TIP-OFF
• The Central Missouri Mules tip-off the 2016-17 regular season with a pair of in-region games this weekend in the Wisconsin Dells. UCM faces off with Minnesota-Duluth on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. before facing Bemidji State on Saturday night at 5 p.m.
• The Mules finished the 2015-16 season 14-15 overall on the season and 8-14 in MIAA play.
• The Mules were picked to finish ninth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Minnesota-Duluth was 15-14 a season ago and finished in fourth place in the NSIC Northern Division with an 11-11 conference mark.
• The Bulldogs were picked to finish 12th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Bemidji State was 10-17 last season and finished in seventh place in the NSIC North with a 7-15 conference record.
• The Beavers were picked to finish 14th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

QUICK HITS
• 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.
• 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.
• The Mules averaged 70.7 points per game and shot 46 percent from the field last season. Defensively, UCM allowed 69.8 points per contest on 43.7 percent shooting.
• 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.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the second meeting between Central Missouri and both Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State.
• UCM beat UMD 78-60 in last year's season-opener in Warrensburg. The only meeting with BSU was a 46-32 UCM win in the 1942 NAIA Tournament.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Minnesota-Duluth was 15-14 a season ago and finished 11-11 in NSIC play, finishing fourth in the north division.
• The Bulldogs are led by fifth-year head coach Matt Bowen, who has compiled a 51-62 mark leading UMD and a 115-164 career record in 10 seasons as a head coach.
• The Bulldogs return one starter from last year's team, junior guard Kyle Schalow. He played in all 29 games, making 18 starts and averaging 5.3 points per game.
• Thirteen of the 17 playeres on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores.
• The Bulldogs will be looking for big things from their lone senior, Charles Benson, who averaged 1.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 28 games played last season.
• Last year, UMD averaged 80 points per game, while giving up 80.5. They shot 45.1 percent from the field and allowed 46.3 percent.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Bemidji State was 10-17 last season and finished in seventh place in the NSIC North with a 7-15 conference record.
• BSU is led by fifth-year head coach Mike Boschee. He has a 54-57 mark leading the Beaver program and is 115-115 as he begins his 14th season overall as a head coach.
• The Beavers return two starts from last year's club in senior forward Ben Best and junior guard Christian Pekarek.
• Best led the team in scoring last year averaging 11.8 points per game and pulled down the second most rebounds at 5.1 per game and most rebounds overall at 138. He shot 52.3 percent from the field.
• Pekarek averaged 5.3 points per contest and 2.7 boards per game.
• Last year, BSU averaged 74.3 points per game and gave up 76.9 while shooting 44.6 percent from the field and allowing 45.9 percent shooting.

LAST TIME OUT • MISSOURI 66, CENTRAL MISSOURI 59 • 11/4/16
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Nov. 4, 2016) – Central Missouri shot 50 percent in the second half to rally from 18 points down to within three with :39 to play, but came up just short in a 66-59 exhibition loss to Missouri on Friday night at Mizzou Arena.
    The Tigers led 53-35 with 9:26 to go in the game when the Mules started their run. Marquiez Lawrence scored a layup and Kyle Wolf hit a pair of foul shots to get UCM started. Wolf hit a pair of three pointser sandwiched around a Spencer Reaves free throw to pull UCM within eight, but the Tigers scored four straight points to push the lead back to 12 at 58-46 with 5:46 to play.
    Trailing 61-47 with under four minutes to play, Reaves hit a three-pointer followed up by layups from Erick Locke and Lawrence to pull the Mules within seven. Following a layup from Jordan Geist, Lawrence scored a layup and Locke converted a three-point play to pull the Mules within 62-59. Terrance Phillips made a pair of free throws, however, and Frankie Hughes finished off the scoring with a dunk with just under :30 to play.
    Mizzou led by four at halftime after both teams struggled offensively in the first half. The Mules shot just 19 percent in the first half, while the Tigers shot 29 percent to lead 23-19 at the intermission. The Mules trailed 23-13 with 2:47 to play in the half, but closed the period on a 6-0 run.
    UCM scored five of the first eight points in the second half to pull within a pair and eventually took a 33-32 lead with 14:47 to play. The Tigers responded, however, with a 21-2 run to open up their 18-point lead.
    The Mules shot 35 percent for the game (19-54) and made 7-of-28 three point attempts and 14-of-19 at the foul line. Wolf led all scorers with 16 points and Reaves added 14.
    Hughes led Mizzou with 15 points, while Phillips added 11.

NEW ADDITIONS
• Central Missouri welcomes 10 newcomers to the roster in 2016-17 along with redshirt freshman Louis Reinmiller (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill HS). Newcomers include DJ Anderson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS), Trey Clay (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North HS), Marvin Joseph (Kansas City, Mo./Iowa Central CC), Erick Locke (Oak Park, Ill./South Suburban College), Dushaun Rice (Fort Smith, Ark./Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa), DJ Richardson (Ypsilanti, Mich./Central Michigan), and Clarence Smith (Valdosta, Ga./South Georgia Tech), Matt Wilkinson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Southwest HS), Daniel William (Fort Worth, Texas/Southeast CC), and Michael Winger (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee HS).

BACKCOURT NOTES
• The Mules will have plenty of options in the back court this season as they return three letterwinners, a redshirt freshman and welcome six talented newcomers. Spencer Reaves returns after earning All-MIAA honors last season as do Brett O'Neil and Brad Woodson. Louis Reinmiller redshirted last season and looks to compete for time in 2016-17. Erick Locke, Dushaun Rice and Clarence Smith all come to UCM after successful junior college careers and DJ Richardson joins UCM after playing his first two seasons at Division I Central Michigan. The Mules also add a couple of high school players to the mix in Trey Clay and Michael Winger.

FRONTCOURT NOTES
• Marquiez Lawrence and Jakob Lowrance return to the Mules in 2016-17 and look to anchor the front court. Lawrence was sixth in the MIAA in rebounding last year, while Lowrance had a successful freshman campaign. Kyle Wolf returns after missing the second half of the season due to injury and Williams Gabriel will also push for more playing time. Newcomers Marvin Joseph and Daniel William join the Mules after successful stops at the junior college ranks and freshman Matt Wilkinson enters the mix after an All-State career at Blue Valley Southwest High School.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules were 6-1 in non-conference games last season, including a 6-0 mark in regular season non-con games. They are 132-32 over the last 14 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 64-1 in the last 65 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES IN SEASON OPENERS
• The Mules have won 14 straight season-openers and are outscoring their opponents 82.0 to 60.1 in those 13 games.
• Central Missouri beat Minnesota-Duluth 78-60 in last year's season-opener at the Multi. UCM has won three straight season-openers against Northern Sun Conference opponents.
• UCM's last loss in a season-opener was a 76-56 defeat to Evangel to tip-off the 2001-02 season.

MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• The Mules are 5-2 in neutral site games under Doug Karleskint. All seven of those games were played in the 2014-15 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 is seven blocks shy of cracking UCM's career Top 10 list for blocked shots.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 39-22 (.639) as he begins his third season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 128-56 (.696) 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
• As we begin the 112th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,654-946 (.636) record in 2,600 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 continue their season-opening road swing next Saturday, Nov. 19 at Arkansas-Fort Smith. Tip-off has been pushed back to 6 p.m. at the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith to accommodate the Heartland Conference Volleyball Tournament.
• The Mules play their first home game of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 22 against Harris Stowe. Tip-off at the Multi is set for 7 p.m.