TIP-OFF
• After a 10 day break, Central Missouri Mules Basketball is back in action tonight, Dec. 5, against the Wildcats of Baker University. The last time the Mules were on the hardwood was back on Nov. 24 and 25 at the Emporia State Thanksgiving Classic. The Mules downed Rockhurst and Newman at the holiday tournament by scores of 79-58 and 71-63, respectively.
• The Mules were picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Fans coming to tonight's game are welcomed to bring in at least four canned food items or other non-perishable food items to get into the game for free.
• Baker is 7-0 in the early part of the 2017-18 season. In NAIA conference play, the Wildcats are 2-0 against Heart of America opponents. Their two conference wins thus far this season are against Avila and Culver-Stockton by scores of 85-65 and 78-51, respectively.
• The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the Heart of American Athletic Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll. Baker received 91 points to grab the eighth place spot.
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 1,681 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.
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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.
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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 Wildcats will match-up for the 22nd time overall and for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Overall the Wildcats own the series against the Mules 12-9, but in Warrensburg the series is all tied up at 8-8.
• The last meeting between UCM and Baker was on Nov. 16, 2013 in the Multipurpose Building. The Mules handled the Wildcats 87-59 and went on the win the Division II National Championship that season.
• Baker last defeated UCM during the 1934-35 season by a score of 33-29 in Baldwin City, Kan.
LAST MEETING WITH BAKER
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 16, 2013) -- The Central Missouri Mules used a big second half to break open a close game and beat Baker 87-59 on Saturday night at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The win improves UCM's record to 4-0 on the season.
Baker (2-2) jumped out to an early 6-2 less than three minutes into the game. The Mules rallied to tie the game at 10-10, but the Wildcats went back in front by a pair on two Javeion Gray free throws. A layup from Dillon Deck tied the game at 14 and TJ White's bucket put UCM in front for the first time at 16-14.
After Baker tied the game, Jordan Epps hit to free throws to give UCM the lead and White's layup gave UCM a 20-17 lead with 9:32 left in the half. BU cut the lead back to one, but four quick points by the Mules pushed the lead back to five at 26-21. The lead grew to seven, but a 5-0 Baker run brought it to a two-point game with just over two minutes left in the half. UCM closed the opening stanza on a 7-2 run and led 37-30 at the intermission.
Central Missouri came out firing in the second half opening the period on a 14-0 run to stretch the lead to 51-30 just over three minutes in. The Mules slowly increased the lead throughout the half stretching it to 24 midway through the stanza. The Wildcats were never able to get closer than 24 the rest of the way. Ryan Donald hit a pair of free throws with under a minute to play to give the Mules their largest lead of the night at 87-57.
Central Missouri shot 54 percent in the game, going 31 of 57 from the field, but just 3 of 17 from three point range. The Mules were 22 of 33 at the foul line for 67 percent and out-rebounded the Wildcats 44-22.
UCM was led in scoring by Donald and Epps with 13 points apiece. Ryan Magdziarz finished with 11 points and Daylen Robinson had a game-high seven rebounds to go along with seven points and three assists.
Baker shot 38 percent from the floor, 19 of 50, including 4 of 10 from beyond the arc for 40 percent. The Wildcats mad 17 of 24 foul shots for 71 percent. BU was led in scoring by Gray and Todd Johnston with 11 points apiece.
Each team had 11 turnovers, but the Mules had seven blocked shots.
SCOUTING BAKER
• Baker finished 17-15 last season with an even 13-13 mark against Heart of America opponents. The Wildcats are 7-0 so far this season and will look to carry their momentum against the Mules.
• Senior Brock Mick will leads the Wildcats this season as they have a combination of youth and experience on this year's squad.
• Mick leads the team in scoring through their seven games averaging 14.0 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting. He also has 10 steals on the season and is averaging 1.6 steals per game.
• Stephen Edwards is second on the team in scoring averaging 11.0 points per game and is shooting 44.0 percent from the floor for the Wildcats.
