TIP-OFF• The Central Missouri Mules look to get 2016 off to a good start when they welcome Southwest Baptist to the Multi on Monday, Jan. 4 for a 7:30 p.m. game.
• The Mules are 8-3 overall on the season and 2-3 in MIAA play after dropping a pair of home games before the break.
• Southwest Baptist enters the contest at 7-4 overall and 2-3 in MIAA play. The Bearcats beat Sterling College 95-76 last Wednesday after falling to Fort Hays State 83-66 in their final game before the break.
• 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 1,648 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 77.8 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field. Opponents are averaging 69.9 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting.
• The Mules are shooting 37.7 percent (80-of-212) from three-point range compared to 31.2 percent (69-of-221) for the opposition.
• UCM has attempted 16 less free throws than the opponents. The Mules are averaging 20.8 free throw attempts per game. Last year, they attempted 23.5 free throws per outing.
• The Mules are sixth in the MIAA in scoring offense (77.8 ppg) and third in scoring defense (69.9 ppg). They are sixth in the league in field goal percentage (47.2), and third in field goal percentage defense (41.8) and first in three-point field goal percentage defense (31.2).
• 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 now has three double-doubles on the season.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTHWEST BAPTIST• This will be the 64th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist. The Mules lead the series 41-22 after sweeping last season's series. The Mules won 67-64 in overtime in Bolivar and 71-67 in Warrensburg last season.
• The Mules have won nine straight games in the series dating back to the 2010-11 season.
• UCM has won 11 straight games against the Bearcats at the Multi and hold a 23-8 advantage in games played in Warrensburg. The last loss at home to SBU was an 84-81 setback in the 2004-05 season.
LAST MEETING WITH SOUTHWEST BAPTIST•
Kyle Wolf led the Mules with a then career-high 23 points on six made three-point field goals in a 71-67 win over Southwest Baptist.
Preston Brunz tied his career-high with 17 points and
TJ White chipped in 10.
• UCM led by as many as 14 in the second half, then withstood a late SBU rally to earn their sixth straight win.
• The Mules out-rebounded the Bearcats 29-26 and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds.
• The Mules forced 13 SBU turnovers and held a 20-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
• UCM had 12 assists on 21 made field goals and the defense came up with five blocks and four steals.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS• Southwest Baptist is 7-4 overall and 2-3 in MIAA play after a 95-76 win over Sterling College last Wednesday evening.
• The Bearcats are led by second year head coach Clark Sheehy. He has a 18-22 record leading the Bearcats and a 200-128 overall record in his 11th season as a head coach.
• SBU averages 75.2 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting. The Bearcats shoot 37 percent from three-point range and 79 percent at the foul line. They out-rebound opponents by over nine boards per game (38.4-29.1).
• Opponents are averaging 74.1 ppg on 44.8 percent shooting including 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. Opponents have shot 26 more free throws than the Bearcats.
• Brian Patterson leads SBU in scoring at 15.5 points per game, while also pulling down 6.6 rebounds per game.
• Logan Hovey averages 14.8 points per contest and team-leading nine boards per outing.
• The Bearcats dish out over 14 assists per game, but have turned the ball over 15.8 times per contest.
LAST TIME OUT • NEBRASKA-KEARNEY 98, CENTRAL MISSOURI 95 OT • 12/19/15WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The 15th-ranked Mules made a late comeback to force overtime, but ultimately fell 98-95 to Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday afternoon at the Multi. The Mules rallied from eight points down with under two minutes to play to force the extra period, but were outscored 16-13 by the Lopers in the extra frame.
   Nebraska-Kearney (5-5, 2-3 MIAA) led 73-65 with 1:56 to play in the game when the Mules (8-3, 2-3 MIAA) mounted their comeback.
D'Marnier Cunningham scored three of his team-high 38 points on a three-point play to cut the lead to five. He scored 10 straight points for the Mules to pull within two at 77-75. After two free throws by Connor Beranek gave the Lopers a four-point lead
Spencer Reaves scored on a jumper with :12 to pull UCM within two. Lane Rohrich made two foul shots for UNK to push the lead back to four, but Reaves drilled a three with :05 left. Beranek then made one of two free throws to make it 82-80. Cunningham went coast to coast on the inbounds and his jumper fell as the buzzer sounded to force overtime.
   The Lopers scored the first five points in the extra period to seize control, but a jumper from Reaves and a three-point play by
Marquiez Lawrence tied the game with 3:01 to play. Josh Sweet hit an open three to push UNK in front 92-89, but Cunningham scored again to pull UCM within one. The Lopers then made six straight free throws as the Mules traded baskets for foul shots. Beranek made two with :03 left to make it 98-95. Cunningham had another last second opportunity, but his three-pointer bounced off the rim and the Mules came up short.
   The game was back-and-forth in the early going with the teams trading the lead on seemingly every possession. Trey Lansman made two foul shots to give UNK a 10-9 lead and spark a quick 6-0 run to push the Lopers in front 14-9. The Mules responded with a 7-2 spurt to tie the game at 16, but Sweet hit a three-pointer that quickly put the Lopers back in front.
   The lead was six at 26-20, but the Mules battled back to within 30-29 with five points from Reaves and four from Cunningham. Lansman hit a jumper with :34 left in the first half to give UNK the 32-29 halftime advantage.
   UCM shot 51 percent for the game, going 41-of-80 from the floor. The Mules were 7-of-19 from three-point range and made 6-of-11 free throws. The Lopers were 31-of-58 from the field for 53 percent, but 7-of-26 for 26 percent from beyond the arc. They made 29-of-32 free throws for 90 percent.
   The Mules were led by Cunningham's 38 points. He also had seven rebounds, five assists and a steal. Reaves finished with 21 points and Lawrence added 19 points and nine rebounds.
   Beranek led UNK with a game-high 39 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists. Lansman finished with 26 in the game and three players finished with eight points apiece.
   The Mules out-rebounded UNK 37-34 and pulled down 12 offensive boards. They out-scored the Lopers 52-44 in the paint and 12-7 in second chance opportunities.
THE MULES AT HOME• The Mules are 6-3 at home this year after the loss to Nebraska-Kearney and they have lost three straight home games for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
• Central Missouri went 14-2 at home last season.
• Over the last 11 years, UCM is 157-16 at home, including 64-1 against non-conference opponents and 93-15 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 485-93 (.839) in their 40th season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES ON THE ROAD• The Mules are 2-0 on the road this season after the 73-72 win at Emporia State on Saturday.
• 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 2-3 this season after their overtime loss to Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 19. The Mules have dropped two straight league games.
• 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 174-74 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 three-game home losing streak and get UCM back to .500 in MIAA play at 3-3 and give them a 9-3 overall mark.
• Give the Mules 10 straight wins over the Bearcats and 12 straight against SBU at the Multi.
• Snap a two-game losing streak overall.
• Give the Mules a 42-22 lead in the all-time series with SBU and a 24-8 mark in Warrensburg.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Give the Mules three straight losses overall and four straight home losses.
• Snap the Mules' nine-game winning streak against SBU and the 11-game winning streak over the Bearcats at the Multi.
• Drop the Mules to 8-4 overall and 2-4 in league play
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA•
Doug Karleskint has a record of 33-10 (.767) in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 123-44 (.737) 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 1,648-934 (.638) record in 2,582 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 hit the road for two stright games at Pittsburg State (Jan. 7) and at Missouri Southern (Jan. 9). Tip-off at Pitt State on Thursday night is 7:30 p.m. with Saturday's game in Joplin set for 3 p.m.
