Mules return home Wednesday night to host MIAA-leading Lindenwood

TIP-OFF
• The Central Missouri Mules look to snap a two-game skid as they return home to host MIAA-leading Lindenwood on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
• The Mules are 9-5 overall on the season and 3-5 in MIAA play after dropping a pair of road games last week at Pittsburg State and at Missouri Southern.
• Lindenwood enters the contest at 11-4 overall and 7-2 in league play after a 70-63 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday in St. Charles. The Lions have won three straight and five of their last six.
• The Mules were 25-7 a season ago and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. It was the eighth 20-win season in the last 11 years and the 24th in school history.
• Central Missouri finished 14-5 in MIAA play last year and finished as the regular season runner-up.

QUICK HITS
• This is the 111th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,649 wins.
• Last season was the 12th straight season of at least 18 wins for UCM, an MIAA record.
• Last season was the third straight 20-win season for UCM and the 24th in program history.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).

MULE FEED
• The Mules are averaging 77.4 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field. Opponents are averaging 72.4 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting.
• The Mules are shooting 37.1 percent (104-of-280) from three-point range compared to 33.1 percent (91-of-275) for the opposition.
• The Mules are sixth in the MIAA in scoring offense (77.4 ppg) and third in scoring defense (72.4 ppg). They are fifth in the league in field goal percentage (47.2), and third in field goal percentage defense (43.8) and first in three-point field goal percentage defense (33.1).
• Ten different players have scored in double figures for the Mules and six different players have led the team in scoring.
• Marquiez Lawrence (14 points, 10 rebounds) recorded the first double-double of the season for Central Missouri in the win over MidAmerica Nazarene. He has three double-doubles on the season.



SERIES HISTORY VS. LINDENWOOD
• This will be the ninth all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Lindenwood. The Mules lead the series 6-2.
• The teams split last seasons' meetings with each team winning on their own home floor. Lindenwood won 82-68 in St. Charles on Jan. 24 with the Mules winning 58-53 in Warrensburg on Feb. 14.
• The Mules are 5-0 against the Lions in Warrensburg and 3-0 since LWU joined the MIAA.

LAST MEETING WITH LINDENWOOD
• The Mules held Lindenwood to 14 first half points on 26 percent shooting en route to a 58-53 win in Warrensburg on Feb. 14, 2015.
• The Mules shot 44 percent from the field and held LWU to 40.8 percent shooting for the game.
• TJ White led UCM with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Preston Brunz and Brad Woodson chipped in 10 points apiece.
• The Mules held a 26-16 advantage in points in the paint, and a 17-3 edge in bench scoring.
• UCM outrebounded LWU 32-31 and had two players with double digit rebounds.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Lindenwood enters Wednesday night's game leading the MIAA at 11-4 overall and 7-2 in league play and riding a three-game winning streak. The Lions are led by first-year head coach Lance Randall.
• LWU is 13th in the MIAA in scoring (72.3 ppg), but first in scoring defense (64.9) and field goal percentage defense (38.8).
• The Lions shoot 46.8 percent from the field, 38.6 percent from three-point range and 76.8 percent at the free throw line. They've attempted 81 more free throws than their opponents.
• Cory Arentsen leads Lindenwood in scoring at 22.3 points per game, fourth in the MIAA. He also averages 6.8 rebounds per game, second on the team.
• Brad Newman (13.0 ppg) and Stanislas Heili (10.7) are also averaging in double figures. Heili also leads the team in rebounding at 9.1 per game.
• The Lions out-rebound opponents by over six boards per contest.
• LWU averages over 12.5 turnovers per game, while forcing just under 10 (9.9).

