TIP-OFF
• Central Missouri Mules Basketball kicks off 2018 with a pair of home conference games. The Mules host the Fort Hays State Tigers on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Following the Fort Hays State game, they will take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 3:30 p.m.
• UCM is winners of its last three games, with two of the three coming against MIAA opponents. UCM closed out the calendar year with 26-point win, 87-61, over Missouri Valley College and will look to push its MIAA win streak to four.
• The Mules were picked to finish second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Fort Hays State is 10-3 this season with a 3-1 mark in MIAA action. The Tigers three losses have all been close and they are currently on a four game winning streak. Their only MIAA loss was a 69-58 defeat by Washburn back on Dec. 6, 2017.
• The Tigers were picked to finish seventh in MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Nebraska-Kearney has 6-7 overall record this season and a 2-2 mark in MIAA play. The Lopers ended 2017 with a 93-64 win over McPherson College (Kan.). Their two wins in the MIAA are against Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State.
• The Lopers were picked to finish fourth in MIAA Preseason Coaches' 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 1,685 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 VS. FORT HAYS STATE
• The Mules and Tigers will meet for just the 24th time overall. The Mules have a 12-11 series lead over the Tigers with a 6-2 mark against them in Warrensburg.
• FHSU has the edge over UCM in recent meetings having won the last three matches, including a slim 74-73 win last season in Hays, Kan.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
• The history between UCM and UNK only spans over 11 games, with UCM leading by just one, 6-5. Prior to the 2012-13 season when UNK joined the MIAA, the two teams played each other just four times all in 1970's.
• The Mules and Lopers met twice in 2016-17, with the Mules winning both games. The second Mules win came in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals, 75-57.
LAST MEETING WITH FORT HAYS STATE
HAYS, Kan. (Jan. 5, 2017) -- Fort Hays State rallied from a five-point deficit with just over a minute to play to beat Central Missouri 74-73 on Thursday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum. With the loss, UCM drops to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in MIAA play.
The Mules led 71-66 with 1:15 to play in the game after
DJ Richardson sank a pair of free throws, but the Tigers (9-4, 3-2 MIAA) outscored the Mules 8-2 the rest of the way to get the win.
Rob Davis hit a corner three to pull the Tigers within two with 1:00 to play and following a turnover by the Mules, Hadley Gillum made one of two free throws to make it a one-point game. Fort Hays State forced another UCM turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass and with :27 to play, Davis hit a jumper to put the Tigers in front.
The Mules had another shot with :05 left, but Marquiez Lawrence couldn't get the shot to go and he was tied up on the rebound, giving the ball back to FHSU. Davis was fouled on the inbounds and sank both free throws for a three-point lead.
Spencer Reaves was then fouled with :02 near half court to prevent a potential game-tying three-point attempt. He made the first and intentionally missed the second. The Mules were fouled on the rebound and went to the line for two. They were able to make the first, but missed the second and the Tigers secured the rebound for the win.
The Mules led by as many as seven in the second half. They opened the frame on a 5-0 run to grab their first lead of the game 35-33 with 18:38 to play. Fort Hays State responded with a 6-0 run of their own to regain the lead, but an 18-7 run over the next 8:22 gave the Mules a 53-46 lead with 9:26 to play. Down the stretch it turned in to a free throw shooting contest as 48 of the combined 68 free throws were shot in the second half.
The game was back and forth in the early going with the Tigers leading from the outset. The lead was just one at 10-9 nearly eight minutes in to the game. The Tigers would stretch the lead to as many as 10 in the first half at 29-19, but UCM closed the half on an 11-4 run and trailed just 33-30 at halftime.
Spencer Reaves and
DJ Richardson led three Mules in double figures with 14 points each. Dushaun Rice chipped in a season-high 11.
Davis led FHSU with a game-high 34 points and Gillum chipped in 15 as only six Tigers scored in the game. Gillum added 13 rebounds as well.
LAST MEETING WITH NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
KEARNEY, Neb. (Jan. 7, 2017) -- Central Missouri shot 74 percent in the second half and outscored Nebraska-Kearney by 11 to rally for a 77-72 road win on Saturday afternoon. The win snaps a three-game losing streak against the Lopers and a two-game slide in Kearney.
Nebraska-Kearney (11-4, 4-2 MIAA) got off to a fast start, scoring the first five points of the game, jumping out to an 8-2 advantage. The Mules (9-4, 3-2 MIAA) battled back to within a pair on a couple of occasions only to see the Lopers push the lead back to six or seven. The Lopers grabbed their largest lead of the game at 24-16 with 11:15 to play in the half, but the Mules went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with 6:39 in the half.
A 15-7 run near the end of the half pushed the lead back to eight, but
Spencer Reaves scored one final bucket in the stanza for the Mules and they trailed 39-33 at halftime. The Mules opened the second half on an 8-2 run and tied the game at 41-all only to see the Lopers score five quick points to regain the lead. A 6-0 run for the Mules gave them their first lead of the night, 47-46, with 15:38 to play in the game.
