Men's Basketball Survives Double-Overtime in Win Over Peru State

Peru, Neb., (Dec. 9, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams played on the road to Peru, Neb., Saturday afternoon in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Peru State (Neb.). The men's team survived in double-overtime for an 84-81 win.

The men's game started with an early field goal from Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) and a three-pointer from Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) to put the team in front, 5-0.  Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) added a dunk moments later to give the team a 7-3 advantage with just over two minutes played.  Missouri Valley stayed in front over the next stretch, helped by a three-pointer from Jones and a field goal from Floyd to make it a 12-8 score near the 15-minute mark.  Junior Logan Walker (Lebam, Wash.) added a layup one minute later to put the team ahead, 14-8, while a Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) layup put the lead at 16-10 with seven minutes played.  Peru State responded with a 10-0 run to move in front, 20-16, midway through the half.  Junior Jarrius Burnett (Covington, Ga.) ended the MVC drought with a three-pointer, then sank another three-point shot with eight minutes remaining in the half to pull Missouri Valley into a 23-22 deficit.  A ten-point run followed as Jones moved the Vikings on top once again with a three-point field goal, followed by a pair of free throws from Burnett.  Jones made another three-pointer and Patterson capped the run with a basket to make it a 32-23 score with under five minutes left on the clock.  Peru State trimmed the deficit down to 34-30 with less than two minutes to play. Patterson and Jones both came through with three-pointer field goals late in the half to send the team into the break with a 40-35 lead.

The Bobcats opened the second half with a three-point shot, while Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) made a pair of free throws, and Floyd extended the advantage to 45-38 with a three-pointer at the 16-minute mark.  Missouri Valley eventually reached a double-digit lead, after a layup from Burnett and a three-point field goal from Patterson made it a 50-40 score just over two minutes later.  Smith added another three-pointer, and Patterson recorded a tip-in basket to set the lead at 55-41 with nine minutes played.  The Bobcats trimmed their deficit down to 55-49 midway through the half, then got to within a 56-55 score.  Jones responded with another made three-point field goal and Taylor put in a layup to increase the lead to 61-55.  Peru State again came back and outscored MVC by an 8-0 margin over a two minute stretch of play to go back in front, 63-61.  Jones answered with a four-point play near the four-minute mark to push the Vikings ahead, 65-63.  Patterson then made it a 67-63 score moments later on a layup, but Peru State used a 7-2 run to eventually move on top, 70-69 with less than one minute left on the clock.  After a timeout, Taylor made one free throw attempt to tie the score at 70-70.  Both teams failed to score in their final possessions, and the game went into overtime, tied at 70-70.

The first overtime period featured a pair of made field goals from Burnett midway through, as the teams traded points over much of play.  Both teams went scoreless over the final two minutes.  With the score tied at 76-76, the contest went into a second overtime period.  After briefly trailing at the start of the second overtime, Smith put in a layup, and Burnett added a field goal to give MVC an 80-78 lead midway through the period.  The two teams traded steals near the one-minute mark, and the Bobcats tied the score at 80-80.  Moments later, Patterson sank a pair of free throws to put the Vikings back in front, while PSC made one free throw to make it 82-81.  Peru State failed to reclaim the lead late, and Jones capped the win with two final free throws to put the final score at 84-81.

Jones led with a season-high 24 points to go with six rebounds.  Patterson came off the bench to score 18 points, while Burnett scored 16 points and came down with eight rebounds.  Smith totaled nine points and 11 assists.  Missouri Valley held a 37-29 advantage in rebounds and forced 15 turnovers.

Missouri Valley improves to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the conference.  Peru State drops to 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams will host Benedictine (Kan.) in a Heart doubleheader, Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  The doubleheader will be free admission for all spectators.

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.