Carlson Goes for 34 but Bulldogs Drop Heartbreaker at UCM

Box Score | Season Stats
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Sophomore Mike Carlson (Superior, Wis., Marshall) scored a career-high 34 points to lead a Truman men's basketball team that shot 49% from the field, but the Central Missouri Mules rode 22 additional free throw attempts to 15 more points at the charity stripe to hold off the Bulldogs 82-79 on Saturday afternoon.

Truman finishes the 2012 season 8-20 overall, a one-win increase from last season under first-year head coach Matt Woodley, and 5-15 in the MIAA – which will land the Bulldogs either tied with or one-game back of Emporia (Kan.) State for eighth in the final conference standings. Truman loses out on any possible head-to-head tiebreaker with the Hornets regardless of their result in a Saturday night road game at Fort Hays (Kan.) State.

“I'm incredibly happy with our effort,” Woodley said during his postgame interview with KRES 104.7. “Our guys displayed tremendous heart and character, and I'm really proud of the effort we put out this afternoon. The guys played their hearts out for 40 minutes.”

The short-handed 'Dogs, playing without the services of recent starters Marek Bush and Isaac Gardner, built a five-point lead less than seven minutes into the game. Central Missouri (19-7, 15-5 MIAA) carried the lead briefly late in the half, but Truman, through a Carlson lay-up with 42 seconds left in the first, took a 34-33 lead into the intermission.

The Mules scored the first seven points after halftime and never allowed the Bulldogs to regain the lead, despite Truman drawing to within two multiple times in the frame. UCM was in the double-bonus with more than seven minutes to play in the game, contributing to a 32-11 second half free throw discrepancy and resulting in a 22-6 edge in points at the line.

Carlson tied the Truman single-game high for the season and became the third player to top 30 points in a game with his career-best 34 point outing on Saturday. He shot 14-of-22 overall, including 3-of-7 from three-point range and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. Carlson played a game-high 39 minutes, grabbing nine rebounds and handing out two assists. He was joined in double-figures by both EJ Hicks (16) and Seth Jackson (13).

The Bulldogs outperformed or nearly met the Mules in every statistical category, shooting 49% to UCM's 45% overall and hitting seven three-pointers apiece. The Mules out-rebounded Truman 38-33 with just a 10-9 edge on the offensive glass, while Truman committed one additional turnover (12-11). As it has done all season, Central Missouri took advantage at the line, hitting 25-of-38 foul shots while Truman went to the line just 16 times, hitting 10.

The squad marked the most wins of any Bulldog team since the 2007 season with a roster that will return all but one player for 2013, including five freshmen, five sophomores and four juniors. Senior Vesko Filchev closed his Bulldog career with a six-point, six-rebound outing in 19 minutes.

“Players make their biggest jumps between the first and second seasons in college, so I'm very excited to work with the team during this full off-season,” Woodley said. “Young guys always go through peaks and valleys, but they learned a lot about themselves this season which will only benefit this program in the long run.”

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