TIP-OFF
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball returns home this weekend as they will host the Fairfield Inn Classic at the Multipurpose Building this Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 16-18. The tournament will host the Cameron Aggies and Maryville Saints.
• The Mules will take on the Cameron Aggies Thursday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. Following the game against the Aggies, UCM will have a day off before taking on Maryville. Tip-off against the Saints is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.
• The Mules were picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Cameron is 1-1 after opening the 2017-18 at the Heartland/Lone Star Conference Challenge. The Aggies drop their season opener to Newman, 87-85, but bounced back with a solid 80-69 win over Oklahoma Christian.
• The Aggies were picked to finish eighth in the LSC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Maryville is 2-0 to start the season after picking up wins last weekend at the GLVC-GMAC Crossover in St. Louis, Mo. The Saints defeated Cedarville 79-70 in their season opener and routed Trevecca Nazaerene 86-66 in their second game.
• The Saints were picked at preseason favorites to win the GLVC West Division in the Coaches' Poll with six first-place votes
ON THE AIR
• The games will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action.
• The games will also be webcast online through the MIAA's Blue Frame portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/. It is a pay-per-view webcast.
PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
• This is the 113th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,677 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, senior guard
Spencer Reaves, who earned second team all-conference honors after averaging 17.1 points and 4.2 boards per game.
• The Mules averaged 73.1 points per game and shot 48.4 percent from the field last season. Defensively, UCM allowed 65.4 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting.
• 10 different players scored in double figures for the Mules in 2016-17 and five of those players return to the squad this year.
•
Spencer Reaves is the only returning UCM player to record a double-double during the 2016-17 season. He scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games played, including 13 20-point performances.
•
DJ Richardson is the only other returner besides Reaves who averaged double-figure points last season at 10.3 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the sixth overall meeting between Central Missouri and Cameron, while it is the first meeting with the Saints.
• UCM last meet Cameron on Dec. 19, 2003 where they walked away with a 90-57 win in a neutral site game. The Aggies lone win against the Mules was back on Dec. 15, 2002 with the final score being 79-72. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Warrensburg, as the previous five games have all been played at neutral sites.
• Despite both being in Missouri, The Mules and Saints are set to take each other on for the first time in the two programs histories.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
• Cameron has combination of experience and youth on this year's squad with six returners from last season, including three redshirt players and three transfers.
• The Aggies went 17-12 last season with a 10-8 mark against Lone Star opponents to finish in a tie for fourth in the regular season standings.
• Head Coach Andrew Brown will lead the Aggies in his second season. He took over for the Aggies in April of 2016 after spending the 2015-16 season as their top assistant. He is in his 10th overall year of coaching and has a record of 137-125.
• The Aggies return three starters from a season ago; all of which who averaged over 10 points a game. Tyus Momoh led the way for Cameron last season averaging 16 points a game as a sophomore.
• Fellow junior guards JV Long and Tyler Williams also averaged double-figure points for the Aggies last year at 11.9 points and 10.3 points per game, respectively.
• Long also averaged 4.2 assists per game and 5.6 rebounds per game last year to lead Cameron.
• Early in the season, Cameron is averaging 82.5 points per game while giving up 78. The Aggies are shooting exactly 50 percent from the field and holding opponents to 45.1 percent.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
• Maryville was 9-21 overall last season and went 3-15 against GLVC opponents. They finished eighth in the West Division and tied for 16th overall with McKendree.
• The Saints are led by first year head coach Marc Stricker who has the team out to a 2-0 start for the 2017-18 season. He had a prior stint with Maryville for two seasons as an assistant from 2011-13.
• Maryville has an experienced group of returners, with four of their top five scorers returning from last years as well as its two top assists leaders. The Saints also bring in four Division I transfers this year.
• Seniors Forrester Sims and Grant Sims were the top two scorers from last season averaging 13.1 points and 12.5 points per game, respectively.
• Along with averaging 12.5 points per game last season Grant Sims also led the Saints in assists 90 total, averaging 3.1 per game. Forrester Sims had the most steals with 38, averaging 1.3 per game.
• Leading the way early for the Saints is center Nolan Berry. The senior is averaging 18.5 points per game through the first two contests and leads the team in rebounds with 19 overall.
• Through two games this season, Maryville is averaging 82.5 points per game and limiting opponents to just 68. Th Saints are shooting 44.9 percent from the field with opponents shooting 39.1 percent.
