ALLIANCE, Ohio — The dream is alive and well for the Mount Union men's basketball team.
Playing in their first-ever Elite Eight in the NCAA Division III tournament, the Purple Raiders rolled to a 78-67 victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh Saturday night at Timken Gymnasium. The win vaults Mount into the Final Four for the first time in program history.
The Raiders (29-2) never trailed once in the game despite shooting a relatively lackluster 42.2% from the field. Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year once again led the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeffrey Mansfield added 14 points, eight boards, and six assists.
Oshkosh (24-7) couldn't recover from a poor night shooting both from the field (36.5%) and the free-throw line (56%). Levi Borchert paced the Titans with 19 points and 14 boards.
Having entered the tournament as the No. 3 team in the country, Mount Union will finally soak in the national semifinals after years of heartbreak, such as a potential run in 2020 being spoiled by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's semis and national championship game will again take place in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the Purple Raiders will face Wisconsin-Whitewater (25-7) on Thursday night. The upstart Warhawks have beaten three nationally ranked teams to get to this point, including Case Western Reserve in Cleveland followed by Johns Hopkins and Oswego State.