Men's Basketball Suffers Home Loss to Central Methodist

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 14, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in Central Methodist (Mo.) into the Burns Athletic Complex for a Valentine's Night Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.  The women's team held off CMU for an 81-71 win.  The men's team fell to the Eagles, 90-67.

The men's game opened with the teams held scoreless through nearly two minutes of play.  Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) put in the first field goal of the game, while both Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) and Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) followed with one layup each to put Missouri Valley on top, 6-3, with just over three minutes off the clock.  Central Methodist answered with five-straight points to go in front, 8-6, two minutes later, but Junior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) and Smith each put in layups to tie the teams at 10-10 just past the 14-minute mark.  The Eagles again went back in front, 15-10, nearly two minutes later.  Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) and Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) each added baskets midway through the half, but MVC trailed, 18-14.  Taylor came down with an offensive rebound, and a quick put-back to close the gap.  Burnett added a three-pointer and Jones capped off a 12-0 run with five more points to give Missouri Valley the lead once again, 24-18, near the eight-minute mark.  The Vikings were held scoreless over the next three minutes, and a Lance steal led to a fast-break three-point play from Burnett to end the drought and make it a 27-22 score.  Central Methodist responded with a 10-0 run to move ahead, 32-27 near the final minute of the half.  Smith closed the first half with three more points, which sent the Vikings into the break trailing, 32-30.

Central Methodist quickly extended its lead to 36-30 with one minute played after the restart.  Burnett answered with a three-pointer, and Taylor added a layup to help work MVC back to a 38-35 gap one minute later.  The Eagles scored the next five points, while Lance made a field goal to make it a 43-37 deficit with just over three minutes gone in the half.  The Viking deficit grew to double-digits over the next three minutes of play, but a steal from Burnett led to a fast-break dunk for Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) to bring the team to within a 47-39 score.  Central Methodist gradually built up its lead, to 60-43 at the 11-minute mark.  The Vikings eventually trailed by a 71-45 score with less than eight minutes remaining.  Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) ended the stretch of play with a three-pointer, but MVC was unable to work back into the game from there.  Missouri Valley eventually fell by a 90-67 final score.

Smith led with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.  Lance totaled 13 points and a season-high nine assists.  Jones came off the bench to score 12 points, and Burnett added 11 points and six rebounds.  Missouri Valley blocked four shots in the game.

Missouri Valley drops to 11-14 overall and 10-11 in the conference.  Central Methodist moves to 19-6 on the season and 15-6 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Dubuque, Iowa for a Heart doubleheader with Clarke (Iowa), Saturday.  The women's game against the No. 5 Pride is 12 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.  Missouri Valley won the men's matchup, played in Marshall, Mo., back on Jan. 6, 78-62.

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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.