Central Defeats Western in First Round, 78-59

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (UCM Media Relations) -- No. 7-ranked and second-seeded Central Missouri led from start to finish in a 78-59 first-round win over seventh-seeded Missouri Western Saturday afternoon in the NCAA South Central Regional at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on the campus of Midwestern State. Senior forward Sanijay Watts poured in a career-high 35 points to lead the way.

The win advanced the basketball Mules to the regional semifinal against third-seeded Fort Hays State on Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

The Mules (26-3) came out in the opening period like they had something to prove, going out to an early 13-6 lead. Watts had a monster half, scoring 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, while the Mules drilled 53.3 percent of their shots as a team. The UCM defense held the Griffons (18-12) to only eight field goals through the first 18-plus minutes, but MWSU rallied for the final six points of the half (all scored by Marcus Rhodes), making it 45-27 at the break. Before the Griffon run, the Mules built their lead to as many as 24, thanks to an 11-2 spurt that took just more than two minutes.

The Mules had a 19-11 rebound edge in the half, helping them out-score the Griffons 10-1 in second chance points. UCM also scored a 10-4 advantage on points off turnovers.
           
The final stanza was back-and forth for the first 10 minutes, but the Griffons had one run in them. They got the margin down to as little as 13 with 8:28 left, but five more points from Watts pushed it back to a 19-point edge with 5:58 to play. A three by senior guard Alex Moosmann with 2:01 left was the icing on the cake as it gave the Mules a 21-point edge.   

The Mules hit 50 percent in the game and turned 17 Griffon turnovers into 22 points. UCM also used a 16-9 advantage on second chance points to go with a 34-26 rebound surplus in the contest.
           
Watts’ 35 points are the most for a Mule in head coach Kim Anderson’s tenure. It was his fifth career 30-point game as well. Moosmann was the only other Mule in double figures with 10, while Tremaine Luellen had a game-high eight rebounds. It was the fourth consecutive first-round NCAA Tournament win for the Mules as well.           

The Sunday semifinal matchup with the Tigers will be the third meeting of the two squads this season, with each winning on the other team’s home floor.