STORY LINES
• The Central Missouri Mules travel to Las Vegas, Nev. to take part in the Las Vegas Challenge hosted by Dixie State.
• The Mules will play the host school, Dixie State on Tuesday and Arkansas-Fort Smith on Wednesday at the Orleans Arena.
• The Mules come in at 6-2 overall after a 74-66 win over William Woods on Saturday night.
• Dixie State comes into the tournament at 6-3 overall after a 68-58 win over Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday night.
• Arkansas-Fort Smith is 5-3 overall after a 77-74 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on December 8 in Fort Smith. The Lions will take on Pittsburg State on Tuesday in their first game of the tournament before playing the Mules on Wednesday.
• This will be the first ever meeting between Central Missouri and both Dixie State and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
• These games are the final two non-conference games on UCM's 2012-13 schedule.
QUICK HITS
• Central Missouri is in its 108th season of men's basketball.
• Central Missouri is second all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,569.
• UCM returns two all-MIAA performers from a season ago.
Dominique Long was a second team All-MIAA and second team NABC All-District selection after leading the Mules in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg) in 2011-12.
Widgett Washington was an honorable mention all-conference honoree after averaging 11.9 points and 4.7 assists per game.
• The Mules return 67 percent of their scoring and 70 percent of their rebounding from last year's 19-8 team that claimed a share of the MIAA championship.
• The Mules were 19-8 a season ago and captured a share of the MIAA regular season championship, the fourth under head coach Kim Anderson.
• The 2011-12 season was the ninth straight year that Central Missouri won at least 18 games, the longest active streak in the MIAA. The longest streak in MIAA history is 11 seasons, held by NW Missouri State from 1997-2008.
SERIES HISTORY
• This is the first ever meeting between UCM and both Dixie State and University of Arkansas Fort Smith
LAST MEETING WITH DIXIE STATE
• The two schools have never met
LAST MEETING WITH UAFS
• The two schools have never met
SCOUTING DIXIE STATE
• The Red Storm come into the Las Vegas Challenge at 6-3 overall after a 68-58 win over Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday night.
• The Red Storm are led by eighth year head coach Jon Judkins. He has compiled a 129-78 record at the school and a 413-201 record in his 19 years as a head coach.
• DSC has won three straight Pac West Conference championships.
• Dixie State is averaging 77.6 points per game offensively and giving up 73.3 per outing.
• The Red Storm have four players averaging in double figures, led by Dalton Groskreutz' 14.0 points per game.
• Zach Robbins is averaging a double-double of 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest.
• Dixie State shoots 52 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range, while the opposition is shooting 42 percent from the floor and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
• DSC is 41-of-98 from three-point range, while opponents are 86-of-250 from beyond the arc.
• They out-rebound their opponents by six boards per game, 36.3-30.3.
SCOUTING UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FORT SMITH
• The Lions enter the challenge at 5-3 overall. Their last time out on December 8, UAFS beat Southwestern Oklahoma State 77-74 in Fort Smith, Ark.
• UAFS will play Pittsburg State on Tuesday before facing the Mules on Wednesday.
• The Lions are led by seventh year head coach Josh Newman, who has compiled a 120-70 record.
• UAFS is averaging 77.2 points per game and giving up 68.1 per contest.
• The Lions shoot 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range, while their opponents are shooting 40 percent from the floor and 31 percent from behind the arc.
• Five UAFS players are averaging in double figures, led by Corey Copeland's 13.1 points per game. Jelani Poston is averaging 12.6 points per outing and leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per contest.
• The Lions are out-rebounding their opponents by over nine boards per game, 44.6-35.5.
• The Lions are averaging 14.8 assists per game, but they have committed 133 turnovers (16.6 per game).
LAST TIME OUT
• Central Missouri closed the first half on a 27-13 run to open a 41-23 lead as they went on to defeat William Woods 74-66 in non-conference action on Saturday night.
• The Mules had three players in double figures, led by
Dominique Long and
Reggie Stallings with 14 points apiece.
•
Widgett Washington had 11 points to go along with five assists and four steals.
• UCM held a 42-20 advantage in points in the paint and turned 20 WWU turnovers into 19 points.
• The Owls out-rebounded the Mules 43-38 and held a 22-8 advantage in second chance points.
• The Mules held William Woods to just 33 percent shooting on the night.
• The Mules shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and 46 percent for the game.
• UCM struggled at the foul line making just 13-of-25 attempts.
•
Charles Hammork added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 131-59 in MIAA play during the Kim Anderson era after a 72-65 win over Emporia State on Saturday afternoon.
• UCM was 15-5 in conference play last year earning a share of the MIAA regular season title, the fourth under Anderson.
• Central Missouri's best MIAA record under Anderson was an 18-2 mark in the 2009-10 season.
• The Mules have captured four MIAA regular season championships and three MIAA tournament titles under Kim Anderson.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 97-25 in non-conference games during the Kim Anderson era and 5-1 this season after the 74-66 win over William Woods.
