TIP-OFF
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball is back in action for two games this Friday and Saturday Nov. 24-25 in Emporia, Kansas at the Emporia State Thanksgiving Classic. 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.
• The Mules were picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Rockhurst is 3-1 through four games this season. The Hawks picked up a season opening win over Purdue Northwest at the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge, but dropped their second game at the challenge to Davenport. Rockhurst's other two wins are against Washburn and Missouri Western.
• The Hawks were picked to finish third in the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll behind Truman State and Drury.
• Newman is 2-2 in the early part of the 2017-18 season with wins over Cameron and Manhattan Christian College. The Jets have suffered losses to Texas A&M-Commerce and Pittsburg State.
• The Jets were picked to finish eighth this season out of nine teams the in Heartland Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll.
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 1,678 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
• The Mules and Hawks will square off against each other for the 50th time overall. Entering the game on Friday, UCM is 32-17 all-time against Rockhurst and is 3-0 in neutral site games.
• The last meeting between the Mules and Hawks was a season ago in Kansas City, Mo. The Hawks defeated the Mules on New Year's Eve.
• UCM last defeated Rockhurst on Nov. 18, 2015 in Warrensburg by a final of 77-71.
• The Mules and Jets will match up for the first time ever in Saturday's game.
LAST MEETING WITH ROCKHURST
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 31, 2016) -- Central Missouri held Rockhurst to just eight made field goals in the second half, but the Mules couldn't overcome a 15-point second half deficit as their rally came up short in a 74-66 loss at Rockhurst on Saturday afternoon.
The Mules (8-3) out-shot the Hawks (7-4) 50 percent to 46 percent, but Rockhurst made 11 three-pointers and the Mules struggled at the free throw line, making just 16-of-30 attempts. The Hawks on the other hand were 19-of-22 at the charity stripe.
Rockhurst built a 15-point lead at 54-39 with 16:09 to play in the game, but Central Missouri battled back. A 13-2 run pulled the Mules within four at 56-52 with 10:02 to play in the game. The Hawks quickly pushed the lead back to eight, but the Mules again cut the lead to four and a putback layup from Kyle Wolf cut it to 68-66 with 2:11 to play, but the Mules wouldn't score again as the Hawks won by eight.
The game was back-and-forth in the early going with the Hawks grabbing an early lead. Back-to-back three-pointers from Andrew Ellwanger pushed the lead to five. UCM got within one at 20-19 on a layup from
Clarence Smith with 12:26 left in the first half, but a 7-0 run gave RU an eight-point lead midway through the opening stanza.
The Hawks pushed the lead in to double digits on a couple of occasions only to see the Mules rally back. UCM cut the lead to five late in the first half at 40-35, but a three-pointer and a jumper from Undra Wilson closed the half for Rockhurst, giving them a 45-35 advantage.
Marquiez Lawrence led the Mules in scoring with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also pulled down six rebounds.
Spencer Reaves had 18 points and a team-high eight boards to go along with six assists. Wolf also finished in double figures with 11.
SCOUTING ROCKHURST
• Rockhurst finished 14-13 last season with a 8-10 mark against GLVC opponents. The Hawks 14-13 record was the first winning season in seven years.
• The Hawks return three key players from last year's squad in junior starters Connor Evans and Alex Hagan, along with key reserve Travis House.
• Auston Rushing leads the way in scoring for the Hawks so far this season averaging 14.8 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting.
• Not far behind Rushing is Quinton Curry who is averaging 14.0 points per game on astounding 74.2 percent shooting from the field. He is also pulling down 4.8 rebounds per game.
• Alex Hagan and Curits Lewis are the only other players in double-figure scoring with 13.8 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. Hagan is averaging a double-double with 12.0 rebounds per game as well.
• As a team, Rockhurst is shooting 46.9 percent from the, while their opponents are shooting 46.5 percent. The Hawks average 75.3 points per game, with their opposition averaging 73.8 points per game.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
• Newman went 9-19 overall season and 7-11 in Heartland Conference play. The Jets did reach the conference tournament for the second straight season last year. They will be under the direction of first year head coach RJ Allen.
• The Jets bring in nine returners from last year's team. Allen Wilson is the highest returning scorer from a season ago averaging 6.6 points per game.
