Mules wrap up three-game home stand with Lincoln and Lindenwood

TIP-OFF
• The Central Missouri Mules continue their three-game home stand with games on Thursday and Saturday. UCM will host Lincoln on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
• The Mules are coming off a 76-63 come-from-behind win over Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon. UCM has won eight of its last nine games and sits alone in the second place in the MIAA standings with four games to play.
• Lincoln enters the contest at 14-11 overall and 7-9 in league play after a loss at Lindenwood on Tuesday. The Blue Tigers have lost five of their last six games.
• Lindenwood enters the contest at 19-10 overall and 8-8 in league play after beating Lincoln on Tuesday night. The Lions have won three straight games.

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 Central Missouri's Stretch Internet portal at UCMathletics.com/gamecentral. It is a pay-per-view webcast.

PROGRAM SNAPSHOT
• This is the 112th season of Central Missouri Mules basketball.
• Central Missouri is third all-time in NCAA Division II men's basketball with 1,671 wins. One of just four NCAA-II programs with 1,600 wins.
• The Mules have won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships overall (1937 & 1938 NAIB).

MULE FEED
• Spencer Reaves is averaging 16.6 points per game this season, best on the team and seventh in the MIAA. He recorded his first career double-double against Northwest Missouri with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
• Marquiez Lawrence leads the Mules with five double-doubles this season. He recorded his fifth in the win over Missouri Southern with 11 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
• Ten different players have scored in double figures for the Mules this season with Spencer Reaves scoring at least 20 points in nine games.
• The Mules are third in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 48.9 percent, sixth in three-point shooting at 37.7 percent and third in free throw percentage at 75.9 percent.
• Defensively, UCM is second in the league in scoring (65.7 ppg). The Mules are sixth in field goal percentage allowed at 43.9 percent and eighth in three-point field goal percentage allowed at 37.1 percent.

REAVES NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
• Junior guard Spencer Reaves was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team as announced this week. He is now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
• The Newark, Ark. native carries a 3.96 grade point average while majoring in Physical Education.
• To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution.

LAWRENCE EARNS MIAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Senior Marquiez Lawrence was named the Co-MIAA Player of the Week after averaging a double-double in two UCM wins last week. He averaged 14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as the Mules beat Pitt State and Missouri Southern.

SERIES HISTORY VS. LINCOLN
• This will be the 91st all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Lincoln. The Mules hold a 58-32 lead in the series.
• The Mules won the first meeting between the two, 66-64, in Jefferson City on Jan. 18 and UCM has won 18 straight games in the series.
• The Mules lead the series 30-14 in games played in Warrensburg and have won 11 straight at the Multi.

SERIES HISTORY VS. LINDENWOOD
• This will be the 12th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Lindenwood. The Mules lead the series 9-2.
• UCM won the first meeting this season, 82-75 in St. Charles back on Jan. 21 and the Mules have won four straight in the series.
• The Mules are 6-0 against the Lions in Warrensburg.

