WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The no. 13 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team defeated no. 21 nationally ranked Otterbein 74-69 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The Purple Raiders (18-2, 9-2 OAC) had two players score in double figures with junior Elijah Farrington (Massillon / Massillon Washington) leading the way with a game-high 21-point, 15-rebound double-double, sophomore Chance Casenhiser (Uniontown / Lake) added 18 points to round out the Raiders in double digits.

The Cardinals (16-3, 8-2 OAC) were led by Troy Scowden who scored a team-high 17 points and Julian Heckman who added 12 points.

Mount Union would jump out to an early 7-3 lead over the course of the first three minutes of the game. After the Raiders pushed their lead to 11-6, Otterbein would answer with a 12-4 run over the next 4:21 of action to claim a three-point 18-15 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. The Raiders would then answer with a 12-4 run of their own to reclaim the lead at 27-22 with just under seven minutes to play in the half. The Cardinals would answer once again with a 9-4 run to tie the game at 31 apiece with two and a half minutes remaining in the half. Farrington would hit a jumper as the clock expired to give Mount Union a narrow 35-33 lead heading into the halftime break.

After a back-and-forth first five minutes to open the second half, Otterbein would go on a 12-5 run over 2:24 of game time to take a 54-49 lead with 12 and a half minutes left to play in the game. The Raiders would answer with a 7-2 run of their own to tie the game at 56 apiece with just under seven minutes remaining. After the Cardinals reclaimed a five-point lead, Mount Union would go on a 10-2 run over the next 3:57 of action to take a 66-63 lead with 1:46 left to play. The Raiders and Cardinals would go back-and-forth over the final minute and a half of play as Mount Union would hold on for the 74-69 victory.

The Raiders are on the road again next when they travel to Berea on Wednesday, February 4 as they continue OAC play against Baldwin Wallace at 7 p.m.