Central Missouri St. cruised to a 103-86 win over Missouri Southern in the MIAA Conference Tournament in Kansas City Sunday. Junior guard Corey Brown led five Mules in double digit scoring with 21 points—Mike Stuggs had 18, Michael Hicks had 16, Pat Schumacher had 15 and Derek Weber had 11. The Mules racked out to a 22-point lead by the end of the first half and shot 60 percent from the field. Missouri Southern caught fire in the second half, by hitting 68 percent of their shots the rest of the way, but the margin was too great for the Lions, as CMSU almost matched their performance by hitting 64 percent in the second half.
CMSU improved to 24-6 on the season and advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament, where they will be the second seed in the South Central Region in Commerce, Texas. The Mules will open up on Saturday with seventh-seeded Tarleton (Tex.) St.
The CMSU Jennies are also headed to the post season, as they grabbed the fifth seed in the South Central Region hosted by Drury University in Springfield. The Jennies have bad memories about the team they face in the first round. They’ll get Emporia St. which handed them a vicious 89-48 loss in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament on Saturday. The two teams split the regular season series, with the home team losing each time.
