Men's Basketball Falls on Last-Second Shot to Culver-Stockton

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 7, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Culver-Stockton (Mo.) for Court Warming and a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team battled back from a deficit, but fell, 60-55.  The men's team traded leads against the Wildcats, but lost on a last-second shot, 73-72.

The men's game started with Missouri Valley going scoreless through nearly three minutes of play, and trailing, 5-0.  Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) made a pair of free throws to put MVC on the scoreboard, but the team sat in an 8-2 deficit with four minutes off the clock.  Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) answered with a three-pointer moments later, while Junior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) put in his first layup to cut the gap down to 8-7.  A quick 7-0 run was capped on a Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) basket, and MVC had its first lead of the game, 9-8, with just over 13-minutes to play in the half.  The two teams traded points, as Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) finished off a dunk, and Lance came through with a three-pointer to keep the team in front, 14-12 over the next minute.  Culver-Stockton answered with a 7-0 run of its own, to pull ahead, 19-14 at the 11-minute mark.  Patterson blocked a layup attempt, and turned it into a fast-break basket for Taylor to end the Viking drought.  Lance sank a three-pointer just past the midway mark of the half to tie the teams at 19-19.  The Wildcats worked out to a 25-21 lead less than three minutes later.  Ajanaku made one free throw attempt, while Patterson put in a pair of layups as CSC was kept scoreless through a more than four minute stretch late in the half to help push the Viking on top, 26-25.  After Culver-Stockton made a pair of free throws, Jones put in a three-point attempt, and gave MVC a 29-27 advantage with under three minutes to play before halftime.  Jones added another late layup, but the Wildcats worked up a 34-31 lead going into the break.

The two teams traded points at the start of the second half, which featured an early field goal from Jones and a pair of made free throws from Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) to keep the team in a 36-35 deficit with just over one minute played.  Culver-Stockton gradually built up an advantage over a nearly four minute span, to make it a 45-37 score.  Jones ended the MVC drought with a two free throws, while a steal from Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) led to a fast-break layup from Ajanaku.  Another layup from Ajanaku followed to work the difference down to 45-43 near the 13-minute mark.  Moments later, CSC held a 48-43 advantage.  Ajanaku answered with an offensive rebound and a put-back, while Smith came up with a steal and a three-point play to tie the teams at 48-48, with just over 12-minutes remaining.  Less than one minute later, Smith came up with another steal and fast-break layup, while Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) followed with a steal and fast-break dunk to give the Vikings a 52-50 lead.  The teams traded opportunities over the next several minutes, and the Wildcats eventually went back in front, 56-55, at the eight-minute mark.  The MVC deficit grew to 63-59 with less than six minutes to play, but a pair of Lance free throws and a three-point play from Junior Oliver Pauleon-Gerard (Covington, Ga.) moved Missouri Valley on top once again, 64-63 as the game reached four minutes remaining.  The lead changed hands six times over the next two minutes, and the stretch of play was capped on made Pauleon-Gerard free throws as Missouri Valley held a 71-70 advantage at the two-minute mark.  One more free throw made by Patterson extended the lead to 72-70 in the final moments of the contest.  Culver-Stockton had one more chance, and a last-second three-pointer went into the hoop with five-seconds left on the clock.  Smith worked the ball down the court, and got a shot off before the buzzer, but could not make his shot, as Missouri Valley fell, 73-72.

Lance led with 15 points and five assists, while Jones totaled 14 points and six rebounds.  Ajanaku came off the bench to score a season-high 13 points and grab five rebounds.  Missouri Valley forced 19 turnovers in the game and blocked seven shots in the game. 

Missouri Valley falls to 11-12 overall and 10-9 in the conference.  Culver-Stockton improves to 12-11 on the season and 10-9 in the Heart. 

Up next, the Viking basketball teams host another Heart doubleheader, Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex against Peru State (Neb.).  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.  The men's team won the first meeting of the season, back on Dec. 9, in Peru, Neb., 84-81 in double overtime.  The women's team also defeated Peru State, 92-78, in the Dec. 9 meeting.

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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.