• Central Missouri is 49-1 in the last 50 non-conference games at home.
• The Mules are 35-11 in Division II non-conference regular season games under Anderson.
THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 133-21 at the Multipurpose Building under Kim Anderson after the 74-66 win over William Woods on Saturday night.
• Over the last eight years, UCM is 116-11 at home. Over that same time period the Mules are 49-1 against non-conference opponents at home and 67-10 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 444-88 in their 37th season playing home games at the Multi.
THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 59-48 in road games during the Kim Anderson era after dropping their first road game of the season, 77-72 at Fort Hays State on Wednesday night.
• UCM was 7-4 on the road last season.
THE MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• The Mules are 37-17 in neutral site games during the Kim Anderson era, including 1-1 this season after splitting a pair of games at the Bearcat Classic after Thanksgiving.
TWO UCM WINS WOULD...
• Give the Mules an 8-2 overall record for the first time since the 2008-09 season
• Give the Mules a 1-0 lead in the series with both Dixie State and Arkansas-Fort Smith
• Give UCM four straight wins for the first time this season
TWO UCM LOSSES WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 6-4 overall and snap their two-game winning streak
• Drop UCM to 0-1 in the all-time series against both Dixie State and UAFS.
A UCM SPLIT WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 7-3 record for the third straight season.
• Give UCM a 6-2 record in non-conference games.
WEBB FOURTH IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
• Senior forward
Matt Webb leads the team and is fourth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 58.8 percent. He has made 30-of-51 shot attempts this season.
WASHINGTON DISTRIBUTING THE BALL
• Senior guard
Widgett Washington leads the team and is ninth in the MIAA in assists at 4.1 per game. There are 10 players in the MIAA averaging 4.0 assists/game or more. Craig Nicholson of FHSU leads the league at 6.4 per game.
ANDERSON LEADING THE WAY
• Central Missouri head coach Kim Anderson has compiled a career record of 228-84 (.731) in his 11th season leading the Mules.
• He has led UCM to four MIAA regular season titles, more than any other coach in school history, three MIAA tournament championships, two Regional championships and two Final Four appearances.
• Anderson recorded career win No. 200 with a 65-61 win against Washburn on February 9, 2011.
• Anderson is one of only five coaches in Central Missouri history to record 100 or more career wins - Anderson (228), Tad. C. Reid (178), Earl Keth (159), Jim Wooldridge (131) and Lynn Nance (114).
• Three of the top nine single-season scoring leaders in Central Missouri history have come during the tenure of head coach Kim Anderson.
MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY
• In the 108th season of UCM basketball the Mules have compiled a 1,569-913 (.632) record in 2,482 total games.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 21 times in the history of the program.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games twice, both during the Kim Anderson era.
• The Mules are the second winningest program by victories in NCAA-II.
• UCM has won or shared 22 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA tournament titles.
THE NEXT LEVEL
• In the Kim Anderson era, 20 former players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Seven players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster - Zack Wright (Greece, Rethimno), Sanijay Watts (Germany, USC Heidelberg), Esian Henderson (Czech Republic, Levice), Manny Richardson (ABA, Battle Creek Knights), Joel Barkers (Greece, Aris Thessolonikki), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet) and Kevin Wollbrinck (France).
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE ATHLETIC ARENA
• Following the fall 2012 season, Central Missouri has won a combined 191 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• During the 2011-12 school year UCM captured seven MIAA regular season and three tournament championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 137 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won five national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, and women's bowling in 2003) and seven national championships overall.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• The 500+ Central Missouri student-athletes received 245 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2011-12 academic year.
• 195 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 32 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned All-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 18 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 10 student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors, including Shawn Boss being named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Track & Field.
MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO/98.5 “The Bar” and on the Internet at www.warrensburgradio.com. 90.9 “The Bridge” will pickup the broadcast at tip-off. All games are broadcast by Senior Associate Athletic Director, Shawn Jones and 1450 KOKO/98.5 “The Bar” Sports Director, Greg Hassler.
• The Kim Anderson Mules Basketball Show, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. will air on Monday nights at 7 p.m. on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 “The Bar” and www.warrensburgradio.com. The show runs through the regular season. There is one remaining show in the month of December on Monday the 10th.
• The Central Missouri Sportspage is your weekly one-hour look at UCM athletics each Thursday night at 7 p.m. on KMOS-TV. Senior Associate Athletic Director Shawn Jones will sit down with Mules head coach Kim Anderson to discuss the previous week's games as well as weekly spotlights of Mules basketball players. The show will return in January of 2013.
LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
• The UCM Media Network will provide live video coverage for every Central Missouri home game through a student-run webcast on AmericaOneSports.com. All home games and road MIAA games will be available on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $8 per game, $30 for a 30-day pass or $89.95 for an all-season pass for UCM men's and women's basketball.
UP NEXT
• The Mules are off until after the new year. UCM will host Southwest Baptist on Wednesday, January 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
• Central Missouri opens the 2013 calendar year with three straight home conference games.