• Four other players are averaging double-digits for Baker this season. Tyre Peter is playing well on both ends with a double-double average. He is scoring 10.2 points per game and pulling down 10.2 rebounds per game for the Wildcats.
• Other double figure scorers for Baker include Clae Martin (10.7 points per game), Vandy Hopson (10.4 points per game), and Brett Elifritz (10.3 points per game).
• As a team, Baker is averaging 83.0 points per game on 49.0 percent shooting, while limiting opponents to 65.5 points on 36.2 percent shooting.
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 71, NEWMAN 63 • 11/25/17
EMPORIA, Kan. (Nov. 25, 2017) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball won their fourth straight game Saturday afternoon with a 71-63 win over Newman. The win pushes the Mules to 6-1 season.
• The Mules led wire to wire and held the lead for 38:42 after their first basket of the game, a layup from
Jakob Lowrance.
• Five Mules scored in double-figures as UCM shot 45.3% from the floor and hit six triples.
• UCM went 17-24 at the free throw line, including making 16 in the second half.
• Central Missouri scored the first nine points in this one and a three from Richardson forced an early Newman timeout.
• The Jets fought back though as the Mules went cold towards the end of the half. A buzzer-beating three sent the Mules into intermission with just a four-point lead, 32-28.
• Out of the gates to start the second, the Jets pressed on defense and caused some trouble for UCM, getting to within one, 35-34, 90 seconds into the half.
• Newman again cut it to one, 38-37, but UCM went on an 11-1 run to get back ahead by double-digits and held on to the lead for a 71-63 win.
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DJ Richardson led the five Mules with 13 points. He hit two three-pointers and was 3-3 at the free throw line.
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Brandon Emmert scored 12, going 6-for-8 from the field.
• Lowrance also had 12 points and added a team-best 10 rebounds. He also blocked two shots and had two steals.
• Reaves and
Blake Spellman each scored 10 points. Reaves scored five at the free throw line. Spellman also grabbed seven rebounds and had seven assists.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 6-1 in non-conference action this season with wins over Minnesota-Duluth, Bemidji State, Maryville, East Central, Rockhurst, and Newman.
• 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
• UCM is 1-1 at home in the early go around of this season after dropping the home opener to Cameron 77-63, but bounced back with a 74-56 win over Maryville in the second game.
• 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 5-0 this season and are 14-3 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 117 points this season and now has 986 for his career. He is 12 points shy of cracking UCM's career Top 20 list for scoring, and 14 points shy of eclipsing 1,000 career points.
MIAA STAT LEADERS - As of Dec. 5, 2017
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Spencer Reaves is 11th in the MIAA at 16.7 points per game on 54.2 percent shooting which is 10th bets in the league.
Jakob Lowrance is 19th in the conference in scoring with an average of 14.1 points per game through five games.
• Lowrance is fifth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 60.6 percent and is tied for third in blocks with 1.3 per game.
• Reaves leads the MIAA free throw percentage at 93.5 percent on 29-31 made free throws.
• Lowrance is 11th in the league in rebounding averaging 6.4 rebounds per game. Reaves is not far behind him at a tie for 16th with 5.7 rebounds per game.
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Blake Spellman is averaging 3.9 assists per game which is eighth best in the MIAA.
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DJ Richardson is ninth in the conference in steals with 1.7 and Reaves right behind him in a tie for 10th at 1.6 steals per game.
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
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Doug Karleskint has a record of 66-32 (.673) in his fourth season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 155-66 (.701) 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 1,681-956 (.637) record in 2,637 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 be back in action ths coming Sunday, Dec. 10, as conference play begins. The Mules open up MIAA play at home against defending National Champion Northwest Missouri State. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. against the Bearcats.
• Following the game against Northwest Missouri, UCM will be home yet again on Thursday, Dec. 14, to continue MIAA play against Missouri Western. The Mules game against Griffons will tip-off at at 7:30 p.m.