LAST MEETING WITH LINCOLN
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Jan. 18, 2017) -- The Mules built a 14-point second half lead, but had to withstand a late Lincoln rally to beat the Blue Tigers 66-64 on Wednesday night. Lincoln had a last second three-point attempt off the mark to give the Mules the win.
    The Mules (11-5, 5-3 MIAA) had an 11-2 run midway through the second half that gave them a 52-38 lead with 11:25 to play in the game. A three-pointer from Anthony Virdure and two free throws from Richie Lewis pulled Lincoln (12-6, 5-4 MIAA) within nine just one minute later. The Mules pushed the lead back to 11 on a jumper from Marquiez Lawrence, but a 7-2 spurt by the Blue Tigers pulled them to within six at 56-50 with 5:24 to play in the game.
    UCM led by eight, 65-57, with exactly 1:17 to play in the game, but the Blue Tigers scored on a three-pointer by Virdure then forced a turnover and Jaylon Smith made two free throws to pull within three with :40. Lincoln had the ball back with a chance to tie, but Virdure turned it over. The Mules missed the front end of the one and one, however, with eight seconds left. The Mules then fouled Virdure on the inbounds so he couldn't attempt a three. He made both free throws and the lead was 65-64 with :04 to play.
    Reaves was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and hit one of two free throws to give UCM a 66-64 lead. Lincoln called timeout with two seconds left and had one last chance, but Virdure's three-pointer glanced off the side of the rim and the Mules held on for their 18th consecutive win over the Blue Tigers and the 11th straight in Jefferson City.
    The Mules opened the game on a 4-0 run and built a seven-point lead at 19-12 midway through the first half. The lead was still seven when Lincoln used a 10-2 run to grab a 24-23 lead with 4:37 to play in the first half. A three-pointer from Jakob Lowrance and a layup from Kyle Wolf quickly put UCM back in front by four. The Mules would push the lead back to six before leading by five, 34-29 at halftime.
    Lowrance led the Mules in scoring with 14 points off the bench. Reaves finished with 12 and Wolf had 11. UCM shot 52 percent for the game, 24-of-46, but made just 5-of-20 from three-point range. They were 13-of-18 at the foul line.
    Lincoln was led by Virdure's game-high 25 points. Maurice Mason had 12 points and Lewis finished with 10. The Mules held Jaylon Smith, the MIAA's second-leading scorer to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting. LU finished the game 17-of-48 from the field for just 35 percent. The Blue Tigers were 9-of-26 from three-point range for 35 percent and 21-of-27 at the charity stripe.

LAST MEETING WITH LINDENWOOD
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (Jan. 21, 2017) -- The Mules built a 17-point second half lead then withstood a late Lindenwood rally to grab an 82-75 win at the Hyland Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Mules have now won three straight games and four of their last five.
    Lindenwood (14-8, 4-6 MIAA) jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the game, but the Mules (12-5, 6-3 MIAA) responded with an 8-1 run to grab their first lead of the game, 8-6, with 16:06 to play in the game. A 7-2 spurt put the Lions back in front at 13-10 just two minutes later. Lindenwood would push the lead to seven at 20-13 midway through the first half, but a 9-1 run put the Mules in front 22-21 with 7:25 to play in the half.
    Lindenwood went back in front by five with a 7-1 spurt of their own, but the Mules scored 10 of the final 14 points of the half and led 33-32 at the intermission.
    The Lions opened the second half with seven of the first nine points to go in front 39-35, but Kyle Wolf scored four straight points and DJ Richardson added a steal and breakaway dunk to put the Mules back in front 40-39. It ignited a 12-0 run that gave UCM a 47-39 lead with 13 minutes to play in the game. The lead was five later in the half when UCM went on another run, this time a 16-4 spurt that gave the Mules a 67-50 lead with 5:02 to play in the game.
    The Lions battled back, making five three-pointers in the final five minutes, to get as close as five but the Mules iced the game at the foul line to secure the win.
    Kyle Wolf led three Mules in double figures with 16 points. Spencer Reaves added 13 points and Jakob Lowrance had 12. Marquiez Lawrence had nine points and eight rebounds. UCM was 19-of-36 from the field for 53 percent, including 6-of-14 from beyond the arc. The Mules were 38-of-45 at the free throw line for 84 percent.
    Jackson Price and Chandler Diekvoss led LWU with 17 points apiece, while LJ McIntosh and Bakari Triggs had 13 each. The Lions shot 48 percent from the field (28-of-58), and made 10 threes on 30 attempts. They were 9-of-14 at the free throw line.

