WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 23, 2019) - It may have been senior day, but it was a junior, Matt Wilkinson, who hit some clutch shots in the final minutes of the Mules 69-66 win over Missouri Western. The Mules had a lead, lost it, and then came back for their 14th win of the year to move to 14-12 this season and 7-10 in the MIAA.

How it Happened
• Central Missouri finished the game shooting 45%. They were red hot to start, going 14-28 in the first half, and finished 23-51.
• The Mules defense also came out strong to start the game as the Griffons were just 9-21, 29% in the opening half. They finished the game shooting 41%, making 18-35 in the second half.
• Both teams made seven three-point shots and the Griffons outscored UCM in the paint, 34-30.
• Central Missouri outscored the Griffons by 11 at the free throw line, which proved to be the difference in the game. 
• Trailing early, 11-7, UCM scored eight straight and a dunk by Gaven Pinkley gave the Mules a 15-13 lead.
• The Mules never trailed the rest of the half as the Griffons had a hard time finding the basket against the Mules defense. MWSU went 7:35 without scoring as the Mules opened up a 28-16 lead.
• Both teams traded baskets for the rest of the half, and UCM was still on top by double-digits, 36-25 at the break.
• Coming out of the break, the Mules extended their lead to 12, 42-30, just over two minutes in. But in 5:04 seconds that lead would be gone as the Griffons went on a 15-2 run for their first lead, 45-44, since early in the first half.
• The teams went back-and-forth bit with two ties and seven lead changes in the next 6:38 and with just over six minutes remaining, the Griffons were still up one, 56-55. 
• Missouri Western stretched their lead to seven, 64-57, following a three by Tyus Millhollin with 3:19 left to play forcing a Mules timeout. 
• That's when Matt Wilkinson stepped up. The junior hit a three out of the break and following a block from Jakob Lowrance, buried another on UCM's next possession to cut the lead to one, 64-63. 
• Missouri Western turned the ball over only three times, but Daniel Farris stripped Tyrell Carroll and made the transition layup to put UCM back in front, 65-64.
• The Mules led the rest of the way as Wilkinson and Kinsey each went 2-2 at the free throw line down the stretch. In the Griffons final possession, the Mule defense held strong, forcing a contested three that hit off the glass.

It Was Over When...
• This was another game that came down to the wire. Jafar Kinsey put UCM up three, 69-66, making a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left. The Mule defense suffocated the Griffons forcing a well-guarded three that hit the backboard and well into the arms of UCM as time expired.

Mules Stat Leaders
• Jakob Lowrance nearly pulled down a double-double finishing with a team-best 16 points and eight rebounds.
• Matt Wilkinson went 3-4 from three and 3-4 at the foul line and scored 12 points to go along with six rebounds.
• Jafar Kinsey was also in double-figures with 10 points, six coming at the free throw line.
• Brandon Emmert provided some pop off the bench with nine points and five rebounds.
• Daniel Farris finished with eight points and four assists.

For the Griffons
• Bryan Hudson scored a game-high 26 points on 12-20 shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds.
• Tyrell Carroll added 17 points  with eight boards and four assists.
• Tyus Millhollin was 3-10 from three and scored 11 points.
• Lavon Hightower and Alex Martin each scored eight.

News and Notes
• Central Missouri has now won seven straight over Missouri Western and 16 of the last 17.
• Solomon Finley played a career-high 22 minutes.
• Jakob Lowrance moved into 16th place in scoring all-time at UCM with his 1,154th point. 
• Jafar Kinsey went over 300 points at UCM.
• Matt Wilkinson's three three-pointers give him 75 for his career. 

Up Next
• The Mules will close out the regular season on the road with two games next week starting Wednesday, Feb. 27 in St. Charles, Mo. against Lindenwood.