MVC basketball: Vikings win seventh straight; Valley women snap short skid

Senior Bryant Porter hit three bombs during the Vikings' victory over No. 19 Columbia. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Burns Athletic Center was a happy place for Missouri Valley College hoops fans Tuesday, with both the men's and women's teams winning non-conference contests.

The Vikings extended their winning streak to seven games with a 66-62 victory over Columbia College, ranked 19th in the preseason NAIA Division I men's poll.

Valley led 33-26 at halftime, but had to hold off a Cougar charge after the break -- helping itself by making seven of nine attempts from the free-throw line after twice seeing the margin whittled to two points.

Columbia held sizable advantages in scoring off turnovers (19-5) and second-chance points (16-6), but couldn't overcome the Vikings' superior shooting from the field, 53.1 to 38.5 percent. That hasn't been uncommon this season for Valley, which is ranked 10th in the nation in both field-goal shooting (51.4 percent) and defending shots (37.0).

Senior Chad Thompson came off the bench for the Cougars (3-5) to lead all scorers with 20 points.

Senior Bryant Porter had 14 points and six assists for the Vikings (7-1) -- who also got 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots from junior Toray Henry and eight points and 10 boards by senior Roc Rogers.

Valley was coming off a sweep over the weekend at the LaQuinta Classic in Chicago, rolling over host Trinity International, 89-47 behind 13 points each from Rogers and senior Patrick McDermott on Friday, then downing Judson (Ill.), 84-72, as McDermott and junior Tristian Hill tallied 14 points apiece.

The Lady Vikings had a tough go in their weekend tourney, the Winstead-Reeves Classic at Maryville. First, NCAA Division II member Northwest Missouri State cruised to a 76-45 win over MVC, then William Penn (Iowa) took a 74-63 decision for Valley's third loss in a row.

However, the Lady Vikings rebounded Tuesday at home against Park, a traditional nemesis, with a 66-54 win. Until Valley beat them by three points two weeks earlier, the Lady Pirates had won the previous seven meetings between the teams -- including a sweep last year.

The game was tied 31-31 at halftime, but then the Lady Vikings pulled away -- holding Park to 27.8-percent field-goal shooting during the second half. Once ahead, Valley pulled away by making 10 of 15 attempts from the charity stripe.

The Lady Pirates (0-8) were paced by sophomore Dominique Hayes' 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior MaCall Budke led a balanced Viking attack with 11 points, junior ShaTeah West and freshman Sami Jackson each adding 10 points off the bench.

More than shooting, though, Valley (3-5) won by dominating the glass, 48-33, with junior Gita Grava pulling down 13 rebounds and junior Chelsea Quiring collecting 11.

Grava, a 5-foot-11 guard from Cesis, Latvia, is 10th in the NAIA with an average of 6.8 per game. She also contributed eight points, four assists and four steals to this victory.

Valley begins Heart of America Conference play next week, with a home doubleheader Thursday against Central Methodist.