TIP-OFF
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball will compete in the inaugural MIAA Men's Basketball Challenge on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Mules will take on the East Central University Tigers out of the Great American Conference. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 4 p.m.
• The MIAA men's Basketball Challenge will have three games overall. The Mules gets things started, followed by Pittsburg State taking on Newman out of the Heartland Conference at 6 p.m. The third and final game will feature two MIAA schools in Washburn vs. Northwest Missouri at 8 p.m.
• The Mules were picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• East Central is 2-0 overall to start the season with both of their wins coming against GAC opponents. In their season opener against Arkansas Tech, the Tigers downed the Wonder Boys 90-86 in overtime. Their second win of the year was against Harding by a final score of 58-54. 
• The Tigers were picked to finish third in the LSC Preseason Coaches' Poll behind Arkansas Tech and Arkansas-Monticello.

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 just the second meeting between the Mules and Tigers and the first in 69 years. The two teams last met in the 1948-49 season.  
• The first ever game played between UCM and ECU was during the 1941-42 season where the Mules defeated the Tigers 53-49.
• The Tigers won the only other meeting against the Mules back in the 1948-49 season by a final score of 64-42. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• East Central was 25-8 a season ago as they claimed both the GAC regular season title and tournament title. The Tigers earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament and made the second round of the Central Regional.
• ECU returns five players from a season ago, including three seniors in Tyler Armstrong, Brett Cannon, and Jeremiah Fleming. 
• Cannon leads the way in scoring for the Tigers through their first two games. He is averaging 18.0 points per game on 52.2 percent shooting. He leads the team in assists with 6.0 per game and is second on the team in rebounds with 6.5 per game.
• Gabe McKenzie is the second leading scorer for ECU with 13.5 points per contest and is averaging 5.0 boards per game.
•Da'Rion King is averaging a double-double so far the Tigers through two games with 12.5 points per game and 10. 5 rebounds per game. 
• Marcus Lytle is averaging 9.0 points per game for ECU and has a team-high four blocks as is avergaing 2.0 per contest.
• Camron Talley and Tyler Armstrong are both averaging 7.0 points per game for ECU.
• Fleming is shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range this season for the Tigers.
• As a team, the Tigers are averaging 74 points per game while limiting opponents to 70. They shoot 43.3 percent from the field and have held the opposition to just 36.7 percent.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 74, MARYVILLE 56 • 11/18/17
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 18, 2017) - Central Missouri Mules basketball rebounded nicely from their first loss of the season Friday with a 74-56 win over Maryville Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Mules to 3-1 on the season as they went 1-1 during the Fairfield Inn Classic.
• Three Mules scored in double-figures as UCM shot 50.9% from the floor.
• Central Missouri also shot 45.5% from three, hitting 10-of-22 shots from beyond the arc.
• The Mules did a great job limiting mistakes, turning the ball over just nine times and committing nine personal fouls.
• UCM forced the Saints into 18 turnovers and came away with 12 steals on the defensive end.
• Central Missouri trailed early and a Casey Teson jumper gave the Saints their largest lead in the game, 14-8 midway through the first.
• Maryville still held a five point lead, 19-14 with six minutes left in the half which is when the Mules made their run. UCM outscored Maryville 17-4 over the final six minutes in the half to take a 31-23 lead into the break.
• It didn't take long for the Mules to double their eight-point lead in the second half. Jakob Lowrance and Matt Wilkinson hit threes on back-to-back possessions and a second three from Wilkinson at 15:21 gave the Mules a 40-38 lead. 
• Central Missouri led in double-figures the rest of the way and cruised to a 74-56 win.
• Lowrance led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and knocking down a pair of threes.
• Blake Spellman was nearly perfect going 5-for-6 and 4-of-5 from three for 14 points with three assists.
• DJ Richardson chipped in with 12 points and three steals.
• Spencer Reaves pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points.
• Clarence Smith and Matt Wilkinson each scored nine points. Wilkinson was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 3-1 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 144-36 over the last 16 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 69-2 in the last 71 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES AT HOME
• The Mules were 10-3 at home last season and are 35-12 at home under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 172-23 at home over the last 13 seasons, including 69-2 against non-conference opponents and 103-21 in MIAA play. 
• The Mules are 500-100 (.833) 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.

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 869 career points.
• He has 55 points this season and now has 924 for his career. He is 74 points shy of cracking UCM's career Top 20 list for scoring, and 76 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 career points.

MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Jakob Lowrance is seventh in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 17.8 points per game through four games. Spencer Reaves is 23rd in the conference at 13.8 points per game.
• Lowrance is second in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 63.6 percent and is tied for seventh in blocks with 1.0 per game.
• Reaves is tied for first in free throw percentage at 100 percent. 
• Reaves and Lowrance are also tied for 12th in the league in rebounding averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, respectively.
• Blake Spellman is tied for second in the league in three point percentage with an even 50 percent. He averages 3.5 assists per game which is tied for eighth in the MIAA. 

A WIN OVER EAST CENTRAL WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 4-1 start for the second consecutive season.
• Give UCM a 2-1 series lead against the Tigers.

A LOSS TO EAST CENTRAL WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 3-2 overall for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
• Be the second straight loss to East Central. 
• Be the Mules first neutral site loss of the season and just the fourth loss under Doug Karleskint.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 63-32 (.663) as he begins his fourth season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 152-66 (.697) 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 1,678-956 (.637) record in 2,634 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 couple days off before returning back to the hardwood. The Mules will travel to Emporia, Kansas for the Emporia State Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24 and 25.
• The Mules will play two games at the ESU Thanksgiving Classic against Rockhurst and Newman. UCM will play Rockhurst on Friday, Nov. 24, and Newman on Saturday, Nov. 25. Tip-off for both games is set for 5 p.m.