Mules return to action Saturday afternoon hosting SW Oklahoma State

TIP-OFF
• The Central Missouri Mules continue their brief two-game home stand hosting SW Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 26. Tipoff at the Multi is set for 2 p.m.
• Central Missouri is coming off a 69-56 home win over Harris-Stowe on Tuesday night. The win improved UCM's record to 3-1 in the early season.
• The Mules were picked to finish ninth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• SW Oklahoma State is 0-4 on the season following a 77-50 loss at Harding on Saturday night. The Bulldogs are also 0-2 in Great American Conference play.
• The Bulldogs were picked to finish seventh in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Ricky Rivera calling the action.
• The game will also be webcast online through Central Missouri's Stretch Internet portal at UCMathletics.com/gamecentral. It is a pay-per-view webcast.

PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
• This is the 112th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,654 wins. One of just four NCAA-II programs with 1,600 wins.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).

MULE FEED
• The Mules return one All-MIAA player from a season ago, junior guard Spencer Reaves, who earned honorable mention all-conference accolades after averaging 12.3 points and 2.5 boards per game.
• Reaves is averaging 19.8 points per game through four games this season, best on the team and eighth in the MIAA.
• Eleven different players scored in double figures for the Mules in 2015-16 and six of those players return to the squad this year.
• Marquiez Lawrence recorded six double-doubles last year. He was the only UCM player to record a double-double during the season.
• Spencer Reaves is UCM's top returning scorer this year after averaging 12.3 points per game a season ago. He scored in double figures 19 times last season, including three 20-point performances and a career-high 33 points against Pittsburg State.
• So far this season, six different players have scored in double figures for the Mules with Spencer Reaves scoring at least 20 points in two of UCM's three games.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be just the second all-time meeting between the Mules and SW Oklahoma State. UCM won the only other meeting between the two schools.
• The first meeting was a 84-73 UCM win back on Dec. 22, 2005.

LAST MEETING WITH SW OKLAHOMA STATE
• The Mules beat the Bulldogs 84-73 on Dec. 22, 2005 at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
• SWOSU led 42-39 at halftime, but the Mules outscored the Bulldogs 45-31 in the second half en route to the win.
• UCM shot 53 percetn from the field, including nine made three-pointers, while SWOSU shot 44 percent from the field and made 11 three-point field goals.
• Michael Hicks led UCM with a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.
• Wadale Williams scored 24 points and David Hilliard chiped in 11.
• Reggie Gunn led SW Oklahoma State with 24 points, while Lonnie Cooks had 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Jon Gunn had 10 points.

SCOUTING SW OKLAHOMA STATE
• The Bulldogs enter the contest at 0-4 overall and 0-2 in Great American Conference play. SWOSU lost to fellow MIAA member, Washburn, 76-73 on Nov. 12 at home.
• SW Oklahoma State is led by fourth-year head coach Bob Battisti. He has a 50-39 mark leading the Bulldog program and a 459-335 record in his 28th season as a head coach.
• SWOSU is averaging 61.8 points per game while giving up 79.5 per contest. The Bulldogs shoot just 34.4 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc, while opponents are shooting 46.5 percent overall and 35.4 percent from three-point range.
• They are giving up 44.2 rebounds per game and are out-rebounded by nearly eight boards per game.
• Devin Pugh is one of two Bulldogs averaging in double figures at 14.5 points per contest. He is joined in double figures by Markeise Champion at 10.0 ppg.
• Altez Davis leads the team in rebounding with 6.5 rebounds per outing, while averaging 4.5 points per game.
• The Bulldogs are turning the ball over an average of 13.0 times per game.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 69, HARRIS-STOWE 56 • 11/22/16
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 22, 2016) – Spencer Reaves led three Mules in double figures with a game-high 16 points as Central Missouri improved to 3-1 on the young season with a 69-56 win over Harris-Stowe State on Tuesday night at the Multipurpose Building.
    The Mules grabbed control of the game early, opening the game on a 12-4 run to lead by eight in the first four minutes. They continued their hot early shooting as they extended the lead to 11 by the 11:23 mark at 19-8. Harris-Stowe (2-4) wouldn't go away, however, as they kept inching back in to the game.
    Each time the Hornets were able to get within single digits, the Mules would push the lead back up above 10. A pair of free throws by Reaves and then a three-pointer from Kyle Wolf pushed the lead back to 10 with just under three minutes to play in the half. HSSU again cut the lead to nine at 37-28 with 1:55 to play, but UCM scored the final three points of the frame on free throws from Reaves to lead 40-28 at the intermission.
    The lead grew to 14 on two more foul shots from Reaves as the second half got underway, but a 7-0 run by HSSU cut the lead to 42-35 with 16:48 to play in the game. The Mules responded with a 6-0 spurt of their own to push the lead back to 13.
    The Hornets were able to pull back within nine at 48-39 with 14:32 to play in the game, but they would get no closer. The Mules pushed the lead to as many as 17 late in the game before coming away with the 13-point victory.
    Besides Reaves' game-high 16, Marquiez Lawrence finished with 13 points and eight rebounds and Wolf chipped in 10. UCM shot 43 percent from the field, going 18-of-42. The Mules were 4-of-13 from beyond the arc for 31 percent and made 29-of-36 free throws for 81 percent.
    HSSU was led by Malik Wineglass' 15 points, while Tyrone Alston recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards and Jalen Fletcher chipped in 10. The Hornets shot 41 percent from the field, 19-of-46, but were just 4-of-19 from three-point range for 21 percent. They were 14-of-17 at the foul line for 82 percent.
    The Mules out-rebounded Harris-Stowe 29-27 and forced 22 turnovers, but did commit 17 of their own.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 3-1 in non-conference action after the win over Harris-Stowe.
• UCM was 6-1 in non-conference games last season, including a 6-0 mark in regular season non-con games. They are 135-33 over the last 15 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 65-1 in the last 66 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES AT HOME
• The Mules are 1-0 at home after the 69-56 win over Harris-Stowe on Tuesday night and are 25-8 at home under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 162-19 at home over the last 12 seasons, including 65-1 against non-conference opponents and 97-18 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 490-96 (.836) in their 41st season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 0-1 on the road this season after the loss at Arkansas-Forth Smith.
• UCM was 4-9 in road games last season and is 10-13 on the road under Doug Karleskint.

MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• The Mules are 7-2 in neutral site games under Doug Karleskint after posting a 2-0 mark at the MIAA/NSIC Challenge in the Wisconsin Dells to open the season.

BLOCK PARTY
• Senior Marquiez Lawrence blocked 32 shots last season, tied for the 10th most in a single season in Central Missouri history.
• He has four blocks this season and is now at 36 for his career, three blocks shy of cracking UCM's career Top 10 list for blocked shots.

MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Spencer Reaves is eighth in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 19.8 points per game through four games. Kyle Wolf is 21st in the conference at 13.8 points per game.
• Reaves leads the MIAA in free throw percentage at 96.2 percent.
• Wolf is fifth in the league in field goal percentage at 60.6 percent, while Reaves is ninth shooting it at a 53.8 percent clip. Both players are also shooting at least 50 percent from three-point range, Reaves is fifth in the league (52.2) while Wolf is tied for sixth (50.0).
• Marquiez Lawrence is 14th in the league with 1.0 blocks per game, while Jakob Lowrance is 19th with 0.8 per game.

MULES VS. THE SOONER STATE
• Central Missouri is 4-3 against teams from Oklahoma during the Doug Karleskint era.
• This will be the first meeting between UCM and SWOSU under Karleksint, however, he went 7-1 against the Bulldogs during his time at Arkansas Tech.

A WIN OVER SW OKLAHOMA STATE WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 4-1 start for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
• Give UCM a 2-0 series lead against the Bulldogs.

A LOSS TO SW OKLAHOMA STATE WOULD...
• Drop the Mules 3-2 overall for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
• Be the first ever loss to SW Oklahoma State.
• Be just the second home non-conference loss in the last 67 games for UCM.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 42-23 (.646) in his third season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 131-57 (.697) overall mark in his seventh 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 in 2014-15.
• His 25 wins in 2014-15 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 an 89-34 (.724) 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 112th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,657-947 (.636) record in 2,604 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 15 years, 23 former UCM players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Four players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster; Donte Adams (Conejos De Tuxtla (Mexico), Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 207 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured two MIAA regular season titles, three MIAA Tournament crowns and three NCAA Regional Championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 153 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships during Hughes' tenure (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 232 student-athletes named to the 2015-16 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 28 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.
• 19 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had seven student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with four of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is sixth in NCAA-II with 53 Academic All-Americans.
• Two UCM student-athletes were awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.

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 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 begin MIAA play next Saturday afternoon, Dec. 3, at Missouri Western. Tipoff at the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph is set for 4 p.m.
• UCM is off for finals week before heading to Maryville on Saturday, Dec. 10 to take on Northwest Missouri State. Tipoff at Bearcat Arena is set for 3:30 p.m.