No. 25 Mules wrap up road trip at Southwest Baptist on Thursday night

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TIP-OFF
• The 25th-ranked Central Missouri Mules wrap up their three-game road trip at Southwest Baptist on Thursday night. Tip-off at the Meyer Wellness & Sports Center is set for 7:30 p.m.
• The Mules are 17-4 on the season and 8-4 in MIAA play after an 89-79 win at Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon.
• The Bearcats are 9-12 overall and 4-8 in MIAA play after a 68-65 loss to Missouri Southern at home on January 29.
• The Mules were 30-5 a season ago when they captured the NCAA-II National Championship. It was the third 30-win season in program history, the seventh 20-win season in the last 12 years and the 23rd in school history.
• The 2013-14 season was the 11th straight season of at least 18 wins for UCM, the longest active streak in the MIAA and tied for the longest streak in conference history with Northwest Missouri, who accomplished the feat from 1997-2008.
• Central Missouri finished 16-3 in MIAA play last year and captured a share of the MIAA regular season championship for the third straight season. It was the sixth conference crown in the last 12 years and 24th in school history.

QUICK HITS
• This is the 110th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,632 wins.
• The Mules are averaging 76.0 points per game and shooting 50.8 percent from the field. The opposition is averaging 68.3 points per game and shooting 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc.
• In their 17 wins, the Mules are averaging 78.2 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the field, while holding opponents to 66.5 points per game and 41 percent shooting.
• In the four losses, UCM scores 66.8 points per contest and shoots 42 percent from the field, while opponents are averaging 75.8 points per outing and 51 percent shooting.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).

MULE TIDBITS
• TJ White has recorded his first three career double-doubles this season to lead all Mules.
• Dillon Deck has one double-double this season and seven during his two-year UCM career.
• Kyle Wolf recorded the second double-double of his career with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Nebraska-Kearney.
• Four Mules have recorded double-doubles this season (Deck, Dickerson, White, Wolf).
• Ten different Mules have scored in double figures this season ... nine different Mules have led the team in scoring.
• Rakeem Dickerson and Preston Brunz are third and fourth, respectively, in the MIAA in assist-to-turnover ratio.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 62nd all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist. The Mules lead the series 39-22. This will be the first meeting between the two schools with Doug Karleskint and Clark Sheehy at the helm of their respective programs.
• The Mules won both meetings last season and have won seven straight games in the series.
• UCM won 85-67 on February 22 of last year in Bolivar to sweep the season series. The Mules are 15-13 all-time in Bolivar and have won three straight at the Meyer Wellness & Sports Center.

