Men's Basketball Drops Road Game to Columbia

Marshall, Mo., (Dec. 2, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's basketball team traveled to Columbia, Mo., for a non-conference game against Columbia (Mo.), Monday evening, in a game that was postponed due to weather from Saturday.  The Vikings fell, 86-71.

The two teams traded points through the opening minutes of play in the contest, as a layup from Senior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) and a three-pointer by Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) kept Missouri Valley in a 6-5 deficit with three minutes off the clock.  Columbia stretched its advantage out to 11-5 just over one minute later, then made it a 15-7 score near the 14-minute mark.  Senior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) followed with a layup, but that was the only field goal for MVC through a six-minute stretch, as the team sat in a 22-9 deficit midway through the half.  Patterson ended the drought with a three-point basket moments later while Floyd added an offensive rebound and Senior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) sank a three-pointer to put the gap at 31-17 with seven minutes to play in the half.  Burnett came through with the next seven points scored for MVC, and Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) finished off a three-point play to make it a 44-27 score at the four-minute mark.  The Cougars increased their lead through the final minutes of the half, out to 52-29.  Floyd made a pair of late free throws, while Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) added a steal and fast-break layup to cap scoring in the half, but Missouri Valley trailed, 52-33.

Play in the second half started with a three-pointer and layup from Jones, along with a Patterson jumper to cut the deficit down to 55-40, with just over two minutes played.  Smith added the next pair of baskets for MVC, but Columbia eventually put its lead at 66-46 with less than 12 minutes to play in the contest.  Six-straight points for the Vikings, coming on a layup from Senior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) and a pair of free throws made from both Smith and Patterson made it a 68-54 score midway through the half.  Missouri Valley was unable to work down its deficit through the rest of the game, and fell by a final score of 86-71.

Four Vikings finished in double-figures, as Smith, Jones and Burnett all scored 10 points, while Floyd came off the bench to score 10 points and  grab eight rebounds.  Missouri Valley came down with 17 offensive rebounds and forced 15 turnovers.

Missouri Valley drops to 2-7 on the season, while Columbia improves to 6-3.

Up next, the Viking men's basketball team will host MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference contest, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The game will be preceded by the women's contest, which starts at 5:30 p.m.

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.