By Daijah White / Sports Editor

Missouri Valley’s Men’s Basketball team took on the No. 1 seed Baker University in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason tournament but came up short, losing 72-54. The Vikings ended their season 11-13 in conference play and 12-17 overall.

A 3-pointer made by Baker opened up this quarterfinal game. They were up 5-0 in the start, but David Ajanaku put Valley on the board to get the Vikings going. At the 10-minute mark of the first half Baker was leading 19-13. Ajanaku led his team in the first half with 7 points. The Vikings ended the first half down 31-26. 

Keenan Jones opened up the second half for Valley with a made 3-pointer cutting the deficit to two points. The Vikings trailed by two points also in the first half, but could not grab the lead or tie in either. Baker went on an 8-point run and from here, the Vikings just could not catch up. Baker reached a high 22 point lead in the second half, and won the game by 18 points. 

Despite the loss, the Vikings had two players earn end-of-season accolades. Senior Kawan Smith was named Heart Defensive Player of the Year, made the All Defensive Team, and ranked third nationally with 83 steals. He was also placed on the Second-Team All Conference. Senior Keenan Jones earned Second Team All-Conference honors after averaging 13 points per game and leading the Vikings with 392 points for the season.