WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Jan. 23, 2021) - The Central Missouri Mules basketball team picked up its third straight win with a 77-64 victory over Rogers State. Central Missouri hit a season-high 12 threes while four Mules finished in double-figures lead by
Garrett Luinstra with 13.
How it Happened:
• It was another low-scoring, back-and-forth battle for the Mules in the first half. Central Missouri lead for the first minutes following the tip-off until a Joey Saracco layup sparked an 8-0 Rogers State run to give the Hillcats a 13-8 advantage at the 12:23 mark.
• At the 10-minute mark in the first half, a
Jalen Blaize was followed with a two-handed slam by
Ante Sustic for the Mules to regain the lead at 17-14.
• Central Missouri held onto the lead for the remaining minutes of the first half, seeing as much as a seven-point advantage over Rogers State at three different times.
• Down 26-31 to begin the second half, Rogers State slowly chipped away at the Mules lead and eventually tying the game at 42-42 with 13:30 left to play.
• A layup by
Mohammed Abubakar was followed with back-to-back UCM threes by Blaize and
Koray Gilbert to take back the lead once again.
• Central Missouri was barely off target in the final 10 minutes, seeing as much as a 16 point advantage of the Hillcats with under two minutes to play.
• A pair of free-throws from
Ante Sustic would be the final UCM points scored as the Mules defeated Rogers state 77-64.
• After a 37% shooting performance in the first half, UCM's offense came to life in the second half hitting 16-30 from the field for 53.3% and 7-15 from the three for 46.7%.
• In total, the Mules shot 45.6% (26-57) from the floor, 41.4% (12-29) from the three-point range, and 76.5% (13-17) from the free-throw line.
• Rogers State finished 19-48 from the field for 39.6%, 7-23 from behind the arc for 30.4%, and 19-48 from the line for 82.6%.
• The Hillcats also missed multiple chances to get shots off as they finished with 17 turnovers which UCM capitalized on, scoring 27 points off RSU's mistakes.
• Defensively, Rogers State did see an advantage at the boards as they out-rebounding the Mules 36-27.
Leading the Mules:
• Starting guard Luinstra finished 6-9 from the floor and 1-2 from the three to lead the Mules offense with 13 points.
• Blaize led all shooters from behind the arc with a game-high four threes to finish with 12 points. Blaize also tied the team-high three steals.
•
Ja'Cor Nelson hit 3-7 while also going 5-7 at the foul line to end with 11 points. Nelson joined Blaize with three steals and tied the team-high three assists.
• Gilbert finished with 10 points.
•
Dillon Blain led the UCM defense with six rebounds and added nine points.
Leading the Hillcats:
• Devin Pullum finished 5-12 and led RSU with three threes to finish with 14 points.
• Darraja Parnell finished with 13 points and lead the Hillcats with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Parnell also led RSU with three assists.
News & Notes:
• Central Missouri's 12 threes are the most the Mules have made this season.
• The Mules protected the ball well, finishing with a season-low six turnovers.
• Luinstra is a first-time leading scorer for the Mules offense.
• Blain has led the Mules in rebounding in back-to-back games.
• The all-time series between the UCM and RSU is now tied 1-1.
Up Next:
Central Missouri basketball is set to host another pair of MIAA matchups in the Multipurpose Building next week. The Mules first face Missouri Western on Thursday, Jan. 28th with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
