MARIETTA, Ohio – Mount Union's men's basketball team defeated Marietta 76-68 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday evening.

The Purple Raiders (13-5, 10-1 OAC) had three players score in double figures with junior Kevin Moore (Youngstown / Campbell Memorial) leading the way with a team-high 20 points. Fifth-year Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) would add in 19 points and grab 12 rebounds for a double-double with senior Marcus Steele (Solon) scoring 15 points to round out the Raiders in double digits.

The Pioneers (9-9, 3-8 OAC) were led by Jake Singleton who scored a game-high 21 points, Jayden Bradshaw who added in 14 points with De'Ovion Price and Danny Flood both adding 11.

Mount Union would jump out to a quick 10-2 lead just 3:58 into the game before Marietta would answer with a 12-3 run of their own over the next 4:41 of action to take a 14-13 lead with 11:05 remaining in the first half. Neither team would be able to gain much of an edge over the remaining 11 minutes of the half as the largest the Pioneer lead would get was six and the largest Raider lead over that time was two, as Marietta would take a slim 33-30 lead into the halftime break.

The Raiders and Pioneers would trade baskets over the first couple minutes of the second half before a 13-6 Raider run saw Mount Union claim a 48-43 lead with fourteen and a half minutes left to play. The Raiders would maintain that lead over the next five and a half minutes before a 10-1 run over the next 3:09 of game time would stretch the lead to 64-51 with just 6:27 remaining in the game. The Pioneers would answer with a quick 7-2 run of their own to cut the lead down to eight with just over two and a half minutes left to play, however they wouldn't be able to get closer than six over the final two and a half minutes as Mount Union would go on to
win 76-68.

The Raiders return home next when they host Wilmington in OAC matchup on Saturday, February 1 at 3 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.