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Mules Basketball
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Mules get past Lincoln in
Thanksgiving Classic
Skip Thomas tallied 18 points and hauled in eight rebounds against Lincoln
The University of Central Missouri Mules got their first test of the season on Saturday night against Lincoln and prevailed by a 79-63 margin. The Blue Tigers had a brief advantage early in the second half, but UCM quickly gained the lead and took it to double digits for good with just more than five minutes remaining.
Central Missouri got 18 points from Tremaine Luellen in the first half and led the entire stanza. UCM used a 28-15 rebound advantage in the period to keep the advantage. The Mules jumped out to an 18-8 lead early and moved the advantage to as much as 11 by the 8:48 mark. The Blue Tigers made a run though, cutting it to three with 3:40 before the break. Central Missouri closed the half on a 7-3 run though, and took a 36-29 lead into halftime.
The Mules had 10 turnovers in the half and hit only 6-of-13 from the line but out-shot the Blue Tigers with a 44-to-36 percent advantage.
Lincoln came out in the second period on a 13-4 run to take a 42-40 lead at the 16:18 mark. Kevin Wollbrinck kicked off a big half with a layup a few seconds later though, and the Mules never trailed again in the game. They pounded it inside against the smaller Blue Tigers, and the forward tandem of Wollbrinck and Skip Thomas had 12 and 14 in the second period, respectively. The Mules held Lincoln to only 10 rebounds in the half and finished the game with a commanding 52-25 advantage on the boards.
Central Missouri stretched its lead to as many as 17 on several occasions in the final five minutes, getting a couple big threes from Joe Young. The Mules also shored up the free throw issue in the final stanza, hitting 11-of-12.
UCM finished the night hitting 47 percent from the field while holding Lincoln to only 38 percent, including 6-of-25 from three.
Luellen finished with his first ever double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Wollbrinck had a career-high 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the game as well. Thomas tallied 18 points and pulled down eight boards while Young had all 11 of his points in the second half.
