2008 Woodie Awards
Road stretch key for Mules
Brad Seiner
Issue date: 1/19/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 3 next >
With the MIAA portion of the Mules' basketball schedule well underway, Central enters a tough stretch of road games to climb back to the top of the standings. The Mules will travel to Pittsburg, Kan., to battle the Pittsburg State Gorillas at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Mules (13-4, 3-3 MIAA) find themselves outside the Division-II top-25 poll for the first time this season and will look to regain their swagger against the Gorillas (6-10, 2-3 MIAA).
Central hosted the Missouri Southern State Lions Wednesday in the Multipurpose Building, but the score wasn't available before deadline of this publication.
Slam Dunked
The Mules are coming off a heartbreaking 86-78 overtime loss to the Emporia State Hornets (13-5, 4-2 MIAA) Saturday afternoon in the Multi. However, losing in overtime wasn't the only devastating blow the Mules took. The toughest came before the tip.
Before the game clock moved off 20:00, the Mules found themselves down 2-0 and had to claw their way back as soon as the ball found its way into the air.
A team technical foul was called on the Mules for dunking in pre-game warm-ups, a rule rarely used in games. Mules' guard Michael Hicks was called for the violation, and Hornets' guard Tyrell Sledge made both free shots.
"It's a little bit of a downer to start the game by watching a guy shoot two free throws for the other team," said Mules' head coach Kim Anderson. "We created it, and it's something we had to overcome, and we did. [Emporia State] did get off to a good start, but I don't know if [the foul] had anything to do with it."
The players had a different take on whether the foul affected the team and kept them from winning the game. Mules' guard Corey Brown said it could have made the team focus more.
"It really didn't affect us," Brown said. "We were really motivated after that happened. We were just ready to play and ready to get it started."
"We had to get fired up even though we gave them two free points," said Mules' forward David Hilliard. "We just had to come out with more intensity and just get after them.
The Mules (13-4, 3-3 MIAA) find themselves outside the Division-II top-25 poll for the first time this season and will look to regain their swagger against the Gorillas (6-10, 2-3 MIAA).
Central hosted the Missouri Southern State Lions Wednesday in the Multipurpose Building, but the score wasn't available before deadline of this publication.
Slam Dunked
The Mules are coming off a heartbreaking 86-78 overtime loss to the Emporia State Hornets (13-5, 4-2 MIAA) Saturday afternoon in the Multi. However, losing in overtime wasn't the only devastating blow the Mules took. The toughest came before the tip.
Before the game clock moved off 20:00, the Mules found themselves down 2-0 and had to claw their way back as soon as the ball found its way into the air.
A team technical foul was called on the Mules for dunking in pre-game warm-ups, a rule rarely used in games. Mules' guard Michael Hicks was called for the violation, and Hornets' guard Tyrell Sledge made both free shots.
"It's a little bit of a downer to start the game by watching a guy shoot two free throws for the other team," said Mules' head coach Kim Anderson. "We created it, and it's something we had to overcome, and we did. [Emporia State] did get off to a good start, but I don't know if [the foul] had anything to do with it."
The players had a different take on whether the foul affected the team and kept them from winning the game. Mules' guard Corey Brown said it could have made the team focus more.
"It really didn't affect us," Brown said. "We were really motivated after that happened. We were just ready to play and ready to get it started."
"We had to get fired up even though we gave them two free points," said Mules' forward David Hilliard. "We just had to come out with more intensity and just get after them.