ALLIANCE, Ohio — The road to a possible national championship began Friday night for Mount Union, and we're not sure it could've gone any better.
The Purple Raiders soundly defeated Cairn 107-76 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. Mike Fuline's bunch opened up a 25-point halftime lead and never looked back, shooting 52.5% from the field overall.
The star of the night was sophomore and Akron native Collen Gurley, who had a career-high 40 points and made a school-record 11 three-pointers. Senior and Cuyahoga Falls native D'Vontay Friga added 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Mount Union (26-3), which entered the tournament ranked No. 5 in the nation, will take on York College Saturday night in the second round. Just like Friday, that game will be played on the Raiders' home court at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.
While Mount Union is moving on, the end has come for another local small school power, as Wooster fell to Grove City 67-62 in their first round showdown.
The Fighting Scots could not contain senior guard Nate Peters (a CVCA grad), who had 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Wooster managed to cut what was a double-digit deficit to two with just minutes remaining, but were doomed by a poor night offensively, shooting just 33.9% as a team. Danyon Hempy led the group with 17 points and seven board, while Shaker Heights' Najee Hardaway scored 16.
An era ended as well, as it was the final game in the 33-year career of legendary head coach Steve Moore. During his tenure in Wayne County, Wooster won 780 games and led the Scots to 28 NCAA tournaments. The program made it to the national semifinals three times, and in 2011 was the D-III national runner-up.