LAST MEETING WITH SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
• The Mules shot 57 percent from the field and held Southwest Baptist nearly 20 points below their season average in an 85-67 win in Bolivar on February 22, 2014.
• Daylen Robinson led UCM with 16 points to go along with eight assists and three rebounds. Dillon Deck finished with 14 points, while Charles Hammork had 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
• The Mules held a 42-22 advantage in points in the paint.
• Both teams shot below 29 percent from behind the three-point line. The Mules were 17-of-22 at the foul line, while the Bearcats were 20-of-32.
• Rashaad Brown-Peterson led SBU in scoring with 12 points. Daniel Ogunyemi and Jaywuan Hill had 11 points apiece and Desi Barmore finished with 10 points for SBU.
• The Mules had 17 assists on 32 made field goals and turned the ball over just 11 times. SBU had 11 assists on 21 made buckets and turned the ball over 17 times.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
• Southwest Baptist enters the game at 9-12 overall and 4-8 in MIAA play after a 68-65 loss at home to Missouri Southern last Thursday night.
• The Bearcats have lost five of their last six games, but the five losses have been by an average of just 5.4 points per game.
• SBU is scoring 67.2 points per game and shooting 42 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range. The Bearcats give up 67.1 points per contest, 43 percent shooting from the floor and 33 percent from beyond the arc. They are fifth in the MIAA in field goal percentage defense and second in three-point field goal percentage defense.
• Menas Stephens leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging a double-double at 12.0 points and 10.4 boards per outing.
• Daymond Cowlah is second on the squad in scoring at 10.0 per contest.
• SBU is second in the league in rebounding at 36.3 per game and they out-rebound opponents by almost five and a half boards per game.
• The Bearcats are averaging 15 turnovers per outing, while forcing almost 13 per game.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 89, MISSOURI SOUTHERN 79 • 1/31/15
JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Central Missouri Mules shot 56 percent from the field and beat Missouri Southern 89-79 on Saturday afternoon at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Five Mules scored in double figures.
    The Mules (17-4, 8-4 MIAA) jumped out to an early 10-6 lead and extended that lead to nine at 15-6 with 15:30 to go in the first half. The lead was still nine when the Lions (14-7, 8-4 MIAA) went on an 8-2 run to cut the UCM lead to three at 19-16 w/ 13:34 to play. The game was back and forth for much of the first half with MSSU grabbing a point lead near the midway point, but a 12-2 run by the Mules gave UCM a 34-25 lead.
    The Lions roared back with a 6-2 spurt to cut the lead to five, but UCM scored seven straight points to lead 43-31. MSSU would outscore the Mules 7-4 the rest of the half and UCM led 47-38 at the intermission.
    Missouri Southern scored four quick points out of halftime to pull within five at 47-42, but a 9-2 run by the Mules pushed the lead back to 12. Brennen Hughes started the run with a pair of free throws and TJ White ended it with a three-point play.
    The lead grew to 13 on a jumper from Jordan Epps at the 12:32 mark and the Mules would hold a double digit lead for most of the second half. UCM led 76-63 with 6:52 on the clock when Missouri Southern went on an 8-1 run. It cut the Mule lead to six at 77-71 with 4:04 to play.
    Out of a timeout, Epps hit a jumper to beat the shot clock and push the lead back to eight. After a Greg Renfroe layup, Epps drilled a three and UCM led 82-73 with 2:25 to play. Lane Barlow scored to cut the lead to seven, but Rakeem Dickerson made four straight free throws to give UCM a nine-point advantage. Hughes hit 1-of-2 at the line and Dickerson made two more with under a minute to play to ice the game and give UCM the 10-point win.
    Dickerson led five Mules in double figures with a game-high 22 points. Epps had 16 points, while Brad Woodson chipped in 15. Hughes finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Kyle Wolf had 12 points and seven boards.
    The Mules shot 32-of-57 from the field for 56 percent and made 7-of-22 three-pointers for 32 percent. UCM was 18-of-24 at the foul line for 75 percent. The Mules out-rebounded MSSU 36-34 and held a 39-16 advantage in bench scoring.
    Taevaunn Prince led the Lions with 20 points and nine rebounds. Barlow finished with 18 and Renfroe and Cameron Cornelius finished with 11 points each. MSSU was 27-of-61 from the field for 44 percent and 6-of-20 for 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Lions were 19-of-29 at the charity stripe for 66 percent.

THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 164-23 at the Multipurpose Building over the last 13 years and 10-2 under Doug Karleskint after the win over Lincoln on Wednesday, January 21.
• Over the last nine years, UCM is 147-13 at home, including 59-1 against non-conference opponents and 88-12 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 475-90 in their 39th season playing home games at the Multi.

MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 4-2 on the road this season after the 89-79 win at Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon.
• UCM was 8-4 on the road last season, including 7-3 in MIAA play.

MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• UCM is 3-0 this year and 53-20 in neutral site games over the last 13 years after the 90-84 overtime win over Quincy on Nov. 25 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
• The Mules were 9-1 in neutral site games last season.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 8-4 in conference action under Doug Karleskint after the win at Missouri Southern on Saturday. UCM is one game back of three times tied for first place.
• Central Missouri is 167-70 in MIAA play over the last 13 seasons.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA Tournament titles.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 9-0 in non-conference games this season and 124-29 over the last 13 seasons after the win over Culver-Stockton on December 15.
• The Mules went 14-2 in non-MIAA games last year.
• Central Missouri is 58-1 in the last 59 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

FOLLOWING A LOSS
• Central Missouri is 4-0 this season in the games immediately following a loss after the 89-79 victory over Missouri Southern on January 31.
• The Mules have not lost back-to-back games since dropping three straight from Feb. 2-9, 2013.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules an 18-4 record overall and 9-4 in MIAA play and keep UCM no more than one game out of first place in the league standings.
• Give the Mules eight straight wins over Southwest Baptist and four straight victories in Bolivar.
• Give UCM 18 wins in a season for the 12th consecutive season, which would be a new MIAA record.
• Give UCM a 40-22 lead in the all-time series with the Bearcats.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 17-5 overall and give UCM a 8-5 record in MIAA play.
• Snap the Mules' seven-game winning streak against Southwest Baptist and their three-game winning streak in Bolivar.

BLOCK PARTY
• Senior Dillon Deck has 58 blocked shots in his UCM career, moving him past Mike Moultrie and in to fourth place on UCM's career blocks list.
• He blocked 32 shots last season, the eighth most in a single season in Central Missouri history.

KARLESKINT ERA OFF TO A GOOD START
• Doug Karleskint is 17-4 in his first season as the head coach at Central Missouri and 107-38 (.738) overall in his fifth season as a head coach.
• He became the first Mules' head coach to start his first season at UCM 7-0.
• He spent the previous five seasons at Arkansas Tech, including the last four as head coach. He compiled a 90-34 (.726) record with the Wonder Boys with four conference championships and four trips to the NCAA-II National Tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2012.

MULES IN THE POLLS
• The Mules re-entered the NABC/Division II Rankings this week at No. 25.
• The Mules have been ranked in 148 polls in the history of the program, the seventh most in NCAA-II history.
• The Mules dropped out of the Division II Media Poll sponsored by D2SIDA last week after being ranked 23rd in the previous week's poll. The poll is in its first year of existence and is voted on by Division II Sports Information Directors.

MULES BASKETBALL HISTORY
• In the 110th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,632-928 (.638) record in 2,560 total games.
• The Mules are the third winningest program by victories in NCAA-II history.
• Central Missouri is one of just three NCAA-II programs with 1,600 all-time wins.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 23 times in the history of the program.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games in a season three times, including last year.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA tournament titles.

THE NEXT LEVEL
• In the past 12 years, 21 former UCM players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Four players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster; Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), Sanijay Watts (Germany, Dorsten) and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Following the fall sports seasons, Central Missouri has won a combined 202 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular season titles, the most of any school in one season in league history, and the second time Central Missouri has accomplished the feat.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 146 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won six national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003 and men's basketball in 2014) and eight national championships overall.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 220 student-athletes named to the 2013-14 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 41 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.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 12 student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with seven of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on the 44,000-watt 98.5 "The Bar, 1450 KOKO and online at warrensburgradio.com. Games are broadcast by 1450 KOKO/98.5 "The Bar" Sports Director, Greg Hassler and Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, Mike Knipper.
• The Doug Karleskint Show, Live from Traditions Restaurant presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. will air on Monday nights at 6 p.m. on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO as well as warrensburgradio.com.

LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
• Live video coverage for all Central Missouri home and away MIAA games will be available through Stretch Internet on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $9.95 for a day pass or $89.95 for an all-season pass for UCM basketball. With a day pass, fans can access any MIAA game being broadcast that day. Fans can access webcasts through the GameCentral by Stretch Internet link on the UCM Athletics homepage or through the "Video" links on the Mules Basketball schedule page. Fans can also go directly to
portal.stretchinternet.com/ucmo/

UPCOMING
• The Mules return home on Saturday, February 7 to host Missouri Southern at 3:30 p.m. at the Multi.
• UCM heads back out on the road on Wednesday, February 11 to Jefferson City to take on Lincoln at 7:30 p.m. at Jason Gym.