No. 7 Mules Basketball Set For 2025 MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship

MIAA Men's Basketball Championship Game #1: No. 10 Northeastern State RiverHawks (14-14, 8-11 MIAA) vs No. 7 Central Missouri Mules (14-14, 9-10 MIAA)
Wednesday, March 5 | 2:15 p.m. | Kansas City, Mo. (Municipal Auditorium)
Radio: 1450 KOKO & 98.5 The BAR (Greg Hassler & Kim Anderson)
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MIAA Men's Basketball Championships

Central Missouri Mules Basketball Game Notes (PDF) | 2024-25 Mules Basketball Roster | 2024-25 Mules Basketball Season Stats

TIP OFF

No. 7 Central Missouri Mules (14-14, 9-10 MIAA) take on No. 10 Northeastern State RiverHawks (14-14, 8-11 MIAA) Wednesday, March 5, at 2:15 p.m. inside Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo. in the opening session of the 2025 MIAA Men's Basketball Championships presented by Southern Bank.
Two Central Missouri Mules players earned All-MIAA honors including guard Kyran Tilley who was named the Freshman of the Year while senior DeAirius Barker was an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection.
This is the 119th season of Central Missouri Basketball as the Mules are the third winningest program in Division II with 1,777 victories having won two NCAA Men's National Championships (1984 & 2014) and four National Championships (1937 & 1938 NAIB) overall.

ON THE AIR

Wednesday afternoon's game will be broadcasted on 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO, and warrensburgradio.com as Voice of the Mules Greg Hassler and UCM Athletic Hall of Famer Kim Anderson are on the call with coverage beginning around 1:45 p.m. inside Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
The contest will also be available on a pay-per-view basis through the MIAA Network with coverage beginning at 2:15 p.m. from Municipal Auditorium.

MULES FANS INVITED TO MIAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP POST GAME PEP RALLY WEDNESDAY

All Mules fans are invited to a pregame tailgate hosted by the MIAA from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at Johnny's Tavern, located at 1310 Grand Blvd in the Kansas City Power & Light District.
For more information, please visit TheMIAA.com.

MULES AT THE MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Central Missouri Mules are making their 40^th appearance at the MIAA Men's Basketball Championships in 2025 and their first trip to the tournament since 2022.
UCM has won six tournament titles which is tied for second most in conference history with the most recent coming during the 2013 installment where the Mules defeated Northwest Missouri 79-76 (OT) led by guard Widgett Washington's 20 points and game-high four steals while senior Dominique Long (16 points and four rebounds) and New Orleans, La. native Charles Hammork (10 points and team-high six boards) each scored in double-figures in the winning effort.
The Mules have an overall record of 36-32 in the MIAA tournament including a record of 17-12 in Kansas City and 15-6 in the opening round, following a 60-49 loss to Northeastern State in the 2022 MIAA Men's Basketball Championship.

UCM BY THE NUMBERS

Through the regular season, the Mules averaged 62.6 points per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the field, including 32.2 percent from beyond the arc and 72.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Central Missouri averaged 31.8 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 7.3 steals, and 2.6 blocks per contest during the regular season.
The Mules are paced offensively by senior DeAirius Barker who averaged 12 points and 2.4 rebounds per game through the regular season. The Cincinnati, Ohio native recorded double-digit scoring in 18 games this season including a career-high 35 against Illinois-Springfield (Nov. 26) going 10-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-8 from behind the arc.
Kansas City, Mo. native Elijah Farr leads Central Missouri with 152 total rebounds and 22 blocks during the regular season while averaging 5.4 boards per contest adding 8.4 points per game. Farr is the lone player to start all 28 games this season and recorded back-to-back double-double performances at Missouri Western (Jan. 23) and Northwest Missouri (Jan. 25).
Senior Jack Chapman is second on the Mules shooting 50.5 percent from the floor going 52-of-103 overall including 8-of-29 from beyond the arc scoring 129 points and grabbing 92 rebounds while recording four double-digit scoring performances highlighted by an 18-point outing against Tabor (Dec. 1).
2025 MIAA Freshman of the Year Kyran Tilley has started 24 games for the Mules averaging 10.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while adding a team-best 66 assists highlighted by 16 double-digit scoring performances including a season and game-high 21 points against Fort Hays State (Dec. 5).
Sophomore Tim Jordan Jr. is fifth on the team with 192 points averaging eight points per contest adding 67 boards and 20 assists in 24 games this season highlighted by 10 double-digit outings including a season-high 19 against Maryville (Nov. 13).
After being sidelined last season due to injury, forward Josh Nwankwo averaged 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game during the regular season while collecting a team-high 44 steals. The Oklahoma City, Okla. native is one of three Mules to appear in all 28 contests highlighted by a season-high 24-point outing at Northeastern State (Feb. 13) where he added a team-best eight rebounds for good measure.
Freshman Jake Fritz has appeared in 25 games this season averaging 4.3 points and 2.2 boards per contest while scoring double-figures in five games including a season-best 13 against Texas Permian Basin (Dec. 17).
O'Fallon, Mo. native KJ Lee averages 4.5 points and 3.4 boards per contest with four double-digit scoring performances on the year including a season-best 17 points against Bemidji State (Nov. 8).

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP VS. NORTHEASTERN STATE

Wednesday afternoon's contest against the RiverHawks will be their third all-time meeting at the MIAA Men's Basketball Championships with NSU winning both previous matchups.
The most recent meeting between both teams came during the 2022 edition of the tournament with the RiverHawks coming away with a 60-49 as Central Missouri was led Ja'Cor Nelson's (12 rebounds and 11 points) double-double performance while Matt Todd added a game-high 15 points and two boards for good measure.

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