KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Central Missouri Mules (1-0, 0-0 MIAA) defeated the Bemidji State Beavers (0-1, 0-0 NSIC) by a final score of 74-68 on Friday, Nov. 8, inside historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo. in the opening game of the 2024 Central Region Challenge.        
With just over five minutes to play in the opening half, the Beavers held a nine-point advantage but was quickly cut to four thanks to a DeAirius Barker (12 points, game-high five assists, and one steal) triple followed by a layup from Kansas City, Mo. native Elijah Farr (10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals) helping the Mules take a 37-36 lead at the break.
 
In the second half, the Beavers responded with a run of their own jumping out by as many as seven. Central Missouri answered with back-to-back three pointers from sophomores Tim Jordan Jr. (12 points and two rebounds) and Corey Skillman Jr. (nine points, three assists, and two steals) before taking the lead for good with a pair of free throws from Barker with under nine minutes to play.
 
The Mules outscored Bemidji State in numerous offensive categories including points in the paint (34-26), second chance (11-4), and off-turnovers (8-6) led by guard KJ Lee's team-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc adding a team-best nine rebounds for good measure.
 
Freshman Kyran Tilley had eight points while forward Jack Chapman added six points and three rebounds and freshman Jake Fritz collected five rebounds in the winning effort.  
 
The Mules return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 9, as they take on the St. Cloud State Huskies (1-1, 0-0 NSIC) at 1:00 p.m. for the final day of the 2024 Central Region Challenge from Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.