Men's Basketball Holds Off William Penn Late in Win

Marshall, Mo., (Dec. 2, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in William Penn (Iowa) into the Burns Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.  The women's team used a record-breaking performance to earn an 87-63 win, while the men's team came back from a deficit to hold off the Statesmen late in an 81-79 victory.

The men's game started with made field goals from both Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) and Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) to put Missouri Valley ahead, 4-2, with less than two minutes played.  After the Statesmen briefly tied the game, MVC went on a quick 6-0 run that featured baskets from Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.), Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) and Taylor to put the team on top, 10-4, with just over four minutes gone in the game.  Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) added a three-pointer one minute later, while Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) put in a layup to make it a 15-8 lead near the 13-minute mark.  William Penn responded with a 12-0 run over the next seven minutes of play.  Floyd ended the MVC drought with a three-pointer, while Burnett added a layup to pull the team into a 22-20 deficit with less than six minutes left in the half.  Another Burnett layup made it a 23-22 score, but the Statesmen worked up a 27-22 lead with just over three minutes remaining on the clock.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, as Lance made a three-pointer, and both Patterson and Taylor added baskets in the paint to put the gap at 33-31 in the final minute.  The Statesmen finished off the half with two made free throws, and Missouri Valley trailed at halftime, 35-31.

Scoring in the second half featured an early layup from Taylor and three made free throws from Floyd to shrink the deficit to 37-36 with one minute played.  Patterson tied the teams with a free throw moments later, but WPU scored six-straight points to stay on top, 43-37 with three minutes gone in the half.  Missouri Valley continued to trail by a 45-39 score before putting together a run.  Burnett earned a tip-in basket, while Smith made a pair of free throws.  Patterson added one free throw, and Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) sank a jumper to push the Vikings ahead, 46-45, six minutes after the restart.  Patterson followed with a three-pointer and a layup, while Jones made two from the free throw line as the team went on a 14-0 run to make it a 53-45 score near the 12-minute mark.  William Penn shrunk its deficit to 55-50, but Floyd made two free throws, Junior Jagger Lawler (Kansas City, Mo.) added a dunk and Taylor sank a three-point attempt to stretch the lead out to 62-50 midway through the half.  The two teams traded points over the next several minutes, as MVC stayed on top, 71-63 following a three-pointer from Jones with less than five minutes remaining.  William Penn stayed close, and trailed 73-72 with two minutes on the clock.  Nearing the one-minute mark, Jones came up with a steal, which eventually led to a three-pointer from Burnett to make it a 76-72 score.  Smith added two from the free throw line, but WPU made a three-point attempt to bring the team to within a 78-77 score in the final moments.  Smith made two more free throw attempts, and the Statesmen followed with two made free throws.  Floyd was fouled in the final moments, and added one more free throw, while a last-second three-pointer from William Penn was off the mark to secure an 81-79 win for Missouri Valley.

Taylor led with 15 points, followed by 13 points and five rebounds from Burnett.  Patterson came off the bench to score 13 points, while Smith added 12 points and five assists.  Floyd totaled 11 points and five rebounds.  Missouri Valley forced 18 turnovers in the game, and came down with 17 offensive rebounds.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the Heart.  William Penn falls to 3-7 on the season, and 2-4 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Parkville, Mo., for a Heart doubleheader against Park (Mo.), Wednesday.  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.

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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.