(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — The Central Missouri Mules strung together their third-straight victory, defeating visiting Missouri Southern, 75-62 on Saturday afternoon.
A back-and-forth game for the first 6:43 led to a 9-8 edge for Missouri Southern after a three-pointer by Austin Wright provided the Lions with their second and final lead of the game.
Kyle Wolf put the Mules (17-4, 9-3 MIAA) back in front, 11-9 on the following UCM possession, draining a triple on an assist by Daylen Robinson.
The Mules’ lead balooned to nine at 20-11 with 7:59 left in the first half, following three-straight buckets by Dillon Deck, who finished with 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the floor.
The Lions scored six unanswered points to cut the deficit to 20-17, but Kyle Wolf would score five-consecutive points to put the Mules back up by eight at 25-17 with 5:49 to go until halftime.
The two teams closed out the half exchanging baskets as UCM held a 37-28 lead. The Mules had an 11-3 edge in bench points through the first 20 minutes.
The Mules came out in the second half scoring the first five points courtesy of a layup by Deck and a three-pointer by Jon Gilliam.
The Mules’ lead dipped under 10 with 13:49 left when Slim Magee hit a pair of free throws to make it a 47-38 game.
UCM jumped back out to a 15-point advantage following baskets by Brennen Hughes, Robinson, Wolf and Preston Brunz over the next 1:41. The Lions continued to fight back cutting the deficit to eight at 55-47, highlighted by a combined 5-of-6 from the charity stripe from Marquis Addison and Lane Barlow.
Robinson answered with a bucket on the following possession to bump the lead back to 10 at 57-47 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Mules’ lead never dipped below nine points for rest of the game. Central Missouri dominated the Lions in points in the paint in the second half, outscoring MSSU, 24-12.
The Mules shot 58% from the floor (29-of-50), including 60.9% in the first half (14-of-23). Robinson led the Mules with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor, and added three assists and a steal. Deck chipped in 15 points and Wolf contributed a dozen towards the final tally.
The Mules will next play host to Southwest Baptist on Thursday, Feb. 6 for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The game can be heard live on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com.
Box Score