'Grit and toughness': Mount Union men's basketball responds in wake of John Carroll defeat

ALLIANCE — It always feels like a fight for survival when the Mount Union men's basketball team faces Marietta.

Wednesday's game was no exception.

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Photos: Ohio Athletic Conference men's college basketball | Mount Union vs. Marietta

One minute, the Purple Raiders hitting one 3-pointer after another and on track for a decisive win. The next minute, they were scrapping to close out the Pioneers in what eventually was a 92-84 win.

Head coach Mike Fuline has experienced a decade-plus worth of battles with Marietta. His second Mount Union team had the Pioneers beat in the 2013 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship game. Then Marietta stormed back from a 20-point second half deficit to snatch the win and an NCAA berth from the Purple Raiders.

Mount Union All-American forward Christian Parker also can tell you a thing or two about facing Marietta. He took a shot to the face and suffered a broken nose during last year's game in Alliance. Despite that, Parker scored 24 points — 15 after the injury — and had a school-record seven blocks in a two-point win.

"I actually had surgery a year ago today," Parker said afterward.

The Purple Raiders held on to beat Marietta at home last year after leading by as many as 13 in the second half. Mount Union's first-half lead Wednesday ballooned to 20, but the Pioneers were able to tie it at 79-79 heading into the final five minutes.

Layups from Parker and Darrell Newsom pushed Mount Union ahead 86-81 with just over two minutes left. Corey Hudson helped finish Marietta off from the free throw line in the final seconds.

"We really just had to lock in on the defensive side," Parker said. "We knew we could get a bucket on them. Everybody could score. It really didn't matter who could get the ball. We just had to focus on defense a lot and stop them. We just kept trading baskets and kind of let them back in the game."

Parker scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Purple Raiders, who improved to 14-2 overall and 7-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Collen Gurley scored 18 points. Hudson finished with 13 points and six assists. Caleb Laurich also finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Purple Raiders have won back-to-back games since suffering one of their worst losses in awhile at first-place John Carroll. Heidelberg and Marietta were no gimmes.

"I'm proud of our guys," Fuline said. "We could have laid down. Everyone wanted to talk about John Carroll, but people don't understand it just counts as one loss. We had to come back with Heidelberg and Marietta. That just shows the grit and toughness of these guys.

"I think a lot of people were questioning these men and this team, and I think they've answered it over the last few games."

The way Mount Union responded after the John Carroll defeat has been a confidence boost to the players.

"These games showed us that we can actually do this," Parker said. " ... We know we can play like this now and we should do it from here on out."

Mount Union still has nine regular season games remaining, including rematches with John Carroll, Heidelberg and Marietta. On Saturday the Purple Raiders will travel to Wilmington to face the only other team that has beaten them.

"These aren't easy games, but we're getting to that part of the season where you just have to find ways to win," Fuline said. "We're doing that thankfully."

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Christian Parker helps Mount Union men's basketball hold off Marietta