Mules post complete game effort, take out Hawks 88-63

(Kansas City, Mo.) – The Central Missouri Mules basketball squad posted its most complete effort of the season on Tuesday in the annual CBE Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City against Rockhurst, posting an 88-63 victory.
          
The Mules (4-1), ranked No. 16 in the nation, jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a couple quick buckets inside from senior forward Joel Barkers. The Hawks (1-4) came right back with a 9-0 run of their own to take their first lead of the game, thanks to five points from Aaron Morrissey.
          
Central Missouri took the lead for good on the contest’s next rally though, scoring the next 16 points on the way to a 20-9 advantage with 11:03 left in the period. Senior guard Tyrone Young was big during the stretch, scoring eight points. Morrissey was the only reason the Hawks kept it within striking distance in the half for the Hawks, scoring 18 of the team’s 32 points. Ru cut it to as little as four with 3:46 left in the half on a Morrissey three, but the Mules closed on a 12-2 run to make it a 46-32 advantage at the break.
          
Barkers had 12 and Young had 13 in the half, as UCM hit a blistering 54.5 percent from the floor. The Mules also used a 21-13 rebound advantage, and out-scored the Hawks 22-8 in the paint.
          
The Mules put it away quickly in the second period, pushing the margin to 21 on a Reggie Stallings three-pointer with 16:00 to play. The lead hovered around 20 points until a mini-run pushed it to 27 with 2:02 left.
          
UCM got 11 more points from Young in the second half, and junior guard Boo Hunter put in eight during the period. The Mules pounded away on the inside again, out-scoring the Hawks 18-8 in the paint. Central Missouri also kept Morrissey in check, holding him to only four points in the stanza.
          
The Mules finished with a commanding 49-30 rebound advantage, and scored 28 points off turnovers. UCM shot 47.8 percent from the floor, and held RU to 37.3 percent shooting.
          
Young led all scorers with 24 points, while Barkers tallied his best game as a Mule with 16 points and 13 boards. Hunter put up 15, while Stallings finished with 12 on the night. Also playing a career-high 28 minutes was sophomore guard D.J. Slifer, and he tallied six points, as well as a game-high six assists to only one turnover.
          
The Mules will head back to the friendly confines of the Multipurpose Building on Saturday to play their final non-conference game against Missouri Baptist at 4:00 p.m.