Mules come away with 69-60 win at Lincoln

(Jefferson City, Mo.) – The Central Missouri Mules basketball squad held off Lincoln University for a 69-60 win on the road Wednesday night, thanks to a strong rebounding effort.
          
The Mules (7-3, 2-2 MIAA) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first 1:17 of the contest, but a 6-0 run by Lincoln (2-6, 0-4 MIAA) tied it by the 16:33 mark. Senior guard Pierre DeClue was the offense for the Blue Tigers, tallying eight of the first 10 points. He finished with 17 in the first half, leading all scorers.
          
Lincoln made an 8-2 run, capped by a three from DeClue to make it 16-11 with 13:12 on the clock. Central Missouri answered with an 11-2 spurt, thanks to seven points from junior guard Boo Hunter during the rally. UCM would lead the rest of the way, and extended its advantage to as many as 11 with just more than four minutes remaining. The Mules went into the break with a 35-27 lead.
          
The half was played in the paint with only 10 threes attempted and 20 fouls called. The Mules took advantage of that on the glass and on the free throw line. They out-rebounded the Blue Tigers 23-11, and hit 10-of-13 from the line, while LU hit 4-of-7.
          
Hunter led the way with 11 first period points, while senior forward Joel Barkers had 10. Lincoln shot 42.3 percent, while UCM was at 44.4 percent.
          
The Blue Tigers cut the Mule advantage to two on several occasions in the second stanza, but UCM had an answer each time. The Mules pushed it to nine at the 14:28 mark, but the Blue Tigers cut it back to only two with 12 minutes left. Again the Mules stretched it to seven thanks to a Bryce Brunz three-pointer with 9:49 remaining.
            
A couple DeClue free throws with 3:36 left cut the UCM lead back down to three, but a three-pointer on the next possession by Mules junior Reggie Stallings made it 64-58. The Mules allowed LU to score only two points in the final 3:35 though, and iced the win with a breakaway dunk from Hunter with 44 seconds left.
          
Neither team shot the ball well in the final half, but UCM got to the free throw line 33 times in the game, making 23 of them. The Mules also recorded a 45-31 rebound advantage to counter their shooting percentage of 39.6 on the night.
          
Hunter and Brunz each tallied a team-high 21 points in the game, while Barkers had 15 points and 10 boards. DeClue scored half of the Blue Tigers points, tallying 30 on the night.
          
The Mules return to the Multi on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. contest with Pittsburg State.