Men's Basketball: No. 13 Raiders Take Care of Capital for OAC Victory

12/16/2023 | Men's Basketball | Box Score

ALLIANCE, Ohio - The No. 13 nationally ranked Mount Union men's basketball team defeated Capital 79-68 in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.

The Purple Raiders (8-1, 3-1 OAC) had three players score in double figures, with senior Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) leading the way with a game-high 22-point, 12-rebound double-double. Junior Michael Skeriotis (North Canton / Massillon Jackson) added in a season-high 12 points and sophomore Corey Hudson (Columbus / Pickerington) added in 11 to round out the Raiders in double digits.

The Comets (8-3, 2-2 OAC) were led by Baden Forup who scored a team-high 16 points and McKane Finkenbine who added in 14 points.

After a back and forth first 12 minutes, back-to-back baskets by Parker sparked a 13-7 run over the next 3:31 to give Mount Union a 33-25 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first half. Capital would answer with a quick 6-0 run of their own to cut the lead back down to two with a minute and a half to play in the first half. The Raiders would then close the half on a 10-2 run to take a 10-point 43-33 lead into the halftime break.

The Comets would cut the lead to seven over the first two minutes of the second half before the Raiders would answer with a 9-2 run over the next 2:55 to stretch the lead back to 14 points with 15:16 remaining in the game. Just under two minutes later Capital would answer with a quick 7-0 run of their own to cut the lead back down to four with just under 12 minutes left to play. Mount Union would stretch the lead back out to double digits with a quick 9-1 run to take a 66-54 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Raiders and the Comets would go back and forth over the final 10 minutes with the lead never getting greater than 15 and never closer than eight as Mount Union would go on to win 79-68.

The Raiders travel to Florida next when they take on Berea in St. Pete at Eckerd College on Tuesday, December 19 at 7 p.m.