WISCONSIN DELLS, Wisc. (Nov. 10, 2017)-- Central Missouri Mules Basketball won their 16th straight season opening game as they routed the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 76-60 Friday night at Just A Game Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc. The Mules led by as much as 18 as Jakob Lowrance led the Mules to a 1-0 start on the season.

How It Happened
• The Mules shot the ball with solid accuracy throughout the 40 minutes of action as they went 29-of-54 from the field for 53.7 percent. UCM found rhythm in the second half shooting 14-of-24 for 58.3 percent. Defensively, the Mules allowed the Bulldogs to take 48 shots, but held them to 37.5 percent on the night as the made just 18 shots.
• The Bulldogs (0-1) got out to an early lead on the Mules scoring the first seven points of the contest. Lowrance broke the Mules scoreless streak nailing a three-pointer to make it 7-3 game, Bulldogs.
• Both teams traded buckets throughout the first 10 minutes of action. Trailing 15-8, the Mules made it a two-point deficit with 13:21 to play. Lowrance kept the Mules in the game early as he nailed a three to make it 15-11 and immediately got a block on the defense, leading to a Spencer Reaves layup.
• UMD used another run to answer UCM, this time 9-0, to grab their largest lead of the game at 11, 24-13. Despite being down by double-digits, the Mules used a run of their own, scoring 11 straight points to tie the game at 24-all with just over five minutes to play in the first half.
• Lowrance scored seven of the Mules 11 points in their late first half run. He had help from Brandon Emmert who added two points, while Clarence Smith grabbed two key defensive rebounds and picked up a steal that led to quick transition points for UCM. Smith gave the Mules their first lead with 5:26 to play in the first half nailing a three for his first points and a 27-24 UCM lead.
• Both teams continued to score as there were three ties and two lead changes in the final five minutes of the first half. The Mules got the upper hand going into halftime. Back-to-back three's by Blake Spellman and a buzzer beating layup by Lowrance gave a UCM a 40-37 lead at the half.
• The second half was all Mules as they outscored the Bulldogs 36-23 and used numerous scoring runs to secure the win. UCM opened up the second half with a 10-0 run in the first three minutes to get up 50-37. From that point on the Mules held a double-digit lead that they never relinquished.
• Sharing the ball was common theme in the second half for the Mules as four different players scored six-plus points. Michael Winger found his groove in the second half as he scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting after taking just one shot attempt in the first half. Lowrance continued his solid play adding nine points in the second frame for the Mules.
• The Bulldogs made things interesting as they cut the Mules lead to 10, 58-48, with 12:33 left in the game. It was the closest they got to the Mules, as a 10-2 run over a span of just over eight minutes helped the Mules grab their largest lead of the game at 18 points, leading 68-50.
• The Mules gave up just 10 more points, but added eight in the final four minutes to hold on for the 16 point win over the Bulldogs.

It Was Over When...
• A three-point play thanks to layup and foul for the and-1 by Trevor Entwise got the Bulldogs within 10 with 13:27 to play, but the Mules silenced any hopes of a comeback as they used solid defense to force turnovers and used a patient 10-2 scoring run to grab an 18 point lead, while burning over eight minutes off the game clock.

Mules Stat Leaders
• Lowrance made a statement in the season opener scoring a game-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting. He also pulled down a game best eight boards in 30 minutes of play. He went 3-of-5 from behind the arc, had two blocked shots and dished out three assists.
• Reaves and Smith each finished with 13 points apiece as they were the only other Mules to finish in double-figure points. Both had a steal, while Reaves was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line and had a game-high five assists.
• Winger finished with nine points,  all of which were on three made shots from beyond the arc. 
• Spellman chipped in eight points while handing out four assists. 

For the Bulldogs
• Entwise was the only player to finish in double-figures for UMD with 19 points. He struggled from the field going just 3-of-11, but got to the free throw line a fair amount as he went 12-of-13 from the charity strip. He had a team-high three assists.
• Logan Rohrscheib was the second leading scorer with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting.
• Kyle Schalow chipped in just three points, but grabbed seven boards for the Bulldogs and had one blocked shot.

News and Notes
• The Mules extended their streak of season opening wins to 16 straight.Their last season opening loss came in the 2001-02 season.
• Against Northern Sun Conference opponents, UCM has now won five straight games. 
• The Mules move to 10-3 in neutral site games under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM moves to 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs.

Up Next
Like Jennies Basketball, the Mules have little time to savor the win as they are back in action tomorrow night (Saturday). The Mules remain in Wisconsin Dells and will take on another in-region foe in Bemidji State. Tip-off against the Beavers is set for 5 p.m.