Mules close out regular season with rematches against Missouri Southern and Pitt State

TIP-OFF
• The Central Missouri Mules wrap up the regular season with a pair of late week games this week. UCM travels to Joplin on Thursday night to take on Missouri Southern at 7:30 p.m. before returning home to host Pittsburg State on Saturday at 3:30.
• The Mules are coming off a 59-51 loss to Lindenwood on Saturday at the Multi. The Mules have lost two straight and find themselves in a tie for second place in the league standings with Nebraska-Kearney at 11-6 with two games to play.
• Missouri Southern enters the contest at 17-10 overall and 11-7 in league play after beating Pittsburg State 71-64 on Tuesday night. The Lions have won three straight since losing at UCM on Feb. 11, including a win over previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri.
• Pittsburg State enters the contest at 5-21 overall and 3-15 in league play after a 71-64 loss to Missouri Southern on Tuesday.

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.

SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
• Saturday's game vs. Pittsburg State is Senior Day. The Mules' seniors will be honored at halftime of the Jennies' game.

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 in double figures in 24 of 25 games and at least 20 points in 10 games.
• The Mules are third in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 48.1 percent, seventh in three-point shooting at 37.0 percent and third in free throw percentage at 75.1 percent.
• Defensively, UCM is second in the league in scoring (65.6 ppg). The Mules are fifth in field goal percentage allowed at 43.6 percent and seventh in three-point field goal percentage allowed at 36.6 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.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MISSOURI SOUTHERN
• This will be the 63rd all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Missouri Southern. The Mules hold a 37-25 advantage.
• The Mules won the first meeting 76-63 in Warrensburg back on Feb. 11 to snap a three-game losing skid in the series.
• Missouri Southern leads the series 15-12 in games played in Joplin. The teams have split the last four meetings at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

SERIES HISTORY VS. PITTSBURG STATE
• This will be the 115th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Pittsburg State with the Mules holding a 71-43 advantage in the series.
• The Mules won 73-58 in Pittsburg back on Feb. 8 to snap a two-game skid against the Gorillas. UCM has now won five of the last seven meetings and 19 of the last 23.
• UCM holds a 44-12 lead in games played in Warrensburg. Pitt State's win in Warrensburg last year snapped a 10-game UCM winning streak in games played at the Multi.

LAST MEETING WITH MISSOURI SOUTHERN
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.

LAST MEETING WITH PITTSBURG STATE
PITTSBURG, Kan. (Feb. 8, 2017) -- Central Missouri shot 54 percent in the second half and pulled away for a 73-58 win at Pittsburg State on Wednesday night. With the win, the Mules move to 16-6 overall and 10-4 in MIAA play.
    The Gorillas (4-18, 2-12 MIAA) scored the first points of the game, but the Mules scored 11 straight points to lead by nine with 14:48 to play in the half. Pitt State responded with a 12-2 run of its own to regain the lead at 14-13 at the 10:43 mark.
    PSU pushed the lead to four at 17-13, but an 8-0 run gave the Mules a 21-17 lead. Pitt State regained the lead at 24-23, but the Mules finished the half on a 10-4 spurt and led 33-28 at halftime.
    UCM pushed the lead to 10 right out of the halftime break only to see Pitt State get back within five with a 5-0 run early in the second half. The Mules responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own and once again led by 10, 50-40, with 11:52 to play. PSU would get no closer than eight the rest of the way as the Mules led by as many as 17 in the game.
    The Mules were led by Marquiez Lawrence's fourth double-double of the season, 18 points and 12 rebounds. Spencer Reaves added 13 points, DJ Richardson had 11 and Jakob Lowrance finished with 10.
    The Mules were 27-52 from the field, shooting 52 percent. They were 7-19 from three-point range for 37 percent and 12-16 at the free throw line.
    The Gorillas were led by Brandon Clifford's 11 points and Christian Edmondson's 10. PSU shot 39 percent from the floor, going 23-58. The Gorillas were just 6-23 from beyond the arc for 26 percent and were 6-9 at the foul line.

SCOUTING MISSOURI SOUTHERN
• The Lions enter the contest at 17-10 overall and 11-7 in league play following a 71-64 upset win at Pittsburg State on Tuesday night. MSSU has now won three straight games since the loss in Warrensburg on Feb. 11.
• The Lions enter the game leading the MIAA in scoring at 82.7 points per game, but they are dead last (14th) in scoring defense at 79.4 points per game allowed. The Lions are 10th in the league in field goal percentage (44.0%) and 12th in three-point field goal percentage (34.9%), while ranking 13th in field goal percentage defense (48.1%) and 14th in three-point field defense (40.0).
• Missouri Southern has the league's No. 6 and No. 9 scorers in CJ Carr (19.4 ppg) and JJ Cratit (14.6 ppg). Carr also leads the team and the MIAA in assists with 5.6 per game. He is fouth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.0.
• Elyjah Clark is also averaging in double figures at 14.4 points per game, 11th best in the MIAA.
• Lawrence Brown leads the team and is third in the MIAA in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest. MSSU is fourth in the league in team rebounding and the Lions lead the MIAA with 13.0 offensive boards per game.

SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE
• The Gorillas enter the contest at 5-21 overall and 3-15 in MIAA play following a 71-64 loss to Missouri Southern on Tuesday night.
• PSU enters the game 12th in the MIAA in scoring at 64.8 points per game, and 10th in scoring defense at 73.5 points per game allowed. The Gorillas are 13th in the league in field goal percentage (43.2%) and 13th in three-point field goal percentage (34.5%), while ranking 11th in field goal percentage defense (47.3%) and eighth in three-point field defense (37.0).
• Isaiah Hicks is the only active player for Pitt State averaging in double figures at 10.1 points per game. Jaxon Holden averages 10.5 per game, but he has not played since Jan. 28 against Northeastern State.
• Hicks also leads the team in rebounding with 5.5 boards per outing. As a team, PSU is ninth in the league in rebounding at 32.5 rebounds per contest. The Gorillas are 11th in rebound margin at minus-1.2.
• RJ Pair averages 8.2 points per game and leads the team averaging 2.4 assists per game.

LAST TIME OUT • LINDENWOOD 59, CENTRAL MISSOURI 51
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 18, 2017)-- Mules Basketball dropped its second straight game as they fell at home to Lindenwood, 59-51, Saturday afternoon in the Multi. The Mules held the Lions (20-10, 9-8 MIAA) to just eight made field goals in the second half, but could not overcome a 10-point halftime deficit.
    The Mules (17-8, 11-6 MIAA) did not score a field goal in the first half until 14:16, when Marquiez Lawrence put down an uncontested dunk to bring the score to 7-4, Lions. Clarence Smith added two more points at 9:53 with a tough layup in the lane to keep UCM within three, 9-6. The Lions responded going on 13-0, pushing their three-point lead to 16, 22-6. The Mules cut the deficit to nine, 22-13, with a 7-0 run, five of which came from a Richardson three and a pair of free throws. The Lions led 27-17 going into halftime.
    Lindenwood pushed their lead to 13 in the second half after Jackson Price scored on back-to-back possessions. He hit a layup at 18:07 then came down 31 seconds later and nailed a three, giving the Lions the 32-19 advantage. UCM responded going on an 8-0 run. DJ Richardson scored six of the eight points for the Mules hitting two three-point shots. The Mules got within four, trailing 33-29.
    The Lions answered the Mules run with 10-1 run of their own, pushing their lead back to 13, 43-30. Price sparked it with a three at the 13:51 mark. Zac Haese and Rayko Dundalov also added threes during the run. The Mules only point in the run came from a Spencer Reaves free throw.
    The Mules got within six, 47-41, after a made layup by Eric Locke at 4:44, but the Mules went scoreless for over three minutes before they scored again. Reaves hit a layup with a just under a minute and a half remaining in the game and the Mules immediately started fouling to save clock. The Lions held off the Mules shooting 9-of-10 at the free throw line to secure the win.
    DJ Richardson led the Mules in scoring 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while going 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line. He also dished out four assists, had four steals, finished 5-of-6 from the charity strip. Spencer was the only other player for UCM to break double-digits scoring 11 points. Lawrence and Kyle Wolf each pulled down six rebounds to lead the Mules.  
    UCM was just 18-of-47 for the game for 38 percent, and made 5-of-16 three-point attempts for 31 percent.
    Chandler Diekvoss led the way for Lindenwood scoring a game-high 18 points, while shooting 7-of-13 from the field. Jackson Price was the only other Lion to break double figures adding 13 points of 5-of-9 shooting. The Lions outrebounded the Mules 34-26.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 11-6 in MIAA play and in a tie for second place after the loss to Lindenwood on Saturday.
• UCM is 33-25 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 AT HOME
• The Mules are 9-3 at home this season after the losses to Lincoln and Lindenwood last week and are 32-11 at home under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 170-22 at home over the last 12 seasons, including 68-1 against non-conference opponents and 102-21 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 498-99 (.834) 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 loss to Lindenwood, giving him 28 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 60 for his career, fifth all-time at UCM. He is 12 blocks shy of fourth all-time.

20 MINUTE GAME?
• The Mules are 15-1 this season when leading at halftime. They are just 2-7 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 17-2 when leading with 5:00 left in regulation and 0-6 when tied for trailing with five minutes to play.

MULES IN MIAA TOURNAMENT
• The Mules have clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament and are trying to secure 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.
• Wins in each of their final two games would give the Mules the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament.
• A Central Missouri win on Thursday or a win on Saturday coupled with a Central Oklahoma loss in one of their final two games would secure a top-four seed for the Mules and a bye to the tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City.

MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Spencer Reaves is seventh in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 16.6 points per game. Kyle Wolf is 27th in the conference at 11.6 points per game.
• Reaves is seventh in the MIAA in field goal percentage (49.8) and seventh in free throw percentage at 83.6 percent. Reaves is also third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6 (74 ast - 28 TO) and is 13th in assists per game at 3.0.
• Reaves is fifth in the MIAA in steals averaging 1.6 per game, while Clarence Smith is 19th with 1.0 per outing.
• Marquiez Lawrence is seventh in the league with 6.6 rebounds per game. He also ranks eighth in blocked shots, averaging 1.1 per contest.

UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
• Doug Karleskint has a record of 56-30 (.651) in his third season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 145-64 (.694) 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 1,671-954 (.637) record in 2,625 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.
• 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 await their MIAA Tournament seed. UCM can finish as high as second and as low as a tie for seventh. If the Mules finish in the top four of the MIAA standings they will receive a first round bye and will play on Thursday, March 2 in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. A fifth through seventh place finish would give UCM a home first round game on Monday night, Feb. 27.