TIP-OFF• The Central Missouri Mules wrap up the regular season on Saturday evening when they travel to St. Joseph for a 5 p.m. showdown with Missouri Western.
• The Mules are 14-13 overall on the season and 8-13 in MIAA play after rallying for a 59-58 win at Lindenwood on Wednesday night.
• Missouri Western is 10-17 overall and tied with the Mules at 8-13 in league play after a 74-66 win over Washburn on Wednesday night at home.
• The Mules were 25-7 a season ago and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. It was the eighth 20-win season in the last 11 years and the 24th in school history.
• Central Missouri finished 14-5 in MIAA play last year and finished as the regular season runner-up.
QUICK HITS• This is the 111th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,654 wins.
• Last season was the 12th straight season of at least 18 wins for UCM, an MIAA record.
• Last season was the third straight 20-win season for UCM and the 24th in program history.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).
MULE FEED• The Mules are averaging 70.9 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field. Opponents are averaging 69.1 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting.
• The Mules are shooting 36 percent from three-point range while the opposition shoots 34.9 percent.
• The Mules are 13th in the MIAA in scoring offense and third in scoring defense. They are sixth in the league in field goal percentage and third in field goal percentage defense and second in three-point field goal percentage defense.
• Eleven different players have scored in double figures for the Mules and six different players have led the team in scoring this season.
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Marquiez Lawrence (17 points, 11 rebounds) recorded his fifth double-double of the season last Saturday against Missouri Southern.
•
Jakob Lowrance recorded his first career 20-point game in the loss at Southwest Baptist. He finished with 21 points on the night.
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Spencer Reaves had the first 30-point performance of his UCM career when he scored 33 points against Pittsburg State on Feb. 17.
SERIES HISTORY• This will be the 62nd all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Missouri Western. the Mules lead the series 34-27 and have won eight straight after a 74-59 win in Warrensburg back on Dec. 2.
• UCM has won 14 of the last 17 meetings.
• The Griffons lead the series 20-11 in games played in St. Joseph, but the Mules have won three straight at the MWSU Fieldhouse, including a 64-58 win last season.
• UCM is 3-0 against the Griffons under
Doug Karleskint and the Griffons are 0-5 against UCM under Brett Weiberg.
LAST MEETING WITH MISSOURI WESTERN• The Mules made their first nine shots of the game and jumped out to a 26-2 lead en route to a 74-59 win over Missouri Western on Dec. 2 at the Multi in Warrensburg.
• The Mules were 6-of-6 from three-point range to start the game, seven different Mules scored in the first half and UCM led by as many as 25 in the frame.
• The Mules were led by
D'Marnier Cunningham's 23 points. He was 10-of-15 from the field to go along with five assists and three rebounds.
•
Marquiez Lawrence had 12 points and nine boards and
Spencer Reaves finished with 11 points. The Mules shot 48 percent in the game and made 10 three-pointers.
• The Griffons shot 35 percent from the floor and just 4-of-15 from three-point range. Aaron Emmanuel led MWSU with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Trey Sampson had 11 points and Xavier Newson chipped in 10.
• The UCM bench outscored the MWSU bench 45-21.
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS• Missouri Western enters the contest at 10-17 overall and tied for 11th with the Mules at 8-13 in MIAA play. The Griffons beat Washburn 74-66 on Wednesday night in St. Joe and have won four of their last six.
• Third-year head coach Brett Weiberg has a 32-50 record leading the Griffons and a 171-155 career mark in 10 seasons as a head coach.
• The Griffons are 12th in the MIAA in scoring (72.0 ppg) and 10th in scoring defense (76.6). They rank 13th in the league in field goal percentage (41.7) and 12th in three-point field goal percentage (34.4), while ranking 12th in field goal percentage defense (46.9) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage defense (37.0).
• MWSU is fifth in the conference in rebounding at 34.3 boards per game and 10th in rebound margin at -1.0 per contest.
• Trey Sampson leads two Griffons in double figures at 12.4 points per game. Aaron Emmanuel averages 11.4 per contest, while also leading the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and assists (4.0 apg).
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 59, LINDENWOOD 58 • 2/24/16ST. CHARLES, Mo. –Â
D'Marnier Cunningham made two free throws with 7.9 seconds to play and Lindenwood's last second jumper was off the mark and the Mules held on for a 59-58 win. The Mules ended the game on an 8-0 and with the win they sweep the season series with the Lions.
   The Mules (14-13, 8-13 MIAA) trailed 58-51 with 2:57 to play in the game, before the late rally. Six of the final eight points for the Mules came at the free throw line.
   UCM led by 10 at halftime and pushed the lead to 12 out of the break at 35-23 with 19:14 to play, but Lindenwood (15-12, 11-10 MIAA) came storming back. The Lions cut the lead to six on a three-pointer from Cory Arentsen and after to Mule free throws, he made two more buckets to pull LWU within a pair at 39-37.
Brad Woodson hit a three to push the lead back to five, but a three-point play from Brad Newman and another three from Arentsen gave Lindenwood at 43-42 lead at the 9:58 mark.