The lead changed hands on each of the next few possessions before the Mules went back in front 51-49 on a layup from Reaves with 14:02 remaining. A three-pointer from Kyle Wolf pushed the lead to four. Later, Brad Woodson's jumper gave UCM a five-point lead 56-51. The Lopers rallied to tie the game at 64, but Reaves hit a three from the top of the key to beat the shot clock and put UCM back in front for good.
The lead grew to four, but a three-point play by Trey Lansman cut the lead to one at 68-67 with 1:32 to play.
DJ Richardson's driving layup on the next possession pushed the lead back to three. A pair of free throws by
Jakob Lowrance gave the Mules a five-point edge, 72-67, with :45 left. The lead was three at 73-70 when Isaiah McKay scored to pull UNK within one. Reaves hit two free throws to push the lead back to three and on the ensuing possession he rebounded a missed three by McKay. He made both free throws and gave UCM the five-point win.
Reaves led four Mules in double figures with 20 points and also had a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Richardson finished with a season-high 16, while Wolf and Marquiez Lawrence had 11 and 10, respectively.
Lansman led UNK with a game-high 29 points. He was 9-of-14 from the field and 10-of-15 at the free throw line. McKay finished with 12 points and Yashua Trent had 11.
SCOUTING FORT HAYS STATE
• The Tigers finished the 2016-17 season 18-11 overall and 11-8 in the MIAA. They finished for a tie for fourth in the league and made it to the MIAA Quarterfinals.
• Senior Haldey Gillum is the lone returning All-MIAA performer for FHSU. He averaged 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his junior campaign. He is the only senior on this year's squad.
• Gillum leads the team in scoring and rebounds this season averaging 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. His 18.1 points per game are fourth highest in the league this season, while his rebounds per game are 10th.
• Brady Werth is the only other FHSU player averaging double figures at 11.4 points per game. He, along with Gillum, are both shooting over 50 percent at 50.5 and 55.1, respectively. Werth is also averaging 5.3 boards per game.
• Kyler Kinnamon has been a key factor in the Tigers offensive game averaging 4.8 assists per game, which ranks third in the MIAA this season. He averages 2.0 steals per game, which is tied for third best in the league.
• Kinnamon and Marcus Cooper are both averaging 7.8 points per game
• As a team, the Tigers are averaging 84.1 points per game which ranks second in the MIAA. They hold their opposition to 67.5 points per game.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
• The Lopers went 20-10 and a season ago, with a 12-7 record against MIAA opponents to finish third in the regular season standings. Their season ended in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals with 75-57 defeat by UCM.
• Four All-MIAA performers return to this year's UNK team including preseason All-American selection Trey Lansman. The other All-MIAA returners are Ty Danielson, and Isaiah McKay, and Yashua Trent.
• Four players are averaging double-digits points for UNK, with Lansman leading the way at 20.8 points per game. He is second in the MIAA in scoring this season. He averages 9.5 rebounds per game to lead UNK and ranks third in the league.
• Trent is the second leading Loper scorer at 14.8 points per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. He is also the second leading rebounder on the team with 4.2 boards per game. His 3.9 assist per game are tops for the Lopers and tied for seventh bets in the league.
• Lane Rohrich and Danielson are the other double figure scorers at 13.2 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Rochrich leads the way in field goal percentage for UNK at 51.8 percent shooting per game.
• Danielson leads the MIAA in free throw percentage with 91.0 percent this season on 61-67 shooting.
• The Lopers are averaging 79.4 points per game this season on 46.9 percent shooting. Their opponents are not far behind averaging 78.7 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting.
LAST TIME OUT • CENTRAL MISSOURI 87, MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE 61 • 12/30/17
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 30, 2017)-- Central Missouri Mules Basketball led wire-to-wire as they downed the Missouri Valley College Vikings 87-61 at home on Saturday afternoon for their final non-conference game of the regular season.
DJ Richardson and
Matt Wilkinson scored career-highs of 22 and 16 points, respectively to lead the Mules.
• The Mules (10-2) shot 28-64 from the floor for 43.8% and nailed a season-high 17 triples on 39 attempts. The Vikings (8-5) did outshoot the Mules going 47.1% (24-51), but had just http://ucmathletics.com/index.aspx one made three on 13 attempts for 7.7%.
• Richardson and Wilkinson each had solid first half performances scoring 12 and 11, respectively, to lead the Mules. The Mules shot 15-31 in the first half, with eight made threes.
• UCM got the game started with a 13-2 run and held the Vikings to under 10 points for nearly 10 minutes to start the game. Wilkinson found his rhythm early scoring eight of his 11 in the first 10 minutes of action.
• The Mules also found a groove from beyond the arc nailing eight triples on 17 attempts (47.1%). They allowed just five three-point attempts by the Vikings, but none found the bottom of the net.
