KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 31, 2016) -- Central Missouri held Rockhurst to just eight made field goals in the second half, but the Mules couldn't overcome a 15-point second half deficit as their rally came up short in a 74-66 loss at Rockhurst on Saturday afternoon.

The Mules (8-3) out-shot the Hawks (7-4) 50 percent to 46 percent, but Rockhurst made 11 three-pointers and the Mules struggled at the free throw line, making just 16-of-30 attempts. The Hawks on the other hand were 19-of-22 at the charity stripe.

Rockhurst built a 15-point lead at 54-39 with 16:09 to play in the game, but Central Missouri battled back. A 13-2 run pulled the Mules within four at 56-52 with 10:02 to play in the game. The Hawks quickly pushed the lead back to eight, but the Mules again cut the lead to four and a putback layup from Kyle Wolf cut it to 68-66 with 2:11 to play, but the Mules wouldn't score again as the Hawks won by eight.

The game was back-and-forth in the early going with the Hawks grabbing an early lead. Back-to-back three-pointers from Andrew Ellwanger pushed the lead to five. UCM got within one at 20-19 on a layup from Clarence Smith with 12:26 left in the first half, but a 7-0 run gave RU an eight-point lead midway through the opening stanza.

The Hawks pushed the lead in to double digits on a couple of occasions only to see the Mules rally back. UCM cut the lead to five late in the first half at 40-35, but a three-pointer and a jumper from Undra Wilson closed the half for Rockhurst, giving them a 45-35 advantage. Smith had a steal late in the half and went coast-to-coast to score, but after a review it was ruled he didn't get the shot off in time and the Hawks led by 10 at the intermission.

Marquiez Lawrence led the Mules in scoring with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also pulled down six rebounds. Spencer Reaves had 18 points and a team-high eight boards to go along with six assists. Wolf also finished in double figures with 11.

UCM was 24-of-48 for the game, but made just 2-of-13 attempts from three-point range for 15 percent.

Connor Evans led a balanced scoring attack for Rockhurst with 16 points as five Hawks in double figures. Ellwanger had 14 points, making 4-of-8 three-point attempts, while Kaleb Warner had 13 and Travis House and Malachi Nix finished with 12 and 11, respectively.

The Mules resume MIAA play on Thursday night when they travel to Fort Hays State for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The second game of that road swing will be at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday afternoon at 4:00.