Men's Basketball Suffers Road Loss at Baker to Open Heart Play

Baldwin City, Kan., (Nov. 13, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Baldwin City, Kan., to open play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a doubleheader against Baker (Kan.), Wednesday evening.  The men's team fell by an 84-61 score.

Scoring for Missouri Valley opened in the men's game with a layup from Senior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.), and a three-pointer from Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) to keep the team in a 6-5 deficit with three minutes played in the contest.  Baker extended its lead out to 11-5 just over one minute later, but Burnett added another three-pointer to make it an 11-8 score with five minutes off the clock.  A jumper from Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) put MVC in an 11-10 deficit near the 13-minute mark, but the Wildcats gradually built up their lead from there.  Missouri Valley was held to without a field goal over a nearly six minute stretch of play in the quarter.  A layup from Smith ended the drought, as MVC trailed, 26-14, at the seven-minute mark.  Baker answered with a 10-0 run, to open up a 36-14 advantage late in the half.  Junior Alan Davis, Jr. (Sacramento, Calif.) added three points in the closing moments of play, while Smith made a jump shot for the final points of the half.  The Vikings went into the break trailing, 40-19.

The second half featured early baskets made from Burnett, Smith and four points scored by Senior Dylan Drive (Covington, Ga.) to keep the team within a 45-27 score with two minutes played.  The Wildcats added to their lead over the next three minutes, going on a 10-0 run to sit on top, 55-27.  Freshman Micah Jerry-Holt (Fort Worth, Texas) came through with five-straight points, followed by a three-point play from Senior Jimmy Sorunke (Rockville, Md.) midway through the half to put the deficit at 66-42.  Another layup from Sorunke, and a three-pointer from Junior Maurice Walker II (Denver, Colo.) made it a 68-47 score just past the eight-minute mark.  Missouri Valley traded points with Baker throughout the rest of the game, and eventually fell by a final score of 84-61.

Smith led with 10 points, while Jerry-Holt came off the bench to score 10 points.  The team used 31 points off the bench in the game, and forced 13 turnovers.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the Heart.  Baker improves to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams 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.