(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – Mules basketball opened their home season with a pair of games against Maryville University and Cameron University at the Fairfield Inn Classic. The Mules return home after opening their season in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, with games against Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State – both of which they won, so the Mules were looking to keep their momentum going heading into the weekend.
The Mules tipped off their home-opener against the Cameron University Aggies Thursday. The game stayed close to start with the teams trading points on the way to an 11-11 tie, midway through the first half. The Aggies then jumped out to a 20-11 lead after a quick 9-0 run, which the Mules immediately countered with an 11-2 run of their own to tie the game at 24-24. The teams remained close for the remainder of the first half, with the Aggies taking a 34-32 lead into the break.
The second half did not go quite as planned for the Mules.
The Aggies opened the second half with a 9-5 advantage to take a 43-37 lead, which is the closest the Mules would get for the rest of the contest. The Aggies began to pull away over the next 6 minutes with a 21-7 run to increase their lead to 20. The Mules were never able to recover from the run and ultimately fell by a score of 77-63.
Despite the loss, the Mules shot fairly well in the game and had a few stand-out performers. The Mules made 22 of their 53 shots for a respectable 41.5 percent from the field. Jakob Lowrance led the team with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting, while also pulling down 8 rebounds. Blake Spellman gave the Mules 11 points and led the team with 6 assists on the night. DJ Richardson and Clarence Smith each added 10 points while Spencer Reaves scored 8 points.
After the loss, the Mules looked to rebound with their second match-up of the weekend on Saturday against the Maryville Saints. The Saints were coming off a win against Cameron the previous night, so the Mules needed a win to ensure the teams split the Fairfield Inn Classic with 1-1 records.
The Mules opened the game with an 8-3 run, but then stalled offensively as the Saints manufactured an 11-0 run of their own to take a 14-8 lead midway through the first half. However, the Mules closed the first half with a 23-9 run to take 31-23 lead into the half.
The Mules took the lead and never looked back, increasing their lead to 17 with 13 minutes left and to 20 with 4 minutes remaining in the game. The Saints were never able to recover from the Mules offensive barrage and stifling defense as the Mules cruised to a 74-56 win.
The Mules were firing on all cylinders in the game, shooting 51 percent from the floor and an unprecedented 46 percent from beyond the arc. The Mules were also able to tighten up some of their defensive struggles from the previous game, forcing the Saints into 18 turnovers. Lowrance led the Mules in scoring once again, pouring in 18 points on seven of twelve shooting. Spellman added 14 points, which included four three-pointers. Richardson added another 12 points, while Reaves scored 8 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
UCM Head Coach, Doug Karleskint said he was proud of the way the team responded after suffering such a tough loss against Cameron, but was not surprised that his team was able to come out with such an effort against Maryville. The Mules move to 3-1 on the season and return to action Nov. 21 against East Central University in Kansas City.