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SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Central Missouri Mules dropped their first game of the season, a tough 81-78 overtime defeat to St. Mary's on Friday night at Bill Greehey Arena.

The Mules (5-1) fell behind early 4-0 as they struggled offensively in the opening minutes. UCM responded with an 11-5 run to grab the lead 11-9 at the 13:44 mark of the first half.

The Rattlers (5-1) responded with a 7-0 run of their own to regain the lead at 16-11. The Mules pulled back to within one on several occasions only to see St. Mary's push the lead back to five each time. The Mules trailed 30-28 late in the first half, but used a 6-1 run to grab the lead. STMU hit a pair of free throws right before the half and UCM led 34-33 at the intermission.

St. Mary's regained the lead out of the halftime break and the teams traded the lead on nearly every possession as the game saw 14 ties and 14 lead changes.

The Rattlers grabbed a four-point advantage at the 16:39 mark, but the Mules responded with an 8-0 run to grab their largest lead of the game at 47-43 with 14:21 to play in the game. St. Mary's responded an regained the lead at 51-50 near the midway point of the second half. 

St. Mary's pushed their lead to six with just under six minutes to play in the game, but Central Missouri responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 64-all with just 1:18 to play in the game. Four straight points gave the Rattlers a 68-64 lead with just 17 seconds to play.

Daylen Robinson went coast-to-coast to pull UCM within 68-66 with 10 seconds to play. The Mules quickly fouled on the inbounds pass. St. Mary's missed both free throws with nine seconds left giving UCM a shot. Robinson got the outlet pass from Kyle Wolf and again went coast-to-coast and got fouled to tie the game at 68-68 with 2.5 seconds left. He had a shot to give UCM the lead, but his free throw rimmed out and the game went to overtime.

The Rattlers scored first in overtime to grab a two-point lead, but Central Missouri used a 5-0 run to take a 73-70 lead. St. Mary's again had an answer, a 7-0 run by the Rattlers gave them the lead for good with :26 remaining. Central Missouri got within one at 79-78 on a three from Preston Brunz, but two free throws by STMU gave the Rattlers an 81-78 lead with just over two seconds to play. Brunz's half court heave was off the mark and the Mules dropped their first game of the season.

Robinson led four Mules in double figures with 18 points and six assists. TJ White had 15 points off the bench, while Wolf had 12 and Brunz finished with 11. Ryan Donald had eight points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

UCM shot 37 percent from the field, 22 of 59, but made just 6 of 17 from behind the three point line. The Mules were 28 of 37 at the free throw line.

Marvin Whitt led St. Mary's with a game-high 25 points. JJ Bolton had 13 points and Fred Wilson finished with 12. The Rattlers shot 27 of 60 from the field for 45 percent. They were 6 of 15 from beyond the arc and 21 of 29 at the charity stripe.

The Mules out-rebounded the Rattlers 40-38. STMU had been out-rebounding opponents by 20 boards per game, but UCM had 14 turnovers.

The Mules look to rebound from their first loss of the season when they take on Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena. The game can be heard live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com. Airtime on the UCM Sports Network is set for 4:40 p.m.

The Savage Storm lost to Emporia State 81-66 on the first day of the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic.