TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 8, 2018) - Down two starters, Central Missouri Mules basketball struggled for offense Saturday afternoon in Topeka. The Mules tried to control the tempo with a half-court offense, but the Washburn Ichabods were too much and pulled away for a 70-50 win. The loss is the Mules third straight and puts them at 5-4 and 0-2 in the MIAA.
How It Happened
• The Ichabods controlled all aspects of the game and finished shooting 42% to the Mules 36%.
• Washburn was hot early from three, hitting eight in the first half, but finished hitting 39%. That was still better than the Mules were just just 4-18.
• In the second half, the Ichabods looked inside for scoring and led UCM 34-20 for the game in points inside the paint.
• The Mules turned the ball over 14 times which directly led to 12 Washburn points. Washburn also blocked eight Mules shots.
• The Ichabods held a 41-33 advantage in rebounding and 13-7 on the offensive glass. They outscored UCM 10-3 in second chance points.
• Central Missouri took an early lead, 4-3, after baskets from
Blake Spellman and
Brandon Emmert. The continued to lead midway through the first and
Matt Wilkinson gave them their largest lead, 16-10 with a layup at the 9:25 mark of the half.
• Washburn retook the lead, 19-18 less than two minutes later on a three from Tyler Geiman and never trailed again.
• Over the final five minutes, the Ichabods really turned it on and outscored the Mules 14-1 to take a 39-22 lead into the half.
• The Mules used a 7-2 run to start the second half to try to get back into the game and forced a Washburn timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Ichabods stopped a scoreless streak sinking a pair of free throws and the Mules couldn't get any closer the rest of the way, falling by 20.
It Was Over When...
• The Mules half court offense was working at the start, but Washburn turned on the jets and scored on five straight possess turning a four-point lead to an 18-point lead with a 14-0 run near the end of the first half.
Mules Stat Leaders
•
Brandon Emmert was the only Mule in double-figures with 11 points and six rebounds.
•
Daniel Farris dished out six assists while scoring three and grabbing three rebounds.
•
Michael Winger came off the bench to hit three of the four Mules three-pointers and scored nine points.
•
James Byrd scored seven with five rebounds.
•
Gaven Pinkley scored six points and blocked three shots.
For the Ichabods
• Javion Blake scored a game-high 12 points.
• David Salach and and Tyler Geiman each scored 11. Geiman added six assists.
• Sevon Witt scored 10 with seven boards.
• Will McKee grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
News and Notes
• The Mules were without starters
Jakob Lowrance and
Jafar Kinsey who missed his first game of the year.
•
James Byrd got the start in Kinsey's place, his first at UCM.
•
DJ Anderson and
Malik Barnett made their UCM season debuts.
• The Mules were also down double-digits at the half in last year's game at Washburn, before coming back with a big second half for the come-from-behind win.
Up Next
• Central Missouri will return home for a single game Wednesday, Dec. 12 against MidAmerica Nazarene. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Multi.
