Men's Basketball Drops Road Game at Park

Marshall, Mo., (Dec. 6, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Parkville, Mo., Wednesday evening for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Park (Mo.).  The women's team fell, 73-62, and the men's team lost, 81-58.

Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) scored the opening five points for Missouri Valley to start the men's game, and keep the team in a 5-5 tie with Park with just over two minutes played in the men's contest.  The Pirates followed with an eight-point run over the next three minutes of play, while Jones added another three-pointer to end the MVC drought and put the team in a 13-8 deficit.  Junior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) put the gap at 13-10 moments later with a layup, then came down with an offensive rebound and assisted on a Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) layup to put the score at 15-12 near the 12-minute mark.  Park responded with another run, this time scoring nine-straight points.  Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) ended the run with a layup, followed by a Patterson three-pointer to bring MVC into a 24-17 score past the midway point of the half.  The deficit grew from there, as Park scored 11-straight points, and eventually made it a 37-19 game.  Jones scored another five-straight points over the next stretch, cutting the deficit to 37-24 with just over four minutes remaining.  The Vikings were held scoreless from there to end the half, and Park finished with a 16-point run to hold a 53-24 lead at halftime.

Scoring started after the break with Junior Jarrius Burnett (Covington, Ga.) adding four early points, while Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) put in a layup to make it a 55-30 score with less than two minutes played.  Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) sank a three-pointer, and Floyd put in a pair of free throws to put the gap at 58-35 moments later.  Park gradually built up its lead from there.  A Junior Jagger Lawler (Kansas City, Mo.) dunk with just over eight minutes played made it 66-39.  The deficit grew from there, and eventually sat at 81-51 with less than four minutes to play in the contest.  Missouri Valley was unable to climb back, and fell by a final score of 81-58.

Jones led with 17 points, while Patterson came off the bench to score 11 points.  Floyd added nine points.  The Vikings forced 13 turnovers.

Missouri Valley drops to 3-7 on the season and 2-4 in the conference.  Park improves to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams stay on the road, and travel to Peru, Neb., for a Heart doubleheader against Peru State (Neb.), Saturday afternoon.  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.

Box Score-Click Here 

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.