Men's Basketball Overcomes Deficit in Road Win at William Penn

Oskaloosa, Iowa, (Feb. 3, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Oskaloosa, Iowa, Saturday afternoon, for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.  The women's team pulled away for a 72-57 win, and the men's team overcame a halftime deficit to earn an 83-79 victory to complete the sweep.

The men's game started with the two teams trading baskets early.  Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) made the first field goal for Missouri Valley, followed by a three-pointer from Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) to tie the teams at 5-5 with two minutes played.  William Penn briefly went on top, 8-5, but Jones added another three-pointer, then put in a layup to tie the contest again at 10-10 over the next minute.  The Statesmen followed with four-straight points to move ahead, and eventually put MVC in a 16-11 deficit near the 15-minute mark.  The gap grew to 18-12, but Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) ended the Viking drought with a layup to make it an 18-14 score one minute later.  William Penn eventually led, 22-17, but Jones cut into the deficit with a field goal, and Junior Logan Walker (Lebam, Wash.) came up with a steal and made a pair of free throws to pull back to a 22-21 score.  Two-straight made three-pointers, from Patterson and Smith, moved the Vikings in front, 27-24 with nearly nine minutes off the clock.  Junior Oliver Pauleon-Gerard (Covington, Ga.) put the advantage at 29-26 past the midway point of the half, but WPU followed with seven-straight points to climb on top, 33-29 at the eight-minute mark.  A Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) three-pointer tied the teams at 34-34 less than two minutes later, while William Penn broke the tie scoring five-straight points to lead, 39-34, with under five minutes remaining.  The Statesmen pushed out to a 42-36 advantage moments later, but a pair of free throws from Taylor and a late basket from Walker closed scoring in the half.  Missouri Valley kept WPU scoreless through the final stretch, producing two turnovers, and went into the break trailing, 42-40.

Play in the second half resumed with the Statesmen building onto its lead, making it 45-40 with two minutes played.  Patterson registered the first field goal of the half for MVC, but the team sat in a 47-42 deficit with nearly five minutes off the block.  The next four Viking points came from Patterson, while a block from Junior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) eventually led to a Jones layup that cut the gap down to 49-48 near the 13-minute mark.  The Vikings went scoreless over a nearly three-minute stretch of play, and trailed, 53-48.  Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) broke the drought, and Pauleon-Gerard put down a dunk to put the deficit at 53-52 at the midway point of the half.  Missouri Valley then claimed a lead for the first time in the contest after a pair of Jones free throws put the score at 54-53.  Jones added a layup moments later, making it a 56-54 advantage, with nine minutes to play.  The Statesmen answered back and went back in front, 59-57.  Jones took over from the three-point line over the next stretch, making three attempts to push MVC on top, 66-61 at the seven-minute mark.  Another three-point shot followed, this time from Burnett, and the score sat at 69-61.  The Vikings used another three points from Jones and a layup from Smith to finish an 11-0 run and lead 74-61 with six minutes left on the clock.  William Penn worked its deficit down to 76-70 two minutes later, while Patterson and Burnett moved the advantage back to double-digits one made field goals, to put the lead at 80-70 with less than two minutes to play.  Burnett added one more three-point field goal, and the Vikings held off WPU late in the game to secure an 83-79 win.

Jones led with a season-high 29 points, on 10 of 17 shooting, to go with five assists.  Patterson totaled 15 points and five rebounds, while Burnett had 12 points.  The Vikings forced 23 turnovers in the game, and only committed four turnovers as a team.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 11-11 overall and 10-8 in the Heart.  William Penn falls to 5-18 on the season and 4-15 in the conference.  The Vikings complete the season sweep of William Penn, after earning a home win back on Dec. 2, 81-79.  This is the program's first win at William Penn since a 98-87 victory in Oskaloosa, Iowa, back on March 2, 2019.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams return to the Burns Athletic Complex for a Wednesday doubleheader against Culver-Stockton (Mo.).  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  The men's team will be trying for the season sweep, after earning a road win, 62-57, back on Jan. 10.

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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.