Men's Basketball Builds Up Big Lead in Win Over Baker

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 17, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in Baker (Kan.) for a Wednesday night Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team fell by a 60-49 final score, while the men's team led throughout most of the game to earn an 83-72 victory.

The women's game started with a pair of early three-pointers from Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) to help put Missouri Valley in front with three minutes played, 6-4.  Freshman Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) kept MVC on top with a layup one minute later to make it an 8-6 score.  The Vikings went scoreless over the next four minutes of play as Baker moved ahead, 10-8.  Bostick ended the drought with another layup, while Junior Kiara Williams (Shawnee, Kan.) tacked on another late field goal, but the Wildcats carried a 16-12 advantage into the second quarter.

Baker added to its lead early in the second quarter, holding a 20-14 advantage with two minutes off the clock.  Missouri Valley went scoreless through a long stretch of play in the quarter, as the deficit grew to 25-14 at the four-minute mark.  Callahan put points on the board with a pair of free throws, then followed with a three-pointer.  Junior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) came up with a steal and a fast-break layup, then added a jumper to cut the gap down to 27-25 with just over one minute to play in the half.  Baker added one more basket before the end of the quarter, and the Vikings trailed, 29-25 going into halftime.

The third quarter featured an early layup and three made free throws from Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) to put the Vikings on top at 30-29 with just over one minute played after the break.  The Wildcats briefly went in front, but Callahan responded with an offensive rebound and layup to tie the teams at 32-32 just past the seven-minute mark.  Missouri Valley went scoreless over the next three minutes of play, as BU moved ahead, 37-32.  Sophomore Mackenzie Mann (Oak Grove, Mo.) broke the drought with a layup, and Sophomore Tyler Conkright (Ellington, Mo.) tied the score again with a three-point as the quarter neared the two-minute mark.  Conkright added a pair of free throws and Bostick put in a layup in the closing moments, but a three-pointer at the buzzer from Baker sent the Vikings into a 45-41 deficit at the end of the quarter.

Missouri Valley was held without a point through six minutes of play to start the fourth quarter, and eventually trailed, 51-41.  Sullivan put in a layup for the first basket of the quarter, and Conkright added a three-pointer to make it 53-46 with just over three minutes remaining.  Sullivan sank a three-point field goal just over one minute later, to make it 54-49, but Baker pulled away from there as Missouri Valley fell, 60-49.

Callahan led with her first career double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds.  Sullivan added 10 points and four rebounds.  Missouri Valley held a 41-37 advantage in rebounds and forced 16 turnovers.

Missouri Valley drops to 9-8 overall and 6-7 in the Heart.  Baker improves to 3-15 on the season and 3-11 in the conference.

Missouri Valley jumped out to an early lead in the men's game, helped by a quick three-pointer from Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) and jump shot from Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.).  Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) tacked on another three-point field goal, while Smith put in a layup to make it a 10-6 advantage with just over three minutes played.  Baker briefly tied the teams at 10-10 less than one minute later, but Lance broke the tie with a three-point basket and Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) added a layup to make it a 15-10 score at the 15-minute mark.  The Vikings began to build up a lead from there, as Lance made three more three-point attempts and a pair of free throws to give the team a double-digit advantage, 26-15, with less than eight minutes played in the half.  Junior Logan Walker (Lebam, Wash.) sank a three-pointer, while Smith tacked on a jumper to make it a 31-20 score with 11 minutes to play in the half.  Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) finished off a three-point play two minutes later with a Burnett three-point shot making it 38-24 past the eight-minute mark.  Burnett added four more points over the next stretch of play, which included a layup from Jones to keep MVC in front, 44-31 with just over five minutes remaining.  Junior Oliver Pauleon-Gerard (Covington, Ga.) came down with an offensive rebound, and scored a layup to put the advantage at 48-34 with under two minutes left on the clock.  Pauleon-Gerard added another late basket and Patterson capped scoring with a layup to make it 52-37 at halftime.

The second half opened with a quick layup from Jones, then Smith turned a Burnett steal into a fast-break layup to give Missouri Valley a 56-40 lead with just over two minutes played after the restart.  Baker responded to score six-straight points over the next two minutes, but a Burnett three-pointer ended the MVC drought and made it a 59-46 score.  Burnett sank another three-point field goal moments later, and set the advantage at 62-48 with less than five minutes off the clock.  The next field goal for Missouri Valley came nearly five minutes later, after Jones added a jumper to give the team a double-digit advantage once again, 65-55.  A three-pointer from Walker near the eight-minute mark made it a 70-56 game, but BU chipped its deficit down to 70-60 one minute later.  Taylor scored the next five points, as the Wildcats were kept scoreless through a nearly four minute stretch late in the second half.  However, Baker scored six-straight points to close the gap back to single-digits, 75-66 with two minutes to play.  Smith tried to hold off BU late in the game, making four free throw attempts, but the score sat at 79-71 in the final minute.  A pair of fast-break field goals from Jones as the game came to an end helped finish off the Wildcats and secure an 83-72 win for Missouri Valley.

Burnett led four Vikings in double-figures with 18 points to go with seven rebounds.  Lance totaled 17 points and seven assists, while Jones added 13 points.  Smith finished with 12 points and five assists.  Missouri Valley shot over 50-percent from the floor and forced Baker into 17 turnovers, while producing 23 assists.

Missouri Valley improves to 8-9 overall and 7-6 in the conference.  Baker drops to 13-5 on the season 11-3 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams will travel to Lamoni, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Graceland (Iowa), Saturday.  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 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.