WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 5, 2019) - Central Missouri Mules basketball fell in their MIAA opener Thursday night to Missouri Western 67-63. Missouri Western outscored the Mules 10-4 in the final 3:27 of the game as UCM falls to 3-5 on the season.

How it Happened
• The back-and-forth game feature 10 ties and 12 lead changes.
• Offense was a premium, especially in the first half. For the game, Missouri Western hit 44% of their field goals and UCM 38%.
• The three-ball wasn't falling for either side as UCM went 4-15 and MWSU 5-22, including 1-13 in the first half.
• The Mules defense forced 19 turnovers and they outscored the Griffons 21-5 in points off turnovers. The Mules lost the ball just eight times themselves.
• Missouri Western won the rebounding battle 38-26 and scored 14 second-chance points.
• The Griffons got to the free throw line 26 times and sank 22 while the Mules were 13-18 at the stripe.
• Trailing by one with less than five minutes to play in the first half, the Mules scored six straight to take a 24-19 lead. An offensive rebound led to a DeAndre Sorrells three-pointer to cap the scoring stretch.
• After Griffons free throws, the Mules went down the court in the final 11 seconds and Sorrells was fouled with 0.3 seconds left before the half. He sank both attempts and at the half UCM led 28-23.
• Central Missouri was never able to extend that lead as the Griffons hit a three on their first possession of the second half.
• The teams traded baskets throughout the half as UCM held a slight lead until a Griffon jumper gave them their first lead of the half, 51-50.
• UCM got the lead back and after five straight points from Gaven Pinkley, including an old-fashioned three-point play, UCM was up two, 59-57 with 3:43 left.
• A UCM foul and a turnover led to five straight Griffon points as they capitalized to go up 62-59 and led the rest of the way.
• Up by one with a minute to play, the Griffons didn't take another field goal, but the Mules sent Will Eames to the line six times and he hit five of them to hold off UCM 67-63.

It Was Over When...
• Trailing by three points, the Mules were hoping for a quick score to cut it to one with about 15 seconds left to play. UCM missed two field goals before the Griffons got the rebound and the Mules were forced to foul. Eames went 1-2 at the line with eight seconds left to put MWSU up by four.

Mules Stat Leaders
• DeAndre Sorrells scored 20 points on 7-12 shooting with a pair of threes.
• Gaven Pinkley added 11 points, collecting five at the free throw line.
• Kendale Hampton and Garrett Luinstra each scored seven.
• Dyllan Robinson was 3-3 from the floor for six points.

For the Griffons
• Will Eames scored a game-high 25 points with 10 rebounds.
• Reese Glover scored 14 and knocked in three triples.
• Tyus Millhollin scored 12 going 6-7 at the free throw line with three assists.

News and Notes
• Sorrells' 20 points are a career-high.
• Gaven Pinkley has reached double-digit points in six of eight games.
• This is the Mules first loss to Missouri Western since the 2015-16 season.
• The Mules are 2-3 this season in games in which they led at halftime.
• UCM held their opponent to below 25% from three for the second straight game.

Up Next
• Central Missouri continues their five-game home stand Saturday, Dec. 7 when they host Northwest Missouri with a 3 p.m. tipoff.