Men's Basketball Suffers Road Loss at Park

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 19, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Parkville, Mo., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Park (Mo.), Wednesday evening.  The women's team built up an early lead, and pulled away for an 83-57 win. The men's team fell, by a final score of 85-67

Missouri Valley fell behind quickly in the men's game, as Park made a pair of layups with less than one minute played in the contest.  Senior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) added a jumper, then came up with a steal that led to a Senior David Ajanaku (Ondo, Nigeria) layup to tie the teams at 4-4 after nearly two minutes had come off the clock.  The Pirates went back in front and increased their lead to 10-4 over the next two minutes of play.  Senior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) had the next field goal for MVC, but Park eventually owned a 15-7 advantage near the 14-minute mark.  A layup from Senior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) and a three-pointer from Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) trimmed down the deficit to 17-12 less than one minute later.  Smith added a three-point play, followed by a three-pointer by Burnett to bring the Vikings back to a 21-21 tie with just over nine minutes off the clock.  The Pirates responded to score seven-straight points to go back in front, 28-21 midway through the half.  The Vikings put together seven-straight points over the next minute of play, which included four points scored by Smith and a three-pointer from Burnett to tie the teams again, at 28-28.  A three-point basket from Smith gave MVC its first lead of the contest, at 31-29, near the seven-minute mark.  Park outscored MVC by a 7-1 margin over the next three minutes of play to move ahead, 36-32.  One made free throw from Floyd and a three-pointer by Smith tied the game against, 36-36, in the final two minutes of play before the break.  Senior Dylan Driver (Covington, Ga.) added a lay jumper, but the Vikings trailed at halftime, 42-38.

Play in the second half began with the two teams trading baskets early.  Made baskets from Ajanaku, Floyd and Burnett kept MVC within a 46-44 score through two minutes of play.  Park followed with a 9-1 run over the next four minutes, and held a double-digit lead, 55-45.  Ajanaku and Smith added a pair of free throws for MVC, but the team's deficit grew to 60-49 midway through the half.  Floyd had the next made field goal, and a dunk by Burnett brought the team to within a 64-53 score at the eight-minute mark.  Park gradually added to its lead from there, as the Vikings were unable to work back to a single-digit deficit.  Floyd added four points, and Smith sank a three-pointer, as the score sat at 81-62 with less than three minutes remaining.  Burnett totaled the final five points of the game, as Missouri Valley fell, 85-67.

Burnett led with 19 points to go with five rebounds, while Smith had 18 points and seven assists.  Floyd added 11 points and seven rebounds.  Missouri Valley came down with 11 offensive rebounds and forced Park into 14 turnovers.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 11-16 overall and 10-13 in the Heart.  Park improves to 17-11 on the season and 16-8 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams host Culver-Stockton (Mo.) in a Heart doubleheader for Senior Day, Saturday afternoon inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  Women's game 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.