Box Score

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The Mavericks out-shot the third-ranked Mules and led by double digits in the first half but Central Missouri out-scored Nebraska-Omaha by 17 in the second half to lead to an 89-84 win Wednesday night.

The Mavericks, ranked sixth in Wednesday's NCAA South Central Region poll, fell to 17-7 overall and 10-7 in the MIAA. The Mules, ranked No. 1 in the region, improved to 23-1 and 16-1.

#Tyler Bullock went 11 for 20 from the field to lead UNO with 27 points. Three other Mavs reached double figures with inside players Eugene Bain and Dion Curry getting 16 each and guard Andrew Bridger# scoring 10.

The Mavericks led through most of the game but the Mules shot 56 percent in the second half to come back.

Down by two possessions with under 30 seconds remaining, Bullock converted a three-point play to make the score 87-84 Central Missouri. The Mules then turned the ball over to give the Mavs a chance to tie. #Jeff Martin# missed a 3-pointer and the Mules got the rebound and hit two free throws with eight seconds left to go up by five.

The Mavericks shot 48 percent in the game while UCM was 46 percent. The rebounds were equal at 34 each and UNO had 13 turnovers while UCM had seven.

The Mavericks led 9-0 in the opening minutes and then they led by 10 on a jumper by Bridger at the 11:38 mark. A three-point play from Bullock with 2:27 remaining put the Mavs up by 17, 43-26.

The Mules then began cracking away at their largest deficit of the year. They cut it to 12 at halftime and then got as close as three early in the second half on a 3-pointer from Bryce Brunz.

A 7-0 run put the Mavs back up by 10 but the Mules got within single digits again and stayed that way until taking the lead at the 5:49 mark on a pair of free throws from Sanijay Watts. That gave the Mules a 71-69 lead and they held the advantage the rest of the game.

Watts, who scored 25 at UNO earlier in the year, had 24 Wednesday off a 10 of 17 performance.