WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 29, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball will host the final event of 2019 against Saint Mary's in the Multipurpose Building on New Year's Eve. 

Opponent: 
Saint Mary's Spires (7-6, 4-6 KCAC)

When:
Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. 

Where:
University of Central Missouri - Multipurpose Building - Warrensburg, Mo. 

Tip Off: 
• Central Missouri continues their non-conference competition over the break against the Saint Mary's of Kansas.
• The Spires tip off against the Mules after a 16-day game break while it's been 12 days since UCM's last competition. 
• The Mules are currently on a two-game win streak after upsetting the No. 1 team in the nation, Northwest Missouri, followed by a win over Missouri Baptist.
• Saint Mary's travels to the Burg on a three-game losing streak. The Spires last win was a 76-66 victory over Bethany College on December 5.
• The Mules are currently 4-4 while playing in the Multipurpose Building this season.
• Saint Mary's has never defeated Central Missouri and have met a total of three times in a series that dates back to an 88-71 Mules victory in the 2001-2002 season.

How to Follow:
• Wednesday's game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action.
• The game 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.
• Links to live stats and live video can also be found at ucmathletics.com.

Quick Hits:
Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 18, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball picked up their fifth win of the season with a 67-58 victory over Missouri Baptist. • The Mules hit 50% from inside the arc for the first time this season.
• Central Missouri and Missouri Baptist both shot over 50% from the field in the first half as the Spartans hit 15-27 and the Mules 14-26.
• With 2:06 left to play in the first half, UCM and MBU were tied 33-33. Back-to-back points in the paint by John Yaeger and Gerald Moore awarded the Spartans a four-point advantage heading into the half.
• Missouri Baptist continued to lead into the second half until a layup by Gaven Pinkley regained the Mules lead at the 13:32 mark.
• Moments later, Michael Winger scored nine points within one minute for the Mules with three consecutive three's, increasing the Mules lead to 54-46 with 11:25 left to play.
'• Central Missouri outscored the Spartans 13-10 in the final 10 minutes to clinch the 67-58 victory.
• In total, the Mules finished 25-50 for 50% from the field and hit 8-22 from the three-point range for 36.4%.
• The Spartans went 22-55 for 40% from inside the arc and only hit four of their 21 attempted three's for 19%.
• Both UCM and MBU finished with 32 rebounds while the Spartans 12 offensive boards helped them recorded 13 second chance points compared the Mules five.
• Pinkley led the UCM offense with 16 points against the Spartans. The sophomore forward hit 6-8 from inside the paint and went 4-6 from the free-throw line to shoot over 70%. Defensively, Pinkley shared the team-high of six rebounds.
• Matt Wilkinson hit four field goals and went 4-4 at the foul line to recorded his third double figure game of the season with 12 points. Wilkinson also finished with a season-high of two blocks.
• Winger finished with nine point while DeAndre Sorrells and Joshua Greer each had eight.
• Garrett Luinstra led the Mules with a season-high of five assists while also totaling five points.

Perviously Against Saint Mary's
• Central Missouri posts a 3-0 record in the all-time series against Saint Mary's that dates back to a 88-71 Mules victory in the 2001-2002 season.
• The last time these two teams met was in the 2011-2012 season. The Mules defeated the Spires 94-68 at home.

Individual Milestones
• Matt Wilkinson surpassed the 500 career point marker in the first nine games this season. Wilkinson also surpassed 100 rebounds on his career and is currently one board away from 200 career rebounds.
• With 58 points this season, Daniel Farris surpassed the 400 career point marker in the Mules upset over #1 Northwest Missouri. The junior guard is also 14 assists away from 200 career assists.
• Gaven Pinkley had a career-high game against Upper Iowa in the second week of the 2019-20 season. Pinkley scored a career-high of 21 points and brought down a career-high of 17 rebounds.
• Michael Winger had a career-high shooting performance in UCM's 82-46 win over Central Christian on Nov. 30, 2019. The redshirt junior hit 7-8 from 87.5% from the field and 5-6 for 83.3% from the three point range to record a career-high of 21 points.

Scouting the Competition:
• After posting a 13-17 record last season, the Spires are off to a 7-6 start to their 2019-20 campaign.
• Saint Mary's travels to the Burg on a three-game losing streak. The Spires last win was a 76-66 victory over Bethany College on December 5.
• The Spires are currently averaging 72.6 points per game, led by their senior guard Raylon Howard who's averaging 14 points per game.
• Howard is shooting 40.9% from the field and 28.9% from the three-point range. • Jesse Moss leads the Spires from outside the arc with 27 three's and a three-point field goal percentage of 48.2.
• Brad Hailey and Christian Carmichael each lead Saint Mary's defense with 37 rebounds each.

Mules Feed:
• Central Missouri went 1-4 in their first five games this season for the first time since the start of the 1970-71 season.
• As a team, the Mules are currently shooting 42.9% from the field and 34.5% from the three-point range.
• Central Missouri currently ranks second in the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage and third in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score an average of 63.0 points per game.
• The Mules also rank in the top-10 of the MIAA in three-pointers made per game averaging 7.9 per contest, and third in the league in steals per game averaging 8.2 through 10 games.
• Central Missouri's upset over No. 1 Northwest Missouri last week was the first time UCM has defeated the No. 1 ranked team was when they beat Metro State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals back in 2014.
• Central Missouri's 47 second-half points against the Bearcats are their most in a half against a Division II opponent this season.
• Sophomore forward Gaven Pinkley paces Central Missouri averaging 14.4 points and about six rebounds per game. Pinkley has scored in double figures in eight of the Mules 10 games so far this season, including a season-high performance of 21 points against Augustana and followed with a 20-point effort against Upper Iowa.
• Pinkley also ranks third in the MIAA with an average field goal percentage of 54.1.
• Redshirt junior Michael Winger shot lights out in UCM's 82-46 win over Central Christian last week. Winger hit 87.5% from the field and went 5-6 from the three to record a career-high of 21 points against the Saints.
• Winger leads the Mules from outside the arc with a three-point field goal percentage of 47.1.
• Junior guard Daniel Farris leads the Mules with 39 assists which ranks in the top-10 of the MIAA.