Men's Basketball Leads Throughout in Home Win Over Mount Mercy

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 24, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in Mount Mercy (Iowa) for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex. The men's team led throughout in an 87-67 victory.

Missouri Valley got out in front early in the men's game, as Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) made a pair of three-pointers and another jumper, followed by a three-point basket from Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) to make it an 11-0 score with less than two minutes played.  Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) sank a three-point shot one minute later, and MVC kept the Mustangs scoreless through the first four minutes of the contest.  After MMU sank its first shot, Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) made his first bucket of the night to put the advantage at 16-3 with just over four minutes played.  Lance made another three-pointer, and Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) added a fast-break layup to make it a 22-5 score past the 14-minute mark.  The Vikings were held to without a field goal through a five-minute stretch in the game, but a Patterson three-pointer ended the drought and gave the team a 29-12 advantage.  With just over seven minutes to play in the half, Jones made a steal, and found Burnett for a fast-break layup as the lead sat at 33-14.  Another fast-break play followed, as Burnett came down with a block, and finished off the sequence with a dunk near the six-minute mark to make it a 35-16 score.  Smith scored the next four points for MVC, and Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) created an offensive rebound and quick layup as the advantage stretched to 41-16.  Junior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) and Jones each added one field goal to cap scoring in the half, and Missouri Valley went into the break in front, 45-27.

Play after the break started with an early three-pointer from Jones and a jump shot from Burnett to push the MVC advantage to 50-29 with one minute played.  Lance sank a three-pointer moments later to put the score at 53-29.  Mount Mercy countered with a 17-2 run over the next five minute of play, to cut its deficit to single-digits, 55-46.  One minute later, Floyd came down with an offensive rebound and put in a layup to extend the lead back to double-digits, 57-46.  The next three points came from Driver, as the score moved to 60-46 just past the 12-minute mark.  Jones added another three-pointer less than one minute later, and Patterson tacked on the next four points to give the Vikings a 67-48 advantage midway through the half.  The Mustangs chipped away at the gap again, this time working it down to 71-58 with under six minutes remaining in the game.  Patterson ended the MMU run one minute later with a layup, followed by field goals from both Jones and Smith to push the lead out to 77-58 with four minutes left on the clock.  The remaining points in the game for MVC all came from Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) who recorded the final five field goals for the team, sealing off an 87-67 victory.

Jones led four Vikings in double-figures with 20 points to go with four steals.  Patterson added 13 points, while Smith totaled 12 points and six assists.  Taylor came off the bench to score 12 points and grab seven rebounds.  Missouri Valley shot over 53-percent in the game, and limited Mount Mercy to 32-percent shooting from the floor.  The Vikings also held a 50-30 advantage in rebounds.

Missouri Valley improves to 9-11 overall and 8-8 in the Heart.  Mount Mercy drops to 6-14 on the season and 5-11 in the conference.  Missouri Valley sweeps the season series after topping the Mustangs, 71-68, back on Nov. 29, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Up next, the Viking men's and women's basketball teams will travel to Atchison, Kan., for a Heart doubleheader with Benedictine (Kan.), Wednesday.  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  The men's team topped the Ravens in the previous matchup, at home back on Dec. 13, 69-91.

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.