The Central Missouri Mules played in front of a record exhibition crowd of 15,048 at the Qwest Center on Sunday afternoon against  Missouri Valley Conference favorites Creighton University, and made it a game, but lost 78-65.

Mules trailed the entire first half, due to an 0-for-13 shooting performance or lack thereof from three-point land and 32.3 percent shooting from the floor. The Blue Jays shot 56.5 percent, but the Mules got back into it by forcing 10 turnovers and grabbing a 6-to-1 advantage on the offensive boards. With 4:52 left, Creighton built its biggest lead of the half at 16 points, but the Mules closed in down the stretch to make it 36-26 at the break.

The Mules will open the regular season on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Westminster (Mo.) College in the newly refurbished Multipurpose Building.