TIP-OFF
• The Central Missouri Mules head back out on the road to take on second-ranked Northwest Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 11. Tip-off at Bearcat Arena is set for 3:30 p.m.
• The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but has been moved to accommodate the football playoffs on Saturday.
• Central Missouri is coming off a 76-59 MIAA-opening win at Missouri Western last Saturday afternoon. It was the fourth straight win in an MIAA opener for UCM.
• The Mules were picked to finish ninth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Second-ranked Northwest Missouri is 8-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference play after beating Missouri Western 78-52 on Tuesday night in Maryville.
• The Bearcats were picked to finish first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler 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 1,659 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 18.8 points per game this season, best on the team and fifth 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.
• Seven different players have scored in double figures for the Mules this season with Spencer Reaves scoring at least 20 points in three games.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 215th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri. The Mules lead the series 127-87. Northwest Missouri won the only meeting last season, 72-58, in Warrensburg on Dec. 5.
• The Bearcats have won back-to-back games in the series with the Mules winning 12 of the last 15 meetings.
• The Bearcats have won two in a row at Bearcat Arena and lead the series 53-51 in games played in Maryville.

LAST MEETING WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 5, 2015) –  The 12th-ranked Mules went ice cold in the second half, making just nine shots, as they fell to Northwest Missouri 72-58 on Saturday afternoon at the Multi. The Bearcats led 35-34 at halftime, but clamped down on the Mules in the second half and out-scored them 37-24 in the frame.
    The Bearcats (4-2, 2-0 MIAA) jumped out to a 4-0 lead only to see the Mules (7-1, 1-1 MIAA) score seven straight points to grab their first and only lead of the game. Brad Woodson's three-pointer at the 14:39 mark gave UCM a 7-4 advantage, but two free throws from D'Vante Mosby and a layup from Anthony Woods ignited a 7-0 run for Northwest Missouri and the Bearcats never trailed again.
    The Mules fought back to within one several times throughout the first half, but the Bearcats seemed to have an answer every time. A three by Conner Crooker gave NWMSU a 20-16 lead midway through the frame. The lead grew to six, but D'Marnier Cunningham made two foul shots and Marquiez Lawrence scored on a layup to pull UCM within 24-22 at the 6:42 mark.
    The lead grew to seven at 31-24 with four and half to play before intermission, but Cunningham scored on a layup and three-pointers from Spencer Reaves and Woodson cut the lead to one at 35-34 at halftime.
    Northwest Missouri got off to a great start in the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points to build a seven-point lead with 16:59 to play. The Mules pulled back to within five at 45-40 with 14:22 to play, but a 10-2 run gave the Bearcats a 55-42 lead with 9:41 to play in the game.
    The lead grew to 14 before the Mules tried to forge a rally. Roosevelt Scott made a pair of free throws, then picked up a steal and a layup to make it 60-50 with 4:45 to play, but the Bearcats had another answer. Chris-Ebou Ndow made two free throws and Crooker hit back-to-back threes to make it an 18 point lead and effectively ice the game.
    Cunningham led UCM in scoring with 18 points, while Scott had 13 and Lawrence finished with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds to go with four blocks. The Mules shot 40 percent for the game, but just 32 percent in the second half. UCM was 4-of-11 from beyond the arc, but did not make a three in the second half going 0-for-6.
    UCM was out-rebounded in the contest 45-29, leading to 18 second-chance points for the Bearcats.
    The Bearcats were led in scoring by Crooker's 25 points. Justin Pitts and Woods both finished with 12 points each as NWMSU shot 40 percent from the field and made 9-of-25 three-pointers for 36 percent. The Bearcats were 17-of-23 at the foul line for 73 percent compared to 10-of-15 for 67 percent by the Mules.