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 76, BEMIDJI STATE 62 • 11/11/17
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wisc. (Nov. 11, 2017)-- Mules Basketball got out to a fast start and led wire-to-wire over the Bemidji State Beavers as they cruised to a 76-62 win at Just A Game Fieldhouse on Saturday night. Central Missouri closed out their season opening weekend going 2-0 as they scored a combined 152 points over the two games.
• The Mules opened the game with a 14-0 run to grab the lead before the Beavers finally scored a point. Three pointers by Reaves,
Michael Winger and
Blake Spellman help UCM get out in front early. The Mules held BSU scoreless for nearly five minutes to start the game.
• With a 14-2 lead, the Mules traded buckets with the Beavers the rets of the first half, but never relinquished their double digit lead. Six different UCM players scored in the first 20 minutes, with Reaves leading the way with 18 points on 5-of-5 shooting including four made triples.
•
Clarence Smith carried the momentum from his 13-point performance in the first game into game two as he scored six points in the first half on 3-of-4 shooting. He had a hard drive to the paint for layup at the 8:34 mark which started a 7-0 run for the Mules giving them a 32-15 lead with under eight minutes to play.
• The Beavers made run of their own in the final four minutes of the first half. They went on a 7-2 run in the final 4:06 to cut the Mules lead to 12, 38-26, going into halftime.
• UCM continued its strong play in the second half as they scored 38 points yet again. The team traded baskets early, but the Mules forced three turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half, which led to six points in transition. Reaves led the charge yet again scoring four of the Mules six points, while
DJ Richardson added the other two.
• Bemidji State refused to go down without a fight, cutting the Mules lead back to 14, 46-32, with a layup by Sharif Black. The Mules responded once more with a 6-0 run to grab their first 20-point lead of the game.
• The Mules continued to hold their 20-plus point lead through the majority of the second half. The Beaver made one final run with 4:07 to play, outscoring the Mules 12-1, but it was too little too late as the Mules walked away with the 14 point win.
• Reaves had the hot hand for the Mules racking up 26 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting, four of which were from beyond the arc. He was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line and tied the team lead in rebounds with four.
• Smith was the only other Mule to score in double figures with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting. He had a game-high two steals as well.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 2-0 in non-conference action after opening the season with wins in the Wisconsin Dells over Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State
• The Mules were 8-3 in non-conference games last season, including a 6-2 mark in regular season non-con games. They are 143-35 over the last 16 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 68-1 in the last 69 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES AT HOME
• The Mules were 10-3 at home last season and are 34-11 at home under
Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 171-22 at home over the last 13 seasons, including 68-1 against non-conference opponents and 103-21 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 499-99 (.834) in their 42nd season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules were 7-5 on the road last season.
• UCM is 17-17 in road games under
Doug Karleskint.
MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
• The Mules are 2-0 this season and are 11-3 overall in neutral site games under
Doug Karleskint.
• The Mules were 4-1 in neutral site games in 2016-17 and the other seven of those games were played in the 2014-15 season.
MULES IN HOME OPENERS
• The Mules are 3-0 in home openers under
Doug Karleskint, beating Harris-Stowe 69-56 in last year's home opening game.
• The Mules have won 34 straight home openers.
ON PACE FOR 1,000
• Senior
Spencer Reaves scored 512 points last season, averaging 17.1 points per game and in his first two seasons with the Mules he scored 929 career points.
• He has 39 points this season and now has 968 for his career. He is 30 points shy of cracking UCM's career Top 20 list for scoring, and 32 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 career points.
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
•
Doug Karleskint has a record of 62-31 (.667) as he begins his fourth season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 151-65 (.699) overall mark in his eighth 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 113th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,677-955 (.637) record in 2,632 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 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 16 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 (Conejos De Tuxtla (Mexico), Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 211 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured three MIAA regular season titles, one MIAA Tournament crown and two NCAA Regional Championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 157 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.
• In 2016-17, Central Missouri won the inaugural MIAA's Commissioner's Cup trophy for the conference's top overall athletic department.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 252 student-athletes named to the 2016-17 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 22 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.
• 20 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had five student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their respective sports.
• All-time UCM is fourth in NCAA-II with 103 Academic All-Americans.
•
Carly Thomas of Jennies Bowling was awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.
UPCOMING
• UCM will have a neutral site game at Municipal Auditorium against East Central on Nov. 21 following the Fairfield Inn Classic. The Mules and Tigers will tip-off at 4 p.m.
