WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 25, 2017) -- The Mules shot 60 percent from the field and outscored Emporia State by nine points in the second half to come away with a 66-58 win on Wednesday night. The Mules have now won four straight games and are 13-5 overall and 7-3 in MIAA play.

Both teams got off to a slow start with the Mules scoring the games first points, a three-pointer from Kyle Wolf, at the 16:49 mark. The Mules led 5-0 before Emporia State (10-9, 6-4 MIAA) got on the board. The Hornets grabbed their first lead of the game at 11-9 on a three-point play by Garin Vandiver with 12:17 left in the half. They pushed the lead to seven before the Mules went on a 12-4 run to regain the lead at 21-20 with 7:10 left int he opening period.

The UCM lead grew to four at 26-22 on a three-pointer by Dushaun Rice, but the Mules went the final 5:37 of the half without a field goal and trailed 29-28 at halftime.

The second half started the same way the first did with both teams struggling offensively. UCM grabbed a 31-29 lead at the 17:25 mark only to see ESU tie the game at the 16:07 mark. The game see-sawed back and forth through much of the half before a 5-0 run gave the Mules a 43-38 lead with 9:21 to play. Emporia State responded with a 7-2 spurt of its own to tie the game yet again at 43-all with 8:17 to play.

The Mules responded with a 7-0 run to regain the lead for good at 50-43. The Hornets fought back to within two at 57-55, but Spencer Reaves made a pair of free throws and the Mules led 59-55 with 2:22 to play. A jumper from Reaves and two free throws gave UCM a 63-55 lead with :32 to play. Jevon Taylor hit a three for the Hornets to pull them within five, but the Mules iced the game at the line to come away with the eight-point win.

DJ Richardson led the Mules with 14 points. He was joined in double figures by Spencer Reaves' 13 and Kyle Wolf's 12 points as the Mules shot 60 percent from the field (22-37). UCM was 6-10 from beyond the arc, but struggled at the foul line, making just 16-28 attempts.

Vandiver led ESU with 14 points, while Brandon Hall had 11 and Josh Pedersen had 10. ESU was 22-44 from the field and 8-20 from three-point range for 40 percent.

The Mules return to action on Saturday afternoon hosting Washburn at 3:30 p.m. at the Multi.