Box Score (HTML) | Season Stats

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Central Missouri Mules shot 56 percent from the field and beat Missouri Southern 89-79 on Saturday afternoon at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Five Mules scored in double figures.

The Mules (17-4, 8-4 MIAA) jumped out to an early 10-6 lead and extended that lead to nine at 15-6 with 15:30 to go in the first half. The lead was still nine when the Lions (14-7, 8-4 MIAA) went on an 8-2 run to cut the UCM lead to three at 19-16 w/ 13:34 to play. The game was back and forth for much of the first half with MSSU grabbing a point lead near the midway point, but a 12-2 run by the Mules gave UCM a 34-25 lead.

The Lions roared back with a 6-2 spurt to cut the lead to five, but UCM scored seven straight points to lead 43-31. MSSU would outscore the Mules 7-4 the rest of the half and UCM led 47-38 at the intermission.

Missouri Southern scored four quick points out of halftime to pull within five at 47-42, but a 9-2 run by the Mules pushed the lead back to 12. Brennen Hughes started the run with a pair of free throws and TJ White ended it with a three-point play.

The lead grew to 13 on a jumper from Jordan Epps at the 12:32 mark and the Mules would hold a double digit lead for most of the second half. UCM led 76-63 with 6:52 on the clock when Missouri Southern went on an 8-1 run. It cut the Mule lead to six at 77-71 with 4:04 to play.

Out of a timeout, Epps hit a jumper to beat the shot clock and push the lead back to eight. After a Greg Renfroe layup, Epps drilled a three and UCM led 82-73 with 2:25 to play. Lane Barlow scored to cut the lead to seven, but Rakeem Dickerson made four straight free throws to give UCM a nine-point advantage. Hughes hit 1-of-2 at the line and Dickerson made two more with under a minute to play to ice the game and give UCM the 10-point win.

Dickerson led five Mules in double figures with a game-high 22 points. Epps had 16 points, while Brad Woodson chipped in 15. Hughes finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Kyle Wolf had 12 points and seven boards.

The Mules shot 32-of-57 from the field for 56 percent and made 7-of-22 three-pointers for 32 percent. UCM was 18-of-24 at the foul line for 75 percent. The Mules out-rebounded MSSU 36-34 and held a 39-16 advantage in bench scoring.

Taevaunn Prince led the Lions with 20 points and nine rebounds. Barlow finished with 18 and Renfroe and Cameron Cornelius finished with 11 points each. MSSU was 27-of-61 from the field for 44 percent and 6-of-20 for 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Lions were 19-of-29 at the charity stripe for 66 percent.

The Mules are back in action on Thursday night when they wrap up their three-game road trip at Southwest Baptist. Tip-off in Bolivar is set for 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler on the call.