Men's Basketball Earns Road Win Over Culver-Stockton

Canton, Mo., (Feb. 3, 2025)-The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Canton, Mo., for a Monday evening Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Culver-Stockton (Mo.).  The Viking women's team went to overtime and came away with a 60-57 win.  The men's team came away with a 65-56 victory.

The men's game started with few shots made through the opening minutes of play.  Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) scored the first points of the contest on a made jumper, while Senior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) added a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to help Missouri Valley move ahead, 6-3, with five minutes off the clock.  Culver-Stockton trimmed its deficit down to 6-5 just over one minute later, but the Vikings followed with a run.  Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) started the stretch with a jump shot, while Senior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) came up with a steal and layup.  Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) added a three-pointer, Ajanaku put in a layup, and Driver finished off another jumper to extend the run.  Missouri Valley continued to build up its lead midway through the half, as Junior Darian Webb (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) made a layup and a Smith steal led to a Junior Alan Davis, Jr. (Sacramento, Calif.) fast-break dunk to end a 15-0 run and make it a 21-5 score at the nine-minute mark.  The Wildcats chipped away at their deficit over the next five minutes, and made it a 24-17 score.  Jones ended the MVC drought with a three-pointer, and Smith tacked on another field goal to put the advantage at double-digits, 29-19, with three minutes to play in the half.  The Vikings were held scoreless through the rest of play, and CSC cut the gap down to 29-23 going into halftime. 

Scoring in the second half for Missouri Valley started just over one minute after the restart, on a three-pointer from Burnett to put the advantage at 32-25.  After Culver-Stockton responded with a basket moments later, the Vikings gradually built up their lead to double-digits.  Senior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) added two dunks over the next stretch, and made a three-pointer to put the score at 40-29 with just over four minutes off the clock.  Floyd sank another three-point shot moments later, and made it a 43-31 score.  The Vikings went scoreless over a nearly three-minute stretch of play, but CSC could only get to within a 43-34 deficit during the drought.  Ajanaku came back with two-straight layups, and Floyd finished off another dunk to give MVC a quick 6-0 run and put the lead at 49-34 with just over 11-minutes to play in the game.  A three-point play from Jones just past the eight-minute mark kept the Vikings ahead by double-digits, 54-40.  The Wildcats gradually worked down their deficit over the next five minutes, and trailed, 59-53, late in the game.  Missouri Valley limited CSC to only one made field goal in the final two minutes of play, and Smith made four free throw attempts to help seal the victory for MissourI Valley, 64-56.

Ajanaku finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Floyd added a career-high14 points to go with four rebounds.  Smith had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Jones totaled 10 points and five rebounds.  Missouri Valley held a 42-34 advantage in rebounds, and forced 17 turnovers. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 10-12 overall and 9-9 in the Heart.  Culver-Stockton drops to 4-18 on the season and 4-14 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Olathe, Kan., for a doubleheader with MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Wednesday evening.  The women's teams the No. 11 Pioneers at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 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.