Men's Basketball Falls on the Road to Clarke

Dubuque, Iowa, (Feb. 17, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Dubuque, Iowa, Saturday afternoon, for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Clarke (Iowa).  The women's team fell to the No. 5 Pride, 92-77.  The men's team lost by a final score of 74-61.

Play in the men's game featured a three-pointer from Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) with two minutes off the clock to put Missouri Valley on top, 3-0.  Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) scored the next five points for MVC to help the team cap an 8-2 run in the first four minutes of play to sit in front.  The next field goal for the Vikings came just over two minutes later, as a three-point basket from Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) made it a 12-6 lead.  Missouri Valley built up a double-digit advantage, as the three-pointer started a 9-0 run.  Lance, Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) and Junior Cahwan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) each added layups during the stretch of play to make it an 18-6 score with just over eight minutes off the clock.  Clarke cut its deficit to 18-10 midway through the half before a dunk from Floyd helped MVC stay ahead, 20-10.  The Pride outscored MVC by a 14-3 margin over the next eight minutes of play to move in front, 24-23 in the final minute of the half.  Lance came back with a three-pointer to briefly put the Vikings on top, but a last-second three-point shot from Clarke capped scoring and gave CU a 27-26 lead at the break.

Two early baskets from both Lance and Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) allowed MVC to briefly hold a 30-9 advantage with three minutes off the clock to start the second half.  The two teams traded points over the next several possessions, as Taylor scored a total of four points to help the Vikings to a 34-33 advantage with four minutes played.  The Pride responded with a 10-0 run to go ahead, 43-34, at the 14-minute mark.  The next Missouri Valley field goal came nearly two minutes later, as a Smith layup brought the deficit back to single-digits, 46-37.  The Pride built up a 53-38 lead midway through the half, while two quick baskets from Patterson and Junior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) made it a 53-42 score moments later.  The Viking deficit continued to grow, and reached 62-44 with five minutes remaining.  Patterson added a pair of free throws and Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) made a jump shot to put the gap at 64-48 less than one minute later.  Missouri Valley was unable to close back to a single-digit deficit through the rest of the game, and fell, 74-61.

Patterson led with 12 points and six rebounds.  Burnett totaled 10 points and seven rebounds, while Lance had 10 points.  Missouri Valley came down with 15 offensive rebounds and forced 13 turnovers.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 11-15 overall and 10-12 in the conference.  Clarke improves to 7-19 on the season and 5-17 in the Heart. 

Up next, the Vikings host Park (Mo.) 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.  These are the final home games of the regular season for the basketball programs.

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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.