiders (3-1) had four players score in double figures with fifth-year Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) and freshman Chance Casenhiser (Uniontown / Lake) leading the way with 14 points apiece, Parker also grabbed 11 rebounds to record his third straight double-double. Senior Marcus Steels (Solon) added in 11 points with sophomore Elijah Farrington (Massillon / Massillon Washington) scoring 10 points to round out the Raiders in double digits.

The Beavers (0-3) were led by Nevin Robson who scored a game-high 17 points and Ian Snelling who added in 14.

Mount Union would jump out to an early 11-3 lead just under two and a half minutes into the game before Bluffton would come storming back to take a three-point 14-11 lead with 13 minutes to play in the first half. The Raiders would reclaim the lead a little over three minutes later after consecutive baskets from Casenhiser, Farrington and Parker to take a 23-17 lead with just over nine minutes left in the half. The Raiders and Beavers would trade baskets over the final nine minutes of the half, giving Mount Union a 41-35 lead heading into the halftime break.

The Raiders would open the second half with a massive 18-4 over the first 5:20 of the half to stretch their lead out to 20 points with just over 14 minutes left in the game. Mount Union would continue stretching their lead over the next several minutes with the largest being 27 and the closest the Beavers would get over the remainder of the game was 20 as the Raiders would go on to win the game 95-72.

The Raiders will be back in action again tomorrow taking on the winner of Wooster and La Roche in the Wooster Rotary Classic Championship game at 6 p.m. in Wooster.