Men's Basketball Falls to Benedictine at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 13, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Benedictine (Kan.) for Courtwarming Thursday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.  The women's team came back from a halftime deficit to pull away for a 62-54 win.  The men's team fell by a final score of 87-82.

Missouri Valley got on the scoreboard at the start of the men's game on a three-pointer from Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) and a layup by Senior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria), but Benedictine got out to a 13-5 advantage with just over three minutes played.  Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) answered with a three-point shot, Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) added a pair of free throws, while an Ajanaku steal led to a Senior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) layup to cap a 7-0 run and shrink the team's deficit down to 13-12 near the 14-minute mark.  The Ravens increased their lead over the next two minutes, out to 21-14, and extended to a double-digit gap at 29-19 midway through the half.  Smith scored the next four points for MVC, shrinking the deficit back to single-digits, 32-23, over the next minute of play.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, as Smith, Burnett and Jones all had one field goal apiece to make it a 41-31 score with less than five minutes remaining in the half.  Ajanaku added a pair of free throws, then made a tip-in basket, off an offensive rebound, cutting the gap to 43-35 at the three-minute mark.  Benedictine stretched out its lead over the final minutes of play before the break, and went into halftime on top, 48-37.

Scoring in the second half began with a layup from Ajanaku and a three-pointer from Burnett to bring MVC within a 48-42 score over two minutes of play.  Missouri Valley continued to chip away, as Senior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) had two fast-break dunks, and Jones sank a three-point shot.  Ajanaku capped a 9-2 run for the Vikings, and sat in a 53-51 deficit with six minutes off the clock.  Benedictine responded, and outscored Missouri Valley by an 8-0 margin over the next three minutes to hold a double-digit lead again, 61-51.  Freshman James Porter (St. Louis, Mo.) ended the Viking drought with a three-pointer moments later, while Driver added four points to make it a 61-58 score midway through the half.  Driver added a three-point play as the team trailed 63-61 less than one minute later.  The Ravens again responded, and stretched their advantage to 70-61 at the seven-minute mark.  The two teams traded points through the next several minutes of play.  Driver added another six points, and Smith tacked on a jumper to pull the team back to a 75-69 score.  Jones added four points near the two-minute mark to put the deficit at 80-73, but BC held off a late rally for the Vikings.  Late free throws by Benedictine closed out the game, as Missouri Valley fell, 87-82. 

Smith led with 18 points to go with nine assists and six rebounds.  Driver came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points and grab five rebounds.  Jones had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Burnett added 13 points and six rebounds.  Ajanaku chipped in with 10 points.  Missouri Valley forced 16 turnovers in the game, and held a 32-24 advantage in rebounds.  The Vikings also tied an NAIA single-game record, with a 1.000 percentage from the free throw line, going 16 for 16 in the game.

Missouri Valley drops to 11-14 on the season and 10-11 in the Heart.  Benedictine improves to 9-16 overall and 8-13 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Grand View (Iowa), Saturday afternoon.  Women's game starts at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 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.