The Mount Union College men's basketball team experienced a rare bright spot in its 10-15 season back on Jan. 10.

The Purple Raiders handed Capital University of Columbus, Ohio, the eventual regular-season champions in the Ohio Athletic Conference, an 84-74 loss, its only home defeat to a conference team this season.

Two newcomers to the team who certainly weren't strangers to each other -- sophomore forward Stu Anglum and redshirt freshman guard Nick Sefscik -- helped lead the charge against Capital, combining for 30 points and 13 rebounds.

It's the same thing they were doing two years before as seniors at Shaler Area High School.

Anglum and Sefscik averaged 36.2 points per game in leading the Titans to a 21-4 record and the Class AAAA Section 3 championship in 2005.

After parting ways after graduation, they have been reunited at Mount Union, located in Alliance, Ohio.

"It felt like high school," said Anglum, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound forward. "It was good to play with someone familiar again."

Anglum and Sefscik have known each other since kindergarten. They came up through the AAU ranks together and were teammates in the Shaler Area School District for all but one year since seventh grade.

But after their championship senior season at Shaler, the two decided to play at different Division II schools: Anglum went to Mercyhurst College in Erie and Sefscik went to Wheeling Jesuit University, in Wheeling, W. Va.

"It was time to look at what was best for ourselves," Anglum said. "We didn't want to base the decision on what the other was doing."

Sefscik spent one semester at Wheeling Jesuit before transferring to Division III Mount Union last year. Sefscik said he chose Mount Union because he would have had to sit out a year if he transferred to another Division II school.

"I didn't like [Wheeling Jesuit]," said Sefscik, a 6-3, 200-pound guard. "The basketball I loved a lot, but it wasn't enough to keep me there for four years."

While Sefscik sat out the 2005-06 basketball season rehabbing ankle and knee injuries, Anglum averaged 3.8 points in 17.9 minutes per game for a 19-8 Mercyhurst team.

But Anglum also found himself ready to move to another school.

"For whatever reason, neither of them was happy with his choice of school," said Howie Ruppert, their coach at Shaler. "When they were thinking about transferring, Nick was already at Mount Union and Stu looked at that."

Mount Union coach Lee Hood said he recruited both Anglum and Sefscik heavily out of high school and knew what they could bring to his team.

"They find each other on the court and really seem to have a comfortable feeling for each other," Hood said.

Anglum paid dividends immediately, putting up 29 points in a season-opening win against Emory & Henry.

He went on to lead the Purple Raiders in scoring and rebounding for the season, averaging 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Sefscik started the season as a reserve but joined the starting lineup in the fifth game, after starting shooting guard Chris Switzer injured his shooting hand.

Sefscik had seven double-figure scoring games and finished fourth on the team with 8.1 points per game before reaggravating his ankle injury and sitting out the last eight games.

He also shot 43 percent from beyond the arc, sharing the team lead for 3-pointers made with his old high school teammate.

"They're a couple of lousy Steelers fans," said Hood, an admitted Browns fan. "But that's the only bad thing [I can say about them]."

Hood said Anglum and Sefscik are going to play a large role in Mount Union's rebuilding effort.

After spending nine of 10 years at or above .500, the Purple Raiders have gone 17-34 over the past two seasons.

Last year's team featured 11 freshmen and only one senior.

"We were kind of starting from scratch," Hood said.

Anglum and Sefscik have experience turning a team around.

Shaler went 14-33 in their first two years and 38-11 in their last two.

"It's nice to know that coach Hood has a lot of interest in what we can do as players," Sefscik said. "It's exciting to know that we're going in the right direction."

While Sefscik is still struggling to get into game shape after his injury setbacks, Anglum has to deal with a problem that's been limiting his playing time since high school, foul trouble.

Anglum averaged 3.5 fouls per game last year and fouled out six times.

He said he talks to coach Ruppert almost every day and still gets scolded for his penchant for reaching in.

"It's kind of like instinct for me," Anglum said. "I've just got to realize that sometimes giving up the two points is better than fouling out."

Hood said the pair made big strides during the year and really seem to enjoy playing with each other again.

"Their parents come to all the games," he said. "Everybody seems really glad they're back together."