Mules Upset No. 10 Missouri Southern

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 18, 2020) - Central Missouri Mules Basketball delivered No. 10 Missouri Southern their first MIAA loss with the 54-52 upset victory at home Saturday afternoon. This is the Mules second upset of a top-10 team this season.

How it Happened: 
• Missouri Southern shot a season low of 34.9% from the field and 17.4% from the three-point range. 
• Of the Lions 14 three-point attempts in the first half, only three were on target while the Mules finished the half 6-9 from behind the arc for 66.7%.
• The Mules were down 10-3 early to start the first half until a jumper by Koray Gilbert began a UCM 11-0 run, giving the Mules their first lead of the game at 14-10 with 10:53 to play till the half. 
• The Lions and the Mules went score-for-score in the remaining minutes of the first half to end it 27-27.
• Gaven Pinkley opened the second half with a quick 5-0 run for the Mules. 
• Central Missouri saw their largest lead of the game at seven-point advantage, 38-31, with 15:34 left to play. 
• With 8:08 to go the tables had turned as the Lions lead the Mules by five, 46-41. 
• A layup by Kendal Hampton and a pair of free throws by Pinkley were followed with a jump shot by Daniel Farris to tie the game 46-46 with just under five minutes remaining. 
• The Mules outscored Missouri Southern in the final five minutes 8-6. 
• Missouri Southern's 52 points is their second-lowest scoring performance on the year. 
• The Lions finished 15-43 from the field and were just 4-23 from the three. 
• Central Missouri recorded their second-best three-point shooting performance of the season, hitting 9-16 for 56.3%. The Mules also went 20-48 from the field for 41.7%. 
• The Lions had the slight edge on the rebounding battle, bringing down 32 boards compared to the Mules 31. 
• The Mules were able to capitalize on their Lions 15 turnovers as they totaled 12 points off MSSU mistakes. 

It Was Over When... 
• With Missouri Southern down by one and 49 seconds remaining, the Lions made back-to-back trips to the foul line as Kinzer Lambert went 2-4 and tied the game 52-52.
• Lambert's final free throw attempt was a miss, rebounded by Hampton who would take it himself and score a jumper in the paint with 1.5 seconds remaining. 
• The Lion's were unable to get a final shot off as their long throw-in attempt was picked off by Hampton, Mules win 54-52.

Leading the Mules: 
• Gilbert finished 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from the three-point range to record a season-high 14 points.  
• Senior guard Hampton recorded his first double-double of the season with a season-high and team-high of 11 rebounds and 13 points. 
• Pinkley lead the Mules from the three, hitting 3-3 as the sophomore totaled 12 points and four boards. 
• Hampton and Farris each totaled three assists.

For the Lions:
• Missouri Southern's 6-9 forward Cam Martin led with 16 points. 
• Elyjah Clark recorded the team-high of seven rebounds while also leading the Lions with three steals.
• Lambert finished with three assists.

News & Notes:
• Tonight's win ends a seven-game win streak for the Lions. The last time MSSU lost was against Texas A&M-Commerce on Dec. 16. 
• Central Missouri's two MIAA victories were both upsets against top-10 teams. Prior to tonight's win over No. 10 Missouri Southern, the Mules defeated No. 1 Northwest Missouri 72-60 on Dec. 7.
• This is UCM's first victory over the Lions since the 2016-17 post-season. 
• Pinkley has now scored in double-figures in 11 consecutive games. 
• Shae Wyatt earned his first career start. 
• The Mules are now 6-5 while playing in the Multipurpose Building this season. 

Up Next:
Mules Basketball (7-9, 2-5 MIAA) is back on the road next week as they travel to Oklahoma for a pair of MIAA match ups. They first face Rogers State (14-4, 6-3 MIAA) on Thursday night at 7:30 in Claremore, Okla.