Men's Basketball Knocks Off No. 25 Graceland at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 11, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Graceland (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team built up a large lead and finished with an 85-60 victory.  The men's team held off the No. 25 Yellowjackets to earn an 81-68 win.

The two teams traded points at the start of the men's game, which featured baskets from Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.), Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) and Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) to make it a 6-3 score with nearly four minutes played.  Graceland briefly went on top, 10-8, less than two minutes later, then stretched the advantage out to 16-10 at the 13-minute mark.  Senior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) added a layup moments later to end the Viking drought, while baskets from Freshman James Porter (St. Louis, Mo.) and Burnett cut the gap to 19-16 midway through the half.  The Vikings put together a 9-0 run over the next stretch of play, which featured five points from Jones and one field goal each by Burnett and Porter to send MVC ahead, 25-21 with seven minutes remaining in the first half.  The advantage stretched out to 32-23 on a jumper from Ajanaku at the three-minute mark, and reached double-digits for the first time after a field goal from Jones made it a 36-25 score near the final minute of play before the break.  Jones added a pair of free throws and Smith finished scoring in the first half with a layup as Missouri Valley went into halftime ahead, 40-28

The advantage grew at the start of the second half, as five quick points from Senior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) put the lead at 45-28 with less than two minutes off the clock.  Burnett added a three-pointer, while Patterson sank one free throw to make it a 51-33 score near the 15-minute mark.  Jones came back with five-straight points two minutes later, and the advantage reached 56-36.  The Yellowjackets responded and went on an 18-2 run over nearly six minutes of play to close the gap down to 58-54.  Ajanaku ended the MVC drought with a basket near the six-minute mark, while Smith added a layup and Burnett sank a three-pointer to stretch the lead out to 66-54 with less than five minutes to play.  Graceland got to within a 70-64 score in the final three minutes, but Burnett came through with a layup, and MVC held the Yellowjackets scoreless on three-straight possessions.  Senior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) sank a pair of free throws, followed by two more free throws from Porter to make it a 78-66 advantage with one minute remaining.  The Vikings added three more made free throws in the closing moments, and earned an 81-68 win over No. 25 Graceland.

Burnett had 16 points and six rebounds, while Jones scored 16 points.  Floyd came off the bench to score 13 points.  Smith totaled 12 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and four steals.  Porter had 10 points.  Missouri Valley forced 20 turnovers in the game, and earned a 42-39 edge in rebounds.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 6-10 overall and 5-7 in the Heart.  Graceland drops to 13-3 on the season and 9-3 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams host Baker (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader, Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  Women's game starts at 5:30 p.m., and the men's game against the No. 12 Wildcats is set for 7:30 p.m.

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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.