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WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Mules basketball (14-3, 8-1 MIAA) used an 9-0 run the final 3:24 of the second half to defeat the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (13-5, 6-3 MIAA), 60-50, Saturday afternoon in front of 4,750 fans at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The victory marks the eighth straight for the Mules.

The Mules raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game after Dominique Long drilled a three and Ryan Magdziarz added a dunk. The Bearcats answered though with a layup from Dillon Starzl to cut the Mule advantage to just 5-2 with 17:30 remaining in the first stanza.

The Mules were able to hang onto the lead until Northwest Missouri knotted the game up at 13 courtesy of a Starzl free throw with 8:43 remaining. The Bearcats took their first lead of the contest with 8:20 on the clock after Lyle Harris converted a layup.

Northwest increased the advantage to 17-13 before Matt Webb made a pair of free throws to bring the Mules back within two, 17-15, with 4:33 left in the first half. The Bearcats took a 25-24 lead into the locker room at half.

The Mules came out of halftime and retook a 26-25 lead after Widgett Washington sank two free throws but Northwest Missouri answered with a 5-0 run to give them their largest advantage of the game, 33-28, at the 17:11 mark. 

The Mules came back and tied the contest at 33 after Long nailed a jumper and buried a three with 15:40 left in the contest. 

The Bearcats regained a slim 34-33 advantage when DeAngelo Hailey made a free throw but Webb drove into the paint and hit a layup with 13:31 left to give the Mules the lead for good. Northwest pulled within two at the 11:59 mark but Charles Hammork once again answered for UCM, converting a layup to make it 41-37 Mules.

Northwest Missouri would cut it to four again with 4:53 remaining in the game but that's as close as they would get.

Long led the Mules scoring efforts with 13 points, going 5-9 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc. Webb posted a double-double, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds while scoring 12 points. Washington also reached double figures for the Mules, scoring 11 while dishing out a game-high five assists.

As a team, the Mules went 23-53 from the field for the game, good for 43 percent, and were 4-12 from three for 33 percent.

UCM had 12 assists and 12 turnovers in the contest and out-rebounded the Bearcats, 39-28.

The Bearcats were paced by Hailey and Grant Cozad, each scoring 10 points. Northwest went 17-51 from the field for the game for 33 percent and were 5-14 from long range for 36 percent.

Northwest turned the ball over 12 times and had 10 assists.

The Mules are back in action next Wednesday, beginning a four game road swing at Lincoln in Jefferson City, Mo. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Jason Gymnasium. Airtime on the UCM Sports Network with Greg Hassler and Bill Turnage is set for 7:05 p.m. You can hear the game live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and www.warrensburgradio.com. 90.9 The Bridge will pick up the broadcast at tip-off. A pay-per-view webcast via AmericaOne Network is also available through AmericaOneSports.com.