• MVC managed to stay within 10 of UCM for most of the first half. Remy Price nailed a pair of free throws to make it 30-21, UCM, with 5:34 to play in the half, but an 8-0 UCM run stopped any means of keeping it close for MVC.
• The Mules went into the halftime break leading by 17, 44-27, and never allowed the Vikings to get within 15 of them the rest of the game. They started the second half making four of their first five shots, three of which were triples to lead the Vikings 56-31.
• Richardson added 10 points in the second frame, while
Jakob Lowrance scored 10. Lowrance was 0-1 in the first half from beyond the arc, but bounced back going 3-3 in the second.
• UCM had two second half scoring runs, both 11-0, to keep the Vikings from ever getting back in the game. Their second 11-0 run help them establish their largest lead of the game at 34 points with 5:25 to play.
• Lowrance accounted for eight of the 11 points in the second scoring run with two triples and a pair of made free throws.
Spencer Reaves added the other three with a made triple of his own.
• The second half continued to be kind to the Mules from three-point range as they hit nine more on 22 attempts. The Mules forced 19 Viking turnovers and converted that to 27 points while limiting themselves to just 10 for the game.
• Richardson put up double-figures in both halves to finish with 22 points. He shot 7-12 from the floor and had four made three's on the afternoon. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and went 4-4 at the free throw line.
• Wilkinson added five points in the second half to finish with 16. He was 6-11 shooting and was 50% from three-point range (4-8). He also handed out four assists.
• Lowrance scored 13, with 11 coming in the second half. He tied Richardson for the team lead in rebounds with 6 and had two blocked shots.
• Reaves and
Brandon Emmert were the final two players to score in double-digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Reaves had four assists, while Emmert pulled in four rebounds.
•
Blake Spellman dished out eight assists on the afternoon and added six points on two made triples.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• Central Missouri is 2-1 to start conference play after picking up wins over Missouri Western and Southwest Baptist. UCM fell in the league lidlifter at home to Northwest Missouri, 79-55, on Dec. 10.
• UCM has won back-to-back MIAA games after a 0-1 start.
• The Mules are 37-26 in conference play under
Doug Karleskint.
MULES IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
• The Mules went 8-1 in non-conference action after a 26 point win, 87-61, over Missouri Valley College on Dec. 30.
• The Mules were 8-3 in non-conference games last season, including a 6-2 mark in regular season non-con games. They are 146-36 over the last 16 seasons.
• Central Missouri is 70-2 in the last 72 non-conference home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES AT HOME
• UCM is 4-2 at home this season after defeating Missouri Valley College 87-61 on Dec. 30 and are 38-13 at home under
Doug Karleskint.
• UCM is 175-24 at home over the last 13 seasons, including 71-2 against non-conference opponents and 104-22 in MIAA play.
• The Mules are 503-101 (.833) in their 42nd season playing home games at the Multipurpose Building.
MULES ON THE ROAD
• UCM is 1-0 on the road this season after defeating Southwest Baptist 78-76 back on Dec. 16.
• The Mules were 7-5 on the road last season.
• UCM is 18-17 in road games under
Doug Karleskint.
1,000 POINT CLUB
• 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 198 points this season and now has 1,067 for his career. He is the 20th player in Mules Basketball History to eclipse 1,000 career points.
• Reaves 1,067 points ranks 19th on the UCM career scoring list. He needs to score 44 points to move up to 18th all-time in UCM history.
MIAA STAT LEADERS
• As a team, UCM is allowing 62.6 points per game which ranks second-best in the MIAA in scoring defense this season and is sixth-best in all of Division II.
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Spencer Reaves is eighth in the MIAA in scoring and 14th in field goal percentage at 16.5 points per game and 50.4 percent.
• Lowrance is third in the MIAA in field goal percentage at 61.1 percent, while averaging 14.6 points per game. He is tied for sixth in blocks with 1.1 per game.
• Reaves is fourth the MIAA free throw percentage at 88.2 percent on 45-51 made free throws.
• Lowrance is 11th in the league in rebounding averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. Reaves is tied for 21st with 5.1 rebounds per game.
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Blake Spellman is averaging 4.2 assists per game which is fifth best in the MIAA. He leads the league in assist-turnover ratio at 4.5, which is third in Division II this season.
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DJ Richardson is fifth in the conference in steals with 1.9 per game. Reaves are tied for 13th at 1.3 steals per game, while
Clarence Smith is tied for 18th at 1.1 per game.
UCM DURING THE KARLESKINT ERA
•
Doug Karleskint has a record of 70-33 (.680) in his fourth season as head coach at Central Missouri and a 159-67 (.704) 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 1,685-957 (.638) record in 2,642 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
• The Mules will hit the road, but remain in-state following their two game home stand. They will take on the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats and the Missouri Western State Griffons as MIAA action continues.
• UCM will be at Northwest Missouri on Thursday, Jan. 11, with the game tipping off at 7:30 p.m. UCM and Missouri Western will tip-off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13.
