WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Mount Union's men's basketball team defeated Otterbein 71-63 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
The win marked the 251
st of head coach
Mike Fuline's career which makes him the All-Time Winningest Coach in Mount Union Men's Basketball history.
The Purple Raiders (7-4, 4-0 OAC) had three players scored in double figures with sophomore
Elijah Farrington (Massillon / Massillon Washington) leading the way with both a game and career-high 22 points, while also grabbing 10-rebounds to record a double-double. Freshman
Chance Casenhiser (Uniontown / Lake) also scored a career-high 18 points, with fifth-year
Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) scoring 12 to round out the Raiders in double digits.
The Cardinals (7-4, 2-2 OAC) were led by Cam Evans who scored a team-high 19 points, with Jared Kreager and Julian Heckman both adding in 11 points.
The teams would trade baskets over 6:20 of game time to open the game before a jumper from Casenhiser sparked a quick 7-0 run that saw Mount Union take a 17-8 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half. Otterbein would answer with a 12-0 run of their own over the next 4:16 of action to claim a three-point lead with seven and a half minutes left to play in the first half. The Raiders would go on to outscore the Cardinals 14-9 over the final 7:23 of the half to take a slim 31-29 lead into the halftime break.
After a Heckman three to open the second half, Mount Union would quickly regain the lead with a quick 5-0 to take a 36-32 lead with 18:27 remaining in the game. Neither team would be able to gain much of an edge over the next 11:48 of game time as the Raider lead never got greater than five but the Cardinals were never able to claim the lead. Then, back-to-back baskets from Parker saw the Mount Union lead stretch to eight with just 4:24 left to play in the game. Otterbein was able to cut the lead down to four with just 44 seconds remaining, but four straight Raider free throws over the final 30 seconds would ice the game as Mount Union would go on to win 71-63.
The Raiders return home next when they host Marietta in OAC play on Wednesday, January 8 at 7 p.m. in the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.