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WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The Central Missouri Mules used suffocating defense and some hot shooting to beat Lindenwood 87-72 on Wednesday night at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The Mules held the Lions without a field goal over the final 10:51 and held them to 34 percent shooting for the game.

The Lions (15-7, 8-6 MIAA) scored the first bucket of the game to go in front 2-0, but a Dominique Long three-pointer at the 18:26 mark gave the Mules (16-6, 10-4 MIAA) a lead they would never relinquish. The bucket from Long started a quick 7-0 spurt to give the Mules a five point lead.

After a three from Tyler Ressel cut the UCM lead to two the Mules went on a 15-5 run to open a 22-10 lead with 9:45 left in the half. The Lions were able to get the lead back to single digits at eight on a several occasions, including at 27-19 with 6:28 to play in the half. On the ensuing UCM possession the Lions were called for a foul and then a technical was issued on the Lindenwood bench. Long made all four free throws to push the lead back to 12.

A traditional three-point play by Efkan Eren trimmed the lead back to nine, but UCM quickly grew the lead back to 13 at 37-24 with 3:29 left in the half. The Lions closed the half on an 11-5 run to pull within 42-35 at halftime.

Central Missouri came out firing in the second half as they quickly pushed the lead back to double digits at 56-43. Ressel hit another three for Lindenwood that cut the lead to 10, but the Mules would go on a 12-2 run to open a 20-point advantage at 68-48 with 13:41 to play in the game.

The Lions began to chip away at the lead as the pace of the game grinded to a halt. A bucket from Aaron Ramirez and a pair of free throws by Eren cut the deficit to 14. After two foul shots by Long, Lindenwood hit four straight free throws to cut the lead to 12 with 8:23 to play regulation.

An offensive rebounds and putback from Charles Hammork pushed the UCM lead back to 14 only to see the Lions hit four more free throws to trim the lead to 10 with just over six minutes remaining. Matt Webb hit a jumper from the baseline to stop the slide and give the Mules a 78-66 lead with 5:30 left.

Three more from the charity stripe by the Lions cut the lead to nine, but Lindenwood would get no closer. Webb hit back-to-back buckets to give the Mules a 13-point advantage with 2:06 remaining and Hammork closed it out with a steal and thunderous dunk at the other end.

The Mules shot 45 percent for the game, 25-of-56, including 9-of-18 from beyond the arc for 50 percent. UCM was 28-of-41 from the foul line for 68 percent as the two teams combined 80 free throw attempts and were whistled for a combined 57 fouls.

Long led all scorers with 26 points and added five rebounds. Lance Beckwith had 15 points and a game-high nine board, while Webb added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The Mules had 16 assists to 10 turnovers and they also had 10 steals on teh 16 LU turnovers.

Lindenwood shot 34 percent for the game, 18-of-53 and just 6-of-19 from the three-point line for 32 percent. The Lions were 30-of-39 from the charity stripe for 77 percent.

UCM held a 23-18 advantage in points in the paint and the 16 LU turnovers led to a 20-8 lead for UCM in points off turnovers. The Mules also scored 11 fast break points to zero for Lindenwood.

The win snaps UCM's three-game losing streak and keeps the Mules in a tie for first place in the MIAA with Fort Hays State.

Central Missouri is back in action on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. hosting Lincoln. Saturday is Hall of Fame weekend with the 2013 UCM Athletic Hall of Fame class being introduced at halftime. Airtime on the UCM Sports Network with Shawn Jones and Greg Hassler is set for 3:05 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 student webcast is available through AmericaOneSports.com