Men's Basketball Suffers Loss to Baker in Heart Quarterfinal

Baldwin City, Kan., (Feb. 26, 2025)-The Missouri Valley College men's basketball team traveled to Baldwin City, Kan., to play Baker (Kan.) in the quarterfinal round of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament.  The No. 8 seeded Vikings closed the gap against No. 1 seeded Baker before halftime, but fell by a final score of 72-54.

Baker went out in front early in the game, working up to an 8-2 lead with just over two minutes played.  Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) came up with a steal and fast-break layup, then Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) added a basket to cut the deficit down to 8-6 a little more than one minute later.  The Wildcats responded, and stretched their advantage to 14-6, with five minutes off the clock, then made it a 17-8 score near the 14-minute mark.  The Vikings kept BU scoreless for a nearly three-minute stretch of play, but could only score on a Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) three-pointer to put the gap at 17-11.  Jones added another basket to make it a 19-13 score with just over 11-minutes to play in the half.  Missouri Valley went the next six minutes of play without any points, and eventually trailed, 27-13.  Senior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) broke the drought with a jumper, as Baker held a 29-15 lead at the five-minute mark.  The Vikings went on a run from there, holding BU to only a pair of made free throws in the late stretch of the half.  Driver scored four points, while Senior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) added a pair of field goals, and Smith sank a jump shot as the half finished out.  Ajanaku ended an 11-0 run to close the half on a field goal and MVC sat in a 31-26 deficit going into the break.

Play in the second half started with a Viking possession, and quick three-pointer from Jones to pull the team into a 31-29 score.  The next basket came more than one-minute later, made by Smith, as the team trailed, 33-31.  Baker responded, and went on an 11-1 run over the next four minutes to sit with a double-digit advantage, 44-32.  The Viking drought ended on a Smith steal and Jones fast-break layup, to work back to a 44-34 deficit.  The Wildcats added to their lead, sitting in front, 52-37 at the 12-minute mark.  Driver responded moments later with a basket, and then came up with a steal that led to a Senior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) layup, as the team closed the gap to 52-41 less than one minute later.  The 11-point deficit was as close as MVC could get late in the game.  Baker went out to a 66-44 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the contest.  The Vikings got late field goals from Smith, Burnett, and Driver, but fell by a final score of 72-54.

Jones led with 17 points, while Driver came off the bench to score 10 points and grab six rebounds.  Ajanaku had nine points and eight rebounds.  Missouri Valley forced 17 turnovers and held a 41-38 edge in rebounds.

Missouri Valley ends its season with an overall record of 12-17.  Baker improves to 26-3 and advances to the tournament semifinals.

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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.