Mustangs Fall in Back-and-Forth Clash with Missouri Valley

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Mustang men's basketball team went shot-for-shot with Missouri Valley, ultimately falling to the Vikings on Saturday, 82-73.

The Mustangs (2-18, 1-15 Heart) saw the return of sophomore forward Jaxson Fried, as Fried would lead the team in scoring with 19. Other contributors in double digits were Rusmir Hamzic with 13 and Ahmad Ingram with 11.

Missouri Valley (8-12, 7-9 Heart) was paced by a phenomenal offensive showcase from Keenan Jones, leading all scorers with 37 points. Jones would shoot 13-22 from the floor, including nine three pointers that made the difference for the Vikings. Jones would end the first half on fire, rattling off 21 points in the first 20 minutes of the game while going 6-9 from deep in the opening half.

Once down 10 early in the first half, the Mustangs were able to storm back, rattling off 30 points in the final 10 minutes of the first to capture the lead by three heading into the break. The Mustangs would extend the lead to five on a Hannes Bergmann layup before Keenan Jones tacked on six straight of his own on three point play followed by a long ball. The Vikings were able to extend their lead to as much as 12 in the second half, before the two teams went shot-for-shot down the stretch.

Turnovers would plague the Mustangs in the first half, committing 11 turnovers in the first half, and 19 in the game. The Vikings were able to capitalize on those miscues, turning that into 23 points off of turnovers compared to MMU's 13. The Mustangs however held a massive edge in points in the paint, ending the game with a 30-12 edge.

The Mustangs will return the court on Wednesday, traveling to Des Moines to take on Grand View, with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m.