SCOUTING NORTHWEST MISSOURI
• The Bearcats enter the contest at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play after a 78-52 win over Missouri Western on Tuesday night in Maryville.
• Northwest Missouri is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation in the NABC Top 25 Poll and No. 2 in the D2SIDA Poll.
• The Bearcats are led by eighth-year head coach Ben McCollum. He has compiled a 149-70 mark leading the NWMSU program.
• Northwest Missouri is averaging 80.2 points per game offensively, shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Bearcats give up just 63.0 ppg on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor and 34.1 percent from three-point range.
• Justin Pitts leads the team and is third in the MIAA in scoring at 21.3 points per game. He's also second in the league in assists (5.4 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9). He shoots 54 percent from the field.
• Chris-Ebou Ndow is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game. Anthony Woods (11.3 ppg) and Zach Schneider (10.6) are also averaging in double figures.
• Ndow leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 boards per game as the Bearcats out-rebound opponents by nearly four boards per game (32.0-28.6).
• Schneider is shooting 48 percent from the field and three-point range, 24-of-50. He has yet to attempt a shot from inside the arc.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 76, MISSOURI WESTERN 59 • 12/3/16
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (Dec. 3, 2016) – The Mules continued their hot-shooting as they used runs in the first and second half to pull away from Missouri Western for a 76-59 MIAA-opening win at the MWSU Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
    The Mules shot 57 percent for the game, going 27-of-47, and made 11-of-21 three-pointers for 52 percent.
    The Mules (5-1, 1-0 MIAA) jumped out to an early 12-6 lead all on three-pointers with three coming from Spencer Reaves and one from Clarence Smith. The Griffons (1-7, 0-2 MIAA) stayed in it with some hot shooting of their own, Joe Hamilton hit a three-pointer and TJ Evans scored a layup to pull within 12-11 at the 13:03 mark, but Kyle Wolf scored on a layup to start a 9-2 spurt that put UCM in front 21-13 with 10:47 left in the first half.
    The Griffons got back to within four at 24-20 but Wolf buried a three and Dushaun Rice and Smith scored on three straight fast break layups as part of a 13-0 run that gave Central Missouri a 37-20 lead with 1:53 to play. UCM went in to the intermission with a 39-25 lead.
    Missouri Western opened the second half with an 8-2 mini run to pull within eight at 41-33 with 17:27 on the clock, but the Mules responded. Erick Locke hit a wide open three pointer and Reaves scored on a layup. Marquiez Lawrence added a free throw and the lead was back to 14, 47-33, with 16:03 to play.
    The Griffons would get as close as nine on two separate occasions, but each time the Mules had an answer. Missouri Western got to within 51-42 with 10:19 to play, but an 11-3 spurt gave the Mules a 62-45 lead with just under eight minutes to play. The lead grew to as much as 20 as UCM rolled to its fourth straight MIAA-opening win.
    Reaves led four Mules in double figures with a game-high 22. He was 7-of-11 from the field and made four threes. Jakob Lowrance added 13 points off the bench, while Wolf chipped in 12 and Smith had 11.
    Rice had six assists and just one turnover as UCM finished with 19 assists on 27 made baskets.
    Hamilton led MWSU with 13 points, while Cole Clearman finished with 11 and Aaron Emmanuel had 10. The Griffons shot 41 percent from the field, 19-of-46, and made 6-of-19 three-point attempts for 31 percent.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 1-0 in MIAA play for the third straight year under Doug Karleskint after the 76-59 win at Missouri Western last Saturday.
• UCM is 23-19 in conference play under Doug Karleskint.
• The Mules have won or shared 24 MIAA Regular Season Championships and five MIAA Tournament titles.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 4-1 in non-conference action after the win over SW Oklahoma State on Nov. 26.
• UCM was 6-1 in non-conference games last season, including a 6-0 mark in regular season non-con games. They are 136-33 over the last 15 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 66-1 in the last 67 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES AT HOME
• The Mules are 2-0 at home after the 90-55 win over SW Oklahoma State last Saturday and are 26-8 at home under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 163-19 at home over the last 12 seasons, including 66-1 against non-conference opponents and 97-18 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 491-96 (.836) in their 41st season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 1-1 on the road this season after the MIAA-opening win at Missouri Western last Saturday.
• The Mules are averaging 75.5 points per game on the road and giving up 70.5.
• UCM was 4-9 in road games last season and is 11-13 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 five blocks this season and is now at 37 for his career, two blocks shy of cracking UCM's career Top 10 list for blocked shots.

MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Spencer Reaves is fifth in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 18.8 points per game. Kyle Wolf is 10th in the conference at 16.3 points per game.
• Reaves is second in the MIAA in free throw percentage at 93.8 percent, while Wolf leads the league and is seventh in NCAA-II in three-point field goal percentage at 57.6. Reaves is third in 3FG% at 54.3.
• Wolf is fourth in FG% at 61.8, while Reaves is sixth in at 56.1
• Marquiez Lawrence is 13th in the league with 6.2 rebounds per game. He also ranks 14th in blocked shots, averaing 0.8 per contest.
• Erick Locke is 12th in the MIAA dishing out 3.5 assists per game and is fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6.
• Clarence Smith and Reaves are tied for 10th in steals with 1.5 per contest.

A WIN OVER NORTHWEST MISSOURI WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 6-1 start to the season and a 2-0 start in MIAA play for the first time under Doug Karleskint.
• Snap a two-game skid against Northwest Missouri and a two-game skid in Maryville.
• Give UCM a 128-87 all-time series lead against the Bearcats.

A LOSS TO NORTHWEST MISSOURI WOULD...
• Drop the Mules 5-2 overall and 1-1 in MIAA play.
• Give the Mules three straight losses to Northwest Missouri for the first time since the 2007-08 and 08-09 seasons.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 44-23 (.657) in his third season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 133-57 (.700) 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 1,659-947 (.637) record in 2,606 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 three of the last four 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 (Mexico, Conejos De Tuxtla), Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Entering the 2016 fall semester, Central Missouri has won a combined 207 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last year, 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 return home to host MidAmerica Nazarene in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday night, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m.
• MIAA play resumes on Saturday, Dec. 17 when the Mules host Southwest Baptist at 3:30 p.m. at the Multi.