Men's Basketball Pulls Away in Win Over Health Sciences & Pharamcy

Marshall, Mo., (November 7, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's basketball team hosted Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Mo.) in a non-conference game Tuesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The Vikings pulled away in the second half to earn a 98-65 victory.

Missouri Valley went in front early, as Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) made a three-pointer to open scoring in the contest, followed by layups from both Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) and Junior Runelvys Hernandez (Independence, Mo.) to make it a 7-2 score with just over two minutes played.  Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) added a basket moments later to put the advantage at 9-4, but MVC went scoreless over a three-minute stretch as UHSP cut the gap to 9-7.  Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) ended the drought with a dunk, then added a pair of free throws to put the lead at 13-7 with just over eight minutes played.  Health Sciences and Pharmacy began to chip away at its deficit, and tied the score at 17-17 past the midway point of the half.  Hernandez added a three-point play moments later to put MVC back in front, 20-17, while a three-pointer from Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) sank a three-pointer and Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) put the advantage out to 25-20 near the eight-minute mark.  Health Sciences and Pharmacy then went on a 7-0 run over the next minute of play to go on top for the first time, at 27-25.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch of play, with a free throw from Jones giving Missouri Valley a 30-29 lead with four minutes to play in the half.  Junior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) and Patterson both followed with a three-point play each to put the advantage at 36-32.  A pair of free throws from Junior Logan Walker (Lebam, Wash.), with a layup from Junior Oliver Pauleon-Gerard (Covington, Ga.) extending the advantage to 40-32 with less than two minutes remaining.  Patterson added a pair of free throws and Ajanaku capped scoring with a field goal to put Missouri Valley ahead by double-digits at halftime, 44-34.

Scoring in the second half started with five-straight points from the Eutectics to pull back to a 44-39 deficit with less than one minute played after the restart.  Health Sciences and Pharmacy added another jump shot to make it a 46-41 score, but the Vikings followed with a long run.  Missouri Valley outscored USHP by an 18-0 margin over the next six minutes of play to pull away.  Hernandez chipped in with six points during the stretch, Patterson added four points, and the run was capped by a pair of free throws from Smith to put the score at 64-41 with 12 minutes to play in the game.  A layup from Junior Dylan Drive (Covington, Ga.) midway through the half put the lead at 68-46.  Floyd added the next four points for MVC, followed by a three-pointer from Lance to make it a 75-47 advantage near the eight-minute mark.  Smith came through with another three-pointer and four-straight points from Jones put the team ahead, 84-54 with less than six minutes remaining on the clock.  Lance followed with the next four points, while Patterson and Hernandez added a layup each as the lead sat at 92-58 in the final three minutes of play.  Freshman Sterling Vinson (Springfield, Mo.) and Junior Jagger Lawler (Kansas City, Mo.) scored late field goals to finish out a 98-65 win.

Patterson led the team with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.  Hernandez scored 13 points with four rebounds, while Lace totaled 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds.  Jones added 10 points.  Missouri Valley held a 62-37 advantage in rebounds, and forced 18 turnovers in the game.

Missouri Valley improves to 1-1 on the season while Health Sciences & Pharmacy drops to 0-3.

Up next, the Viking men's basketball team will play two games at the Tabor Classic in Hillsboro, Kan., this weekend.  The first game will be Friday at 4 p.m., against Sterling (Kan.).

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.