ALLIANCE, Ohio – Mount Union's men's basketball team defeated Capital 71-65 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The Purple Raiders (5-2, 2-0 OAC) had three players score in double figures with fifth-year Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) leading the way with an 18-point, 15-rebound double-double. Seniors Marcus Steele (Solon) and Jamarr Talbert Jr. (Richmond Heights) scored 13 and 11 points respectively to round out the Raiders in double digits.

The Comets (3-5, 0-2 OAC) were led by Justin Nixon who scored a team-high 18 points, Alex Eyink added in 13 and McKane Finkenbine scored 11 points.

Capital jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead before Mount Union would come storming back to take a 13-10 lead with 11:15 remaining in the first half. Both teams would go on to trade baskets over the next six and a half minutes before back-to-back Parker threes sparked a 12-2 Raider run over the next 2:53 of game time to take an 11-point lead with 1:43 left to play in the first half. The Comets would close the half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to 32-28 heading into the halftime break.

Capital would then continue their run to open the second half and reclaim the lead at 34-32 before Mount Union would answer with a 12-2 run of their own over the next 3:14 of game time to push the lead back out to eight with just over 14 minutes left to play. The Comets would slowly chip away at the lead over the next 5:07 to cut it down to 52-51 with just under nine minutes to play in the game. The Raiders would maintain a slim lead over the next 3:36 of game time before a quick 7-2 run would push the lead out to seven with two and a half minutes remaining in the game. The closest Capital would get over the final two and a half minutes was five as
Mount Union would go on to win 71-65.

The Raiders hit the road next when they travel to Wilmington for an OAC contest with the Quakers on Saturday, December 14 at 3 p.m.