WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 17, 2016) --
Jakob Lowrance led four Mules in double figures with a career-high 24 points as Central Missouri routed Southwest Baptist 87-66 on Saturday afternoon at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The Mules led by as many as 23 in the game as they improved to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play.
The game started off slow as both teams were as cold shooting as the temperatures outside. The Mules started the game 1-for-7, while the Bearcats were 1-for-5 to start the game. The Bearcats (6-4, 1-2 MIAA) led 7-3 with just over six minutes gone by in the first half when both teams started to warm up.
Lowrance got the offense going with a layup and later a three-pointer by
Kyle Wolf tied the game 12-12 with 11:00 to play. A three from
Spencer Reaves on the next possession put UCM in front 15-12 and a pair of Wolf free throws pushed the lead to five. Four quick points from SBU pulled the Bearcats to within one, but Lowrance and Reaves connected on 3-of-4 free throws and UCM led 20-16 with 8:13 in the half.
The Bearcats got back to within one at 25-24 and 27-26, but five quick points by the Mules, a three from Reaves and a layup from Lowrance, made it 32-26 with 2:22 to play. UCM scored nine of the final 14 points of the half and led 41-31 at the intermission.
UCM scored 10 of the first 15 points out of the break to open a 51-36 lead with 16:52 to play in the game. The Bearcats made another push to get within 10 at 57-47 with 12:26 in regulation, but the Mules used an 11-0 run to open up a 21-point lead at 68-47 with 10:04 to play in the game.
The lead grew to 77-54 with 6:24 to play in the game as the Mules cruised to the win, their 13th straight over Southwest Baptist in Warrensburg.
Lowrance's career-high 24 was followed up by Reaves with 20, his fifth 20-point performance in nine games this season. Wolf had 16 and
DJ Richardson finished with a season-high 15. Lowrance also set a new career-high, pulling in a game-high nine rebounds.
The Mules were 28-of-52 from the field for 54 percent and made 9-of-21 from three-point range for 43 percent. UCM was 22-of-33 at the foul line for 67 percent.
SBU was led by Logan Hovey's game-high 27 and Cartree Pettis' 14. SBU was 20-of-48 from the field for 42 percent, but just 5-of-18 from beyond the arc. The Bearcats made 21-of-32 at the foul line.
The Mules out-rebounded SBU, who entered the game as the league's top rebounding team, 35-30 and outscored the Bearcats 36-24 in the paint. UCM turned 17 SBU turnovers in to 25 points.
Central Missouri returns to action for the final time before break on Monday night, hosting Culver-Stockton at 7:30 p.m. UCM Athletics is hosting a canned food drive that night with any fan bringing four canned or non-perishable food items receiving a free general admission ticket to the Jennies game against William Jewell at 5:30 and the Mules game against Culver-Stockton. All items collected that night will be donated to the Warrensburg Food Center.