LAST TIME OUT • MISSOURI SOUTHERN 100, CENTRAL MISSOURI 89• 1/9/16
JOPLIN, Mo. – The Mules trailed by as many as 17 in the second half before rallying to within six late, but they came up short in a 100-89 loss to Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon. The Mules fall to 9-5 overall and 3-5 in MIAA play.
    The game was back and forth at the start with the Mules taking a quick 5-0 lead on a three from Jakob Lowrance and a layup from D'Marnier Cunningham. The Lions (10-6, 7-3 MIAA) responded with a 7-0 run to grab their first lead of the game.
    The Lions grabbed a three-point lead only to see UCM tie the game at 16-all on another Cunningham jumper, but back-to-back threes from Austin Wright gave the Lions a 22-16 lead. The lead grew to eight, but a 9-2 run by the Mules cut the lead to 30-29 with 3:32 left before the break. The teams traded buckets the remainder of the half and Missouri Southern led 39-37 at halftime.
    Out of the break, Lowrance hit a three to put UCM in front 40-39. Isaac Kreuer scored on a layup to put MSSU back in front, but Kyle Wolf buried a three and the Mules led 43-41 early in the final period.
    The lead went back and forth until the 16:03 mark when Charlie Brown made two free throws to give the Lions a 49-48 lead. He made two more foul shots and Bruce Marshall scored to give MSSU a 53-48 lead. The Mules cut the lead to four at 58-54, but the Lions used a 13-1 run to grab a 71-55 lead with 10:24 to play.
    The lead grew to 17 at 76-59 with 8:30 to play in the game, but the Mules started to inch back in to the game. The Mules trimmed the lead to 11 at 79-68, but a three from Taylor Luster pushed the MSSU lead back to 14. The lead grew back to 17 at 87-70 with 4;12 to play, but still UCM kept pushing.
    Marquiez Lawrence scored on a tip-in and free throw to pull the Mules within 14. Cunningham scored six straight points for UCM to pull the Mules within nine with 2:19 to play. The teams traded free throws before a layup from Tereke Eckwood and two foul shots from Spencer Reaves cut the Lion lead to six at 93-87 with 1:38 to play.
    MSSU, however, scored seven of the final nine points to close out the 11-point win.
    The Mules shot 56 percent for the game, 28-50, but were just 6-of-18 from three point range. UCM was 27-of-32 at the foul line for 84 percent. Cunningham led UCM with 28 points while Lawrence added 18 points and nine board and Lowrance chipped in 14.
    Charlie Brown led MSSU with a career-high 29 points while Taevaunn Prince had 25, DJ Feitl finished with 14 and Wright had 12. The Lions shot 57 percent from the field (29-51) and made 11-of-20 three-point attempts. They were 31-of-38 at the foul line for 82 percent.
    The Mules had seven assists and 12 turnovers compared to 15 assists and just seven turnovers for the Lions.

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules are 7-3 at home this year after the win over SBU, it snapped a three-game home losing streak.
• Central Missouri went 14-2 at home last season.
• Over the last 11 years, UCM is 158-16 at home, including 64-1 against non-conference opponents and 94-15 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 486-93 (.839) in their 40th season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 2-2 on the road this season after dropping a pair of road contests last week at Pitt State (80-69) and Missouri Southern (100-89).
• UCM was 6-3 on the road last season and were one of only three teams with a winning record on the road during MIAA play.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 3-5 in MIAA play and in eighth place in the league standings after losses at Pitt State and Missouri Southern.
• UCM finished the 2014-15 regular season 14-5 in conference action under Doug Karleskint and second in the final league standings.
• Central Missouri is 176-76 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 6-0 in non-conference action after the wins over SE Oklahoma State and MidAmerica Nazarene.
• The Mules were 11-0 in regular season non-con games last season and are 132-31 over the last 13 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 64-1 in the last 65 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Snap a two-game losing skid and get the Mules to within a game of .500 in MIAA play at 4-5.
• Give the Mules back-to-back wins over Lindenwood and a 7-2 lead in the series.
• Give UCM a 6-0 home mark against the Lions.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Give the Mules three straight losses and drop them to 9-6 overall and 3-6 in MIAA play.
• Snap the Mules' five-game home winning streak against Lindenwood and pull the Lions within 6-3 in the all-time series.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 34-12 (.739) in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 124-46 (.729) overall mark in his sixth season as a head coach.
• He became the first Mules' head coach to start his first season at UCM 7-0 when he accomplished the mark last season.
• His 25 wins last year were the most by a first-year head coach in Central Missouri history.
• Karleskint became the fourth Mules' head coach to win at least 20 games in his first season.
• Before coming to UCM, 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 BASKETBALL HISTORY
• In the 111th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,649-936 (.638) record in 2,585 total games.
• The Mules are the third winningest program by victories in NCAA-II history.
• Central Missouri is one of just four NCAA-II programs with 1,600 all-time wins.
• The Mules have won 20 or more games 24 times in the history of the program, including each of the last three seasons.
• Central Missouri has won 30 or more games in a season three times (2006-07, 2008-09, and 2013-14).
• 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
• Entering the 2015-16 academic year, Central Missouri had won a combined 205 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured five MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA Tournament crowns.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 151 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014, and women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015) and 10 national championships overall.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 218 student-athletes named to the 2014-15 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 29 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 six student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with three of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is tied for sixth in NCAA-II with 49 Academic All-Americans.

MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar, 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, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Svc Corp., live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. The Show is hosted by Greg Hassler and is broadcast live from Traditions Restaurant at Mules National Golf Club.

UPCOMING
• The Mules host Lincoln on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Multi before heading back out on the road for games at Northeastern State (Jan. 21) and Central Oklahoma (Jan. 23).