• Ben Ayre has led Newman in scoring through the first four games averaging 13.0 points per game and is dishing out 6.3 assists per game.
• Andre Sands is the second leading scoring with 11.0 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting. He is second on the team in rebounds with 6.3 boards per game.
• Kevin Bryant is the only other Newman player scoring in double digits. He is averaging 10.3 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 7.8 per game.
• The Jets are averaging 76.3 points per game, but their opposition is averaging 77.0. Newman shooting 43.0 percent from the floor and is holding opponents to 42.6 percent.
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 72, EAST CENTRAL 58 • 11/21/17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 21, 2017)-- Central Missouri Mules Basketball picked up their second straight win and fourth overall as they took down the East Central Tigers 72-58 at Municipal Auditorium on Tuesday night.
Spencer Reaves scored a season-high 30 points for the Mules as they improved to 4-1 overall.
• UCM played well on defense for the game limiting the Tigers (2-1) to 37.9% shooting on 22-of-58 shooting and forcing 14 turnovers. The Mules converted those 14 turnovers into 19 points and shot 24-of-52 from the floor for 46.2%.
• The two teams traded shots in the first three minutes of play to keep the game tied at 5-5 with 17:28 left to play. The Mules separated from the Tigers using an 11-1 run to lead 16-6 with 10:48 to play in the first half.
• Reaves got the 11-1 run going for the Mules with a jumper and on the next possession for UCM he found
Jakob Lowrance for a three pointer to make it a 10-5 lead. A combination of turnovers and fouls by the Tigers help push the Mules lead to 10 as four of their next six points came at the charity strip.
• The Mules led by as much as 19 in the first half when they got up 34-15 with 3:19 to play thanks to triples by
Clarence Smith and
Blake Spellman. The Tigers did respond going on an 11-2 run to end the half, and cut the Mules lead to 36-26.
• Both teams went on quick scoring runs to start the second half. The Mules opened the half with a 5-0 run to lead 41-26, but the Tigers used a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to six yet again, this time 41-35. The Mules extended the lead back to 10 with the help of a layup by
Brandon Emmert and free throws by Smith.
• The teams went back-and-forth with 13:02 to play until the under 10 minute media timeout at the 9:26 mark. Coming out of the quick break leading 57-45, UCM outscored East Central 12-5 to give them another 19 point lead, 69-50, matching their largest of the game.
• The Tigers never got within 10 of the Mules ever again. Part of the Mules surge with less than 10 minutes to play was a 9-0 run with 7:21 to play as they led 60-50. The run included a long-range three from
DJ Richardson and a tough driving layup by
Matt Wilkinson to make it 69-50 Mules.
• UCM played well for the game as they held on for the 14 point win and handed the Tigers their first loss of the year.
• Reaves led all scorers with a season-high 30 points. He was 11-of-17 shooting and went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals.
• Richardson was the second leading scorer for UCM with 13 points. Smith put up 12 points and had five boards. He did not miss a free throw going 4-of-4 from the charity strip.
• Lowrance grabbed a team-high six rebounds and scored seven points to finish the night.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 4-1 in non-conference action this season with wins over Minnesota-Duluth, Bemidji State, Maryville, and East Central.
• 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 3-0 this season and are 12-3 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 85 points this season and now has 954 for his career. He is 44 points shy of cracking UCM's career Top 20 list for scoring, and 46 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 career points.
MIAA STAT LEADERS - As of Nov. 22, 2017
•
Spencer Reaves is 11th in the MIAA at 17.0 points per game.
Jakob Lowrance is 15th in the conference in scoring with an average of 15.6 points per game through five games.
• Lowrance is second in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 62.0 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.
• Lowrance is tied for 13th in the league in rebounding averaging 6.0 rebounds per game. Reaves is right behind him at 15th with 5.8 rebounds per game.
•
Blake Spellman is averaging 3.5 assists per game which is tied for 12th in the MIAA.
•
DJ Richardson and Reaves are tied for seventh in the MIAA in steals per game at 1.6, respectively.
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 153-66 (.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 1,678-956 (.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 not a have a game until early December following the ESU Thanksgiving Classic. The Mules next game will be Tuesday, Dec. 5, at home against NAIA school Baker University. Tip-off against the Wildcats is set for 6 p.m. in the UCM Multipurpose Building.
