ALLIANCE, Ohio -- Mount Union's men's basketball team clawed back from a 12-point deficit and then held off a late Baldwin-Wallace push to secure a 74-70 win in Ohio Athletic Conference action on Monday at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

Dave Pellerite (Olmsted Falls/Olmsted Falls) had a double-double, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, for the Purple Raiders.

Ben Hodkinson (Tippecanoe/Harrison) also scored 17 points, Matt Wier (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) put in 16 and Jimmy Wood (Wintersville/Indian Creek) contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and five steals.

Mount Union twice trailed by 12 -- the second time at 29-17 -- before it rallied for a 15-3 run to close the first half. Hodkinson, Pellerite and Wood scored five points apiece, helping the Raiders knot a 32-all tie at intermission.

An 8-1 Yellow Jacket run opened up the second half, but the Raiders responded again with nine straight points. The Mount Union outburst culminated with a Wier 3-pointer, which put the hosts up 42-40 with 14:41 remaining.

The contest was tied only twice more with the final deadlock coming at 60-60. At that point, T.J. Gillespie (Toledo/St. John's) put the Raiders ahead with a pair of free throws. Wier followed with a layup and free throw as Mount Union built a 65-60 advantage.

The Raiders finished off Baldwin-Wallace with a solid performance at the free-throw line, making 10 of 11 charity shots in the final five minutes.

B-W's Zane Meeder was the game's top scorer, finishing with 18 points and rebounds.

Kevin Krakowiak added 12 points for the Yellow Jackets (7-8, 3-5) while Kyle Payne chipped in with 10.

Chris Ameen and Aaron Selmek grabbed nine and seven rebounds, respectively.

The Purple Raiders (8-8, 6-3) will be in action next on Saturday when it hosts OAC foe Otterbein. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.