   Cunningham sank two free throws to put UCM back in front, but a three from Arentsen kick-started an 8-0 run that gave the Lions a 51-44 lead with 8:06 to play. UCM was able to crawl back within two before five quick points gave LWU the 58-51 lead that UCM would rally from.
   Both teams came out shooting well to open the game. The lead changed hands on nearly every possession. UCM went in front 13-12 on a three-point play by
Jakob Lowrance at the 11:48 mark. The Mules pushed the lead to six at 20-14 on a three from Lowrance, but a 9-3 run by the Lions tied the game at 23. The Mules outscored LWU 10-0 over the final 3:44 of the half and led 33-23 at halftime.
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Marquiez Lawrence led the Mules with 13 points and eight rebounds. Lowrance finished with 11 points and seven boards, while Cunningham had 10 points, five boards and four assists.
   The Mules shot 44 percent for the game (20-of-45) after shooting 61 percent in the first half. The Mules were 5-of-13 from three point range and made 14-of-18 at the free throw line.
   Lindenwood shot 40 percent in the game (23-of-57) after going just 9-of-31 in the first half. LWU was 14-of-26 in the second half and made 8-of-23 from beyond the arc in the game. The Lions were 4-of-9 at the free throw line. Arentsen led the Lions with 35 points, while Newman added 14. Only four Lions scored in the game.
THE MULES AT HOME• The Mules are 10-6 at home this year after the 78-71 loss to Missouri Southern on Saturday.
• Central Missouri went 14-2 at home last season.
• Over the last 11 years, UCM is 161-19 at home, including 64-1 against non-conference opponents and 97-18 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 489-96 (.836) in their 40th season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES ON THE ROAD• UCM is 4-7 on the road this season after the win over Lindenwood on Wednesday night.
• The Mules were 6-3 on the road last season and were one of only three teams with a winning record on the road during MIAA play.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY• The Mules sit at 8-13 in MIAA play and in a tie-way tie for 11th place in the league standings with Missouri Western after the win at Lindenwood on Wednesday night.
• UCM finished the 2014-15 regular season 14-5 in conference action under
Doug Karleskint and second in the final league standings.
• Central Missouri is 181-84 in MIAA play over the last 13 seasons.
• UCM has won or shared 24 MIAA regular season championships and five MIAA Tournament titles.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION• The Mules are 6-0 in non-conference action after the wins over SE Oklahoma State and MidAmerica Nazarene.
• The Mules were 11-0 in regular season non-con games last season and are 132-31 over the last 13 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 64-1 in the last 65 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES IN MIAA TOURNAMENT• The Mules have clinched a spot in the MIAA Postseason Tournament and will go on the road for a play-in game on Tuesday night. The Mules have made the MIAA Tournament every year since it's inception, the only school in the league to do so.
• UCM's opponent for Tuesday night, March 1 will be announced after the completion of the final regular season games on Saturday. UCM will either be the No. 11 and play at the No. 6 seed or the 12th seed and play at No. 5.
PICKING A WINNER• A pretty good indicator of a UCM win is how the Mules have played in the first half of games this season. The Mules are 14-2 when leading at the half this season and 0-11 when tied or trailing at the intermission.
• UCM is also 13-2 when leading with 5:00 left in regulation and 1-11 when tied or trailing after 35 minutes of action. The previous two seasons, the Mules were 46-2 when leading with 5:00 to play.
• The win over Lindenwood on Wednesday night was the first this season for UCM when trailing with 5:00 to play.
BLOCK PARTY• Junior
Marquiez Lawrence has 30 blocked shots on the season, an average of 1.1 blocks per game. He is two blocks away from cracking Central Missouri's single-season top 10 list.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules a 15-13 overall mark and secure the No. 11 seed for the MIAA Tournament.
• Give UCM a sweep of the season series with Missouri Western and give the Mules nine straight wins in the series.
• Give the Mules back-to-back wins to close out the regular season.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Drop UCM to 14-14 overall and 8-14 in conference play and give the Mules the No. 12 seed in the MIAA Tournament.
• Give Missouri Western a split of the season series and snap UCM's eight-game winning streak in the series.
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA•
Doug Karleskint has a record of 39-20 (.661) in his second season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 129-54 (.705) overall mark in his sixth 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 last season.
• His 25 wins last year 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 a 90-34 (.726) 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 111th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,654-944 (.637) record in 2,598 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 12 years, 21 former UCM players have gone on to play professional basketball.
• Three players are either currently playing professionally or on a professional roster; Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS• Entering the 2015-16 academic year, Central Missouri had won a combined 205 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured five MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA Tournament crowns.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 151 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships since 1980 (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 218 student-athletes named to the 2014-15 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 29 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.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had six student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with three of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is tied for sixth in NCAA-II with 49 Academic All-Americans.
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 have clinched a spot in an MIAA Tournament Play-In game, but won't know their opponent and location for Tuesday's game until the completion of their game on Saturday night.
