WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 22, 2020) - After upsetting their second top-10 team of the season, Central Missouri Mules Basketball hopes to carry that momentum with them on the road to Oklahoma in search for their first road win of the season. 

Opponents:
Rogers State Hillcats (14-4, 6-3 MIAA)
Northeastern State RiverHawks (12-6, 5-4 MIAA) 

When:
vs. Rogers State - Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.
vs. Northeastern State - Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3:30

Where:
Thursday - Claremore Expo Center - Claremore, Okla. 
Saturday - NSU Event Center - Tahlequah, Okla. 

How to watch:
• This week's games will be aired on the MIAA Network on the Mules BlueFrame portal. Live stats are available and found at ucmathletics.com.
• Both game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action.

Tip Off:
• Central Missouri is fresh off their upset over No. 10 Missouri Southern last Saturday while playing at home. The loss discontinued the Lions seven-game winning streak and was their first MIAA loss of the season.
• The upset was the Mules second against a top-10 team this season as they picked up their first MIAA victory against No. 1 Northwest Missouri on Dec. 7. 
• Both the Hillcats and the RiverHawks recorded back-to-back MIAA victories last week on the road against Central Oklahoma and Newman. Rogers State defeated Newman 82-59, then UCO 70-65. Northeastern beat UCO 58-56, then Newman 75-66. 
• The Mules are meeting Rogers State for the first time in program history while Saturday's game against the RiverHawks marks the ninth meetings between the two programs. 
• Central Missouri is currently 0-4 on the road this season.   

Quick Hits:
Last Time Out
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.
• 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%.
• 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. 
• 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. 

Previously vs. Rogers State
• Central Missouri and Rogers State are meeting for the first time on Thursday. 

Previously vs. Northeastern State
• Saturday's match-up marks just the 9th meeting between the RiverHawks and the Mules.
• Central Missouri leads the all-time series 5-3.
• Northeastern State won the last meeting against the Mules 84-72 in Tahlequah, Okla. last season. While playing in Tahlequah, the Mules and the RiversHawks are tied 2-2.  

Scouting the Competition:
Rogers State Hillcats (14-4, 6-3 MIAA)
• Rogers State finished the 2018-19 season with a record of 20-12 overall and 8-8 in the Heartland Conference. New to the MIAA this season, the Hillcats currently rank fourth in the league with a record of 6-3 and are 14-4 overall. 
• The Hillcats currently rank third in the league scoring an average of 76.8 points per game. As a team they are currently shooting 47.1% from the field and 38.1% from the three-point range, both which rank fourth in the league. 
• Marques Sumner leads Rogers averaging 13.2 points per game. The senior guard also ranks in to the top-10 in the league with an average of 2.3 three's per contest. 
• Christopher Miller is averaging 10.1 points per game and currently posts a field goal percentage of 61.2% which ties for first in the MIAA. 
• Defensively, Brewster Peacock leads the Hillcats with an average of 5.3 boards per game while also averaging 11.4 points per game. 
• In their last outing against Central Oklahoma, Rogers State's 42 points in the paint is the second highest output for the Hillcats this season and a season best in MIAA play.

Northeastern State RiverHawks (12-6, 5-4 MIAA) 
• After finished 14-15 overall and 8-11 in the MIAA last season, the RiverHawks were picked one spot above the Mules in fifth in the 2019 preseason poll. 
• Northeastern State has the second-best scoring defense in the league allowing teams to score an average of 64.6 points per game. The RiverHawks lead the league in defensive field goal percentage at 39.3% 
• Offensively, Northeastern ranks seventh in the league scoring an average of 75.2 points per game, lead by Caleb Smith who averages 16.5 per game. 
Smith recorded his 750th point in his 45th game as a RiverHawk. He leads the team in starts with 45 and has hit double-digit scoring in 15 games this season. 
• Redshirt senior Kendrick Thompson leads the RiverHawks from the three-point range. Thompson averages 2.3 three's per game while posting a 38.3 three-point field goal percentage. 
• Defensively, Aaron Givens and Josh Ihek both rank in the top-5 in the MIAA with 1.4 blocked shots per game. Givens also leads Northeastern with 6.7 rebounds a game
• In their last outing against Newman, Smith lead the RiverHawks for the eighth time this season with 26-points, it was the 13th time in his career he surpassed 20-points. Troy Locke had a season-best afternoon off the bench with 16-points on 6-for-10 shooting while grabbing five boards. 

Mules Feed:
• As a team, the Mules are currently shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.9% from the three-point range. 
• Central Missouri currently ranks fourth in the MIAA in defensive field goal percentage and in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score a low average of 66.2 points per game.
• From the three-point range, UCM ranks fifth in the league shooting 37.2% from behind the arc. 
• The Mules also rank third in the league with 7.6 steals per game, lead by Daniel Farris who ranks in the top-10 with 1.5 steals per game.
• Central Missouri's upset over No. 1 Northwest Missouri on Dec. 7 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.
• The Mules are 2-0 against ranked teams this season. Their only MIAA victories were from upsetting No. 1 Northwest Missouri and No. 10 Missouri Southern. 
• Sophomore forward Gaven Pinkley paces Central Missouri averaging 14.4 points and about six rebounds per game. Pinkley has scored in double figures in 14 of the Mules 16 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 ranks fourth in the MIAA with a field goal percentage of 53.8. 
• Kendale Hampton leads the Mules from outside the arc with 1.7 three's per game. 
• Junior guard Farris leads the Mules with 56 assists which ranks in the top-10 of the MIAA. 

Individual Milestones:
• Matt Wilkinson surpassed the 500 career point marker in the first nine games this season. He is now only 18 points away from hitting 600 career points. Wilkinson also surpassed 200 career rebounds this season.
• In Central Missouri's game against Saint Mary's, Wilkinson recorded a career-high performance with 22 points.
• Daniel Farris surpassed the 400 career point marker in the Mules upset over #1 Northwest Missouri. The junior guard also surpassed 200 career assists this season. 
• 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. 
• Pinkley surpassed 300 career points in her career-high 23-point performance against Lincoln on Jan. 11. 
• 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. 
• Winger is 20 points away from 300 career points.