Men's Basketball Falls to Sterling at Tabor Classic

Hillsboro, Kan., (November 10, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's basketball team traveled to Hillsboro, Kan., Friday evening for the opening game of the Tabor Classic.  The Vikings led at halftime, but fell by a final score of 81-63.

Both Junior J'Luan Patterson (Belleville, Ill.) and Junior Runelvys Hernandez (Independence, MO.) sank a pair of free throws early to keep Missouri Valley in a 5-4 deficit with three minutes played in the contest.  The first field goal of the game came from Hernandez nearly four minutes into play, with Sterling eventually going on top by a 13-6 score.  Junior Jace Lance (Marshall, Mo.) added a three-pointer, with one free throw from Senior Vincent Taylor (Dallas, Texas) to shrink the gap to 15-10 near the 14-minute mark.  A field goal from Junior Cawhan Smith (Collinsville, Ill.) and a three-pointer from Junior Jarrius Burnett (Warrenton, Ga.) tied the teams at 15-15 less than two minutes later, then a basket from Taylor made it a 17-17 score with just over eight minutes played.  Sterling eventually held a 20-17 lead just past the 11-minute mark, which was followed by a three-pointer from both Lance and Senior Keenan Jones (Chicago, Ill.) to push the Vikings in front for the first time, 23-20, midway through the half.  The score was tied at 23-23 one minute later, and Missouri Valley answered with a run.  Jones opened the stretch with a three-point basket, followed by a pair of free throws from Taylor.  Junior Geovonni Floyd (Bowling Green, Ky.) added a jumper, while Patterson finished off a three-point play.  Smith capped the 13-2 run with a three-pointer with just under five minutes to play before the break to stretch the advantage to double-digits, 36-25.  Sterling responded with a run over the final minutes of the half, outscoring MVC by an 11-2 margin to shrink the score at 38-36 at halftime.

Scoring in the second half started with a three-pointer from Lance, while Taylor added a field goal just over two minutes after the restart to put the lead at 43-38.  Patterson tacked on one free throw, but Sterling came back and went on top, 47-44, with five minutes off the clock.  A free throw from Jones, and a field goal from Taylor tied the teams at 47-47 moments later.  Sterling went ahead from there, and ran off an 11-0 run through the midway point of the half.  Lance ended the MVC drought with a basket, but the deficit sat at 58-50.  The two teams traded points over the next two minutes, as the deficit grew to 64-54 after another Lance field goal.   Sterling scored the next seven points, and stretched the lead to 71-54 at the six-minute mark.  The Vikings were unable to cut the gap back to single-digits through the rest of the game, and fell by a final score of 81-63.

Lance led with 20 points, to go with five assists.  Taylor came off the bench to score nine points and grab seven rebounds.  Missouri Valley forced 15 turnovers in the game, and came down with 14 offensive rebounds.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 1-2 on the season, while Sterling improves to 3-1.

Up next, the Viking men's basketball team plays another game at the Tabor Classic, Saturday at 5 p.m., against host Tabor (Kan.).

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.