ALLIANCE, Ohio – The nationally ranked no. 3 Mount Union men's basketball team beat North Park 102-85 Friday night in the Timken Gymnasium in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament.

The Purple Raiders (28-2) were led by senior Jeffery Mansfield (Wilmington) with 24 points . Sophomore Christian Parker (Canton / GlenOak) finished with 21 points , and seniors Collen Gurley (Akron / Hoban) and Darrell Newsom (Twinsburg) had 16 and 11 respectively.

North Park (24-6) was led by Marquise Jackson with 21 points. Adam Bulwa and Shamar Pumphrey finished with 15 and 13 points respectively while Jordan Boyd had 10.

North Park opened the first half of play off the tip with a quick basket. Mansfield answered immediately with the team's first basket. Mount Union would go onto a 7-0 run sparked at 19:04. Later in the half, North Park would go on a 11-0 run, giving them the lead 34-25. An 8-0 run by Mount Union sparked by back-to-back shots by Newsom and senior Chris Painter Jr. (Akron / St. Vincent-St. Mary). Both teams would go on to trade basket-for-basket throughout the rest of the half as the Purple Raiders would take a nine-point lead, 56-47 going into the second half.

The Raiders continued their impressive shooting as they started the second half on an 8-2 run. After a few North Park baskets, Mount Union would go on another run, but this one was an 11-0 at 16:08. The Raiders would keep their lead throughout the second half as the largest lead was 32 points. North Park would not be able to reduce the lead as the Purple Raiders claim the victory.

Mount Union's next game will be in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament as they host Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the Timken Gymnasium at 7:45 pm Saturday night.