KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 7 Central Missouri Mules (15-14, 9-10 MIAA) defeated No. 10 Northeastern State RiverHawks (17-11, 13-6 MIAA) by a final score of 69-59 on Wednesday, March 5, in the opening game of the 2025 MIAA Men's Basketball Championships presented by Southern Bank inside historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
After the opening basket of the game was scored by
DeAirius Barker (game-high 25 points including a career-high 11 free-throws made and three steals overall), the RiverHawks responded on an 8-0 run before Barker connected on three more shots from downtown giving the Mules a 14-10 advantage with 11 minutes remaining in the half.
The All-MIAA Honorable Mention team selection ended the first half with 19 points, hitting 4-of-5 from the floor including 7-of-7 from the charity stripe adding two rebounds and one steal as the Mules led 34-23 at the break.
Central Missouri led by as many as 17 midway through the second half but the RiverHawks cut the deficit to seven, before back-to-back triples from
Jake Fritz (six points overall) and
KJ Lee (career-high 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals overall) gave Central Missouri a 61-50 advantage with two minutes remaining en route to the 69-59 victory.
The Mules outscored Northeastern State in numerous offensive categories including points in the paint (24-12), off turnovers (26-19), second chance (11-5), and bench (7-4) as Kansas City, Mo. native
Elijah Farr recorded his team-leading third double-double of the season with 16 points, 10 boards, three assists, and three blocks.
Forward
Josh Nwankwo contributed 11 points, six rebounds, and a game-high five steals while 2025 MIAA Freshman of the Year
Kyran Tilley added seven points in the winning effort as the Mules shot 45 percent from the field including 40 percent from beyond the arc while making 78 percent of their free-throws.
No. 7 Central Missouri returns to the court on Thursday, March 6, for a matchup with No. 2 Fort Hays State Tigers (19-9, 12-7 MIAA) in the 2025 MIAA Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinals beginning at 2:15 p.m. inside Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
