ALLIANCE, Ohio— In a game that had the feel of a NCAA Tournament matchup lived up to a Top 10 battle Tuesday as Mount Union men's basketball team continues its best start to a season with its 13^th straight victory in a 78-72 victory over Calvin in the M Club Classic.
 
The Purple Raiders (13-0, 4-0 OAC) were led by Kevin Hamilton (Akron / St. Vincent St. Mary) with 20 points going 13 of 13 from the free throw line and Chance Casenhiser (Uniontown / Lake) with 19 points.
 
Calvin (8-3, 0-0 MIAA) was led by Jalen Overway with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Calvin got off to a hot start with runs of 5-0 and 9-0 taking an early 14-4 lead over Mount Union in the first 5:40 of the game. Calvin got its largest lead of 11 in the first half at the 11:02 mark remaining but Mount Union responded with two three's from Jack Dunbar (McMurray, Pa. / Peters Township) and a three from Casenhiser closing within one at 22-21. Calvin pushed its lead back out to six but a 5-0 run from Dante Collier (Columbus / Licking Heights) got Mount Union to within one with 2:46 left in the first half. Calvin ended the half on a 6-2 run, taking a 33-28 lead into the halftime break.
 
Calvin came out of the break with a 5-2 run leading 38-30 but Mount Union responded with a 5-0 run to close within three in the first 2:30 of the half. Calvin pushed its lead back out to nine with two straight three points. Mount Union went on a 20-0 run over an 8:12 period in the second half which was fueled by nine points from Casenhiser, seven points from Hamilton and four from Caleb Laurich (Akron / Copley) taking a 55-44 lead. Mount Union tied its largest lead with a three from Casenhiser with 6:19 remaining, leading 60-49. Calvin had one last push against Mount Union going on a 13-6 run getting within two with :27 seconds to play but Mount Union connected on its final eight free throws to close out the game.
 
Mount Union returns to play with an Ohio Athletic Conference match up in Marietta, Ohio at 7 pm on Wednesday, January 7^th.