SCOUTING LINCOLN
• The Blue Tigers enter the contest at 14-11 overall and 7-9 in league play following an 73-61 loss at Lindenwood on Tuesday night.
• LU enters the game fifth in the MIAA in scoring offense at 78.0 points per game, and ninth in scoring defense at 72.7 points per game allowed. The Blue Tigers are ninth in the league in field goal percentage (45.7%) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (36.4%), while ranking seventh in field goal percentage defense (44.6%) and fourth in three-point field defense (34.7).
• The Blue Tigers have the league's Nos. 2 and 4 scorers in Anthony Virdure (22.3 ppg) and Jaylon Smith (19.8 ppg). Both players shoot at least 44 percent from the field and have combined to take 55 percent of Lincoln's total field goal attempts.
• Smith also leads the team in rebounding at 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Lincoln is fifth in the league in rebounding and offensive rebounding.

SCOUTING LINDENWOOD
• The Lions enter the contest at 19-10 overall and 8-8 in MIAA play following a 73-61 win over Lincoln on Tuesday.
• LWU enters the game seventh in the MIAA in scoring offense at 75.5 points per game, and fourth in scoring defense at 69.6 points per game allowed. The Lions are sixth in the league in field goal percentage (46.9%) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (37.1%), while ranking eighth in field goal percentage defense (45.0%) and third in three-point field defense (33.9).
• Chandler Diekvoss leads four Lions averaging in double figures at 15.4 points per game. Dominique Dobbs averages 11.8 per contest, while Jackson Price and Brenon Larson-Gulsvig average 11.2 and 10.3 points per game, respectively.
• Dobbs leads the team in rebounding at 7.9 boards per outing, while Adam Pohlman leads the team with 3.2 assists per game.
• Lindenwood has attempted 673 three-pointers this season, an average of 23.2 attempts per game.

LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 76, MISSOURI SOUTHERN 63
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 11, 2017) -- Central Missouri overcame a very slow start to rally past and pull away from Missouri Southern for a 76-63 win on Saturday afternoon. The trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, but still led at halftime.
    The Mules (17-6, 11-4 MIAA) started the game as cold as could be, missing their first nine shots from the field and their first two free throws. Central Missouri didn't make its first field goal of the game until Marquiez Lawrence's dunk with 6:19 to play in the first half. When that shot went in, however, the Mules only trailed 19-12 thanks in large part to UCM's free throw shooting and their defense limiting Missouri Southern.
    Lawrence added a second dunk on the next possession and his free throw to complete a three-point play pulled UCM within 19-15 with 5:25 to play first half. Three straight Kyle Wolf free throws cut the lead to one, but a free throw from Vince Fritz and a layup from Lawrence Brown pushed the Missouri Southern (14-10, 8-7 MIAA) back to four.
    Matt Wilkinson buried a three later in the half that tied the game at 24-all and Dushaun Rice's layup at the 1:55 mark gave the Mules their first lead of the game. The lead was one late in the half when DJ Richardson scored on a driving layup and the Mules miraculously led 30-27 at halftime.
    The Mules started the second half the exact opposite way they started the game, quickly pushing the lead to double digits at 43-32 on an 9-0 run spurred by five points from Spencer Reaves. An 8-2 spurt by the Lions pulled them back within five at 45-40, but the Mules responded with a 13-2 run to seize a 58-42 lead with 6:59 to play in the game.
    The Mules pushed the lead to as many as 19 with just under three minutes to play in the game as they pulled away from the Lions for their third straight win and eighth in the last nine games.
    UCM ended up shooting 44 percent for the game, going 20-of-45. UCM was just 3-of-16 from three-point range for 19 percent, but made 33-of-38 at the foul line for 87 percent. Reaves led four Mules in double figures with a game-high 20 points. Lawrence recorded his second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 11 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Richardson had 14 points and Rice finished with 12.
    The Mules out-rebounded the Lions 37-34 and outscored them 28-26 in the paint.
    Missouri Southern finished 22-of-63 for 35 percent from the field. The Lions were 7-of-25 from beyond the arc for 28 percent and made 12-of-16 at the charity stripe. Elyjah Clark and CJ Carr both finished with 14 points, while Brown had 10.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 11-4 in MIAA play and in second place after the win over Missouri Southern last Saturday.
• UCM is 33-23 in conference play during the Doug Karleskint era.
• The Mules have won or shared 24 MIAA Regular Season Championships and five MIAA Tournament titles.

MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules are 6-2 in non-conference action this season after the 74-66 loss at Rockhurst on Dec. 31.
• UCM was 6-1 in non-conference games last season, including a 6-0 mark in regular season non-con games. They are 138-34 over the last 15 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 68-1 in the last 69 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES IN MIAA TOURNAMENT
• The Mules have clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament and they are closing in on securing a top-four seed and a bye to the quarterfinals in Kansas City.
• UCM is the only school in conference history to play in every MIAA Tournament since its inception.
• The Mules need wins in two of their last four games to secure a top-four seed and a first round bye to Kansas City.

MULES AT HOME
• The Mules are 9-1 at home this season after the 76-63 win over Missouri Southern and are 32-9 at home under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 170-20 at home over the last 12 seasons, including 68-1 against non-conference opponents and 102-19 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 498-97 (.837) in their 41st season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.

MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 6-5 on the road this season after the win at Pittsburg State.
• UCM is 16-17 in road games under Doug Karleskint.

BLOCK PARTY
• Senior Marquiez Lawrence had one blocked shot in the win over Missouri Southern, giving him 25 blocks on the season.
• He blocked 32 shots last season, tied for the 10th most in a single season in Central Missouri history.
• He is now at 57 for his career, tied for fifth all-time at UCM. He is 15 blocks shy of fourth all-time.

20 MINUTE GAME?
• The Mules are 15-0 this season when leading at halftime. They are just 2-6 when tied or trailing after the first 20 minutes of action.
• The same argument could be made for the first 35 minutes of the game. UCM is 17-1 when leading with 5:00 left in regulation and 0-5 when tied for trailing with five minutes to play.

MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Spencer Reaves is seventh in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 16.6 points per game. Kyle Wolf is 26th in the conference at 11.9 points per game.
• Reaves is seventh in the MIAA in field goal percentage (49.6) and sixth in free throw percentage at 84.8 percent. Reaves is also second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.0 (71 ast - 24 TO) and is 10th in assists per game at 3.1.
• Reaves is tied for seventh in the MIAA in steals averaging 1.5 per game, while Clarence Smith is 18th with 1.0 per outing.
• Marquiez Lawrence is sixth in the league with 6.7 rebounds per game. He also ranks tied for seventh in blocked shots, averaging 1.1 per contest.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 56-28 (.667) in his third season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 145-62 (.700) overall mark in his seventh 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 112th season of UCM basketball, the Mules have compiled a 1,671-952 (.637) record in 2,623 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 three 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 15 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 (Mexico, Conejos De Tuxtla), Charles Hammork (Kosovo, Ylli Therande), Michael Hicks (Poland, Polpharma-Pakmet), and Zack Wright (Germany, Brose Basket).

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Entering the 2016 fall semester, Central Missouri has won a combined 207 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last year, UCM captured two MIAA regular season titles, three MIAA Tournament crowns and three NCAA Regional Championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 153 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.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 232 student-athletes named to the 2015-16 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 28 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.
• 19 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had seven student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with four of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is sixth in NCAA-II with 53 Academic All-Americans.
• Two UCM student-athletes were awarded prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships last year.

MULES BASKETBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri basketball is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar, and online at warrensburgradio.com. Games are broadcast by 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar Sports Director, Greg Hassler and Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, Mike Knipper.
• The Doug Karleskint Show, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp., live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. The Show is hosted by Greg Hassler and is broadcast live from Traditions Restaurant at Mules National Golf Club.

UPCOMING
• The Mules plays their final road game of the regular season next Thursday, Feb. 23 against Missouri Southern in Joplin before returning home to host Pittsburg State in the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 25.