Second-seeded Central Missouri took care of business beating Fort Hays State 78-64 in the first-round of the MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

Fort Hays scored the first bucket of the game, but didn’t score again until the Mules rattled off 13 unanswered points. Wadale Williams played a key role in the run scoring six points.

The Tigers answered with a 13-5 run of its own that cut the deficit to three with 5:32 left in the first half. But Williams and Theo Jones were just too much for the Lions. Williams connected on a trey and Jones hit two from behind the arc to push the lead back to double digits. CMS led 40-31 at halftime.

It was much of the same story in the second half as the Mules never wilted en route to victory. Four players scored in double figures for CMS. Jones finished with a team-high 19 points (14 in the first half). Williams scored 18, Zack Wright posted 16, and Darryl Sommerset added 11.

The Mules play Truman State in the semifinals on Saturday at 2:15 p.m.