COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 16 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team lost to Capital in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup 79-72 on Saturday afternoon.

The Purple Raiders (17-4, 10-4 OAC) had two players score in double figures with senior Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) leading the way with a 34-point, 13-rebound double-double and sophomore Caleb Laurich (Akron / Copley) adding in an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.

The Comets (14-7, 8-6 OAC) were led by Justin Nixon who scored a team high 17 points and Carter Combs who added in 15 points.

After a slow start by both teams, Capital would jump out to an early 17-5 lead with 12:30 left to play in the first half. Mount Union would cut into the lead before an 11-5 comet run over 3:27 of game time pushed the lead out to 15 with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. The Raiders would go on a 9-3 run to cut the lead down to nine before a jumper from Nate Gerber with just four seconds left in the half would push the lead back to double digits as the Comets would take a 44-33 lead into the halftime break.

The Comets would open the half with three straight baskets to stretch their lead to 17 before Mount Union would go on a massive 22-4 run over the next 6:27 of game time to take their first lead since the game was 3-2 at 55-54 with 12 minutes left to play. The Raiders and Comets would go back and forth over the next eight minutes with neither team being able to gain an edge before Capital would end the game on a 14-4 over the final 4:07 to take a 79-72 victory.

The Raiders return home next when they host No. 2 John Carroll on Wednesday, February 7 at 7 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex in Alliance.