WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 6, 2018)-- It took an overtime period, but Mules Basketball picked up their fifth straight win as they held off the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers, 88-81, Saturday afternoon at the UCM Multipurpose Building. Jakob Lowrance led the Central Missouri with a double-double scoring 21 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. With the win the Mules improve to 12-2 overall and 4-1 MIAA play.

How It Happened
• The Lopers (6-9, 2-4 MIAA) did outshoot the Mules from the floor 51.8% to 37.3%, but 18 turnovers that were converted to 17 UCM points help secure the home win for the Mules. The game produced 13 ties and 10 lead changes as the two teams went back-and-forth the whole time. 
• Early in the game, the Mules found themselves down three, 5-2, to the Lopers, but a 6-0 run gave them a 8-5 lead with 16:39 to play in the half. From that point on they traded shots and neither team led by more than four.
• UCM managed to grab two four point leads in the first half, both with under 10 minutes to play. Lowrance led the way for the Mules scoring 10 of his 21 in the first half. Blake Spellman was not far behind scoring eight in the first frame. Lowrance and Spencer Reaves both nailed two triples to as the Mules shot 41.4% from the floor in the first half (12-29). The Mules made two more triples than the Lopers, 5-3, and forced five first half turnovers. 
• With 4:09 to play, UCM held a 31-27 lead, but UNK scored five straight to lead 32-31. UCM responded closing out the half scoring four in a row to lead 35-32 at the break. Coming out of halftime, The 4-0 UCM run grew to 7-0 as Lowrance drove the lane for a layup and drew contact for the free throw attempt, which he made. UCM led 38-32 early in the second frame
• The second half was no different from the first twenty minutes as neither team created separation. Lowrance continued his strong play from the first half scoring seven in the second half. Reaves and Spellman both continued to play well as they scored eight and seven respectively.
• As the game reached the final five minutes of play, UNK held a one point lead, 58-57, and the two teams combined for 20 free throws. UCM went 8-10, while UNK went 9-10. Spellman took the final four attempts for the Mules with :12 to play, but went just 2-4. He gave UCM a 74-71 lead with :05 to play, but UNK drew contact on a three-point attempt on the next possession and made all three shots at the charity strip to send it to overtime.
• Lowrance dominated in overtime going 2-2 in the paint to score four points for the Mules. Reaves and DJ Richardson came up big at the free throw line going a combined 10-10 to help the Mules secure the seven point win at home.
• As a team, UCM matched a season-low in assists with just five, but in the second half and overtime they had just one combined turnover, while forcing six by UNK. For the game, the Mules finished 29-33 from the charity strip (87.9) and their bench outscored the Loper's 19-7.

It Was Over When...
• The Lopers got within one of the Mules in overtime, 80-79, with 3:05 to play, but a strong jumper by Lowrance in the paint help push the Mules lead back to three, 82-79, and Richardson went 4-4 at the free throw line in final :23 to help ice the game and seal the win. 

Mules Stat Leaders
• Lowrance notched his second double-double of the season with his 21 points and 11 rebounds. He went 9-22 from the field with two made triples and two blocks in 33 minutes of action.
• Reaves poured in 16 points for the Mules and grabbed six boards. He struggled shooting from the floor going 3-15, but was a perfect 8-8 at the charity strip. He led the team with three steals.
• Richardson put up 15 on 3-6 shooting and, like Reaves, he did not miss a free throw also going 8-8. He grabbed four rebounds and also tabbed one steal and one assist.
• Spellman also scored 15 points. He was 4-7 shooting from the floor and and 3-4 from beyond the arc. 
• Clarence Smith finished one point shy of 10 with nine, while Brandon Emmert chipped in six points and also pulled down four rebounds. 

For the Lopers
• Trey Lansman led the way for UNK scoring a game-high 34 points and pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds. He was 10-19 from the floor and went 11-13 at the free throw line. He also tabbed four steals and had two blocked shots.
• Ty Danielson scored 14 for the Lopers on 5-9 shooting. He also handed out two assists and and had two blocked shots.
• Lane Rohrich was the only other double figure scorer with 13 points on six made shots. He also grabbed four rebounds.
• Isaiah McKay dished out a game-high five assists while chipping in five points.

News and Notes
• The Mules match their longest winning streak of the season at five. They also won five straight from Nov. 18, 2017-Dec. 5, 2017 earlier this season. They are now 6-2 at home this season and winners of their last four home contests. 
• This is UCM's first overtime game since Feb. 2, 2017, when the team fell to Lincoln 70-63. With the win, UCM improved to 5-4 in overtime games under Doug Karleskint.
• With the win the Mules have won their fourth straight MIAA game and improve to 39-26 in MIAA play under Doug Karleskint.
• UCM scored a season-high 88 points in the win over UNK. The previous best was 87 against Missouri Valley College back on Dec. 30, 2017.
• Reaves now has 1,102 career points in a Mules uniform. He needs just nine more points to move up to 18th on the all-time career scoring list in Mules Basketball history.
• With his 21 points scored, Lowrance now has 703 for his career. He has 279 career rebounds and needs 21 to reach 300.
• Richardson has now scored 10-plus points in 12 consecutive games this season.

Up Next
• The Mules will once again hit the road for a pair of MIAA games next week. They'll take on top-ranked Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western for the second time this season on January 11th and 13th, respectively. The Mules fell to Northwest Missouri back in mid-December, but won against Missouri Western.