The Jim Boone era is underway at Missouri Valley, as the Viking men’s basketball team launched their season at Homecoming with an 89-79 win over Health Sciences and Pharmacy.

The game started close, before two three-pointers from freshman Damario Moss gave the Vikings a 23-18 lead. The former Lexington Minuteman added another three-pointer later in the half, followed by a layup from junior Devin Davenport to extend the lead to ten with five minutes remaining in the half. Davenport added the final four points of the half to give the Vikings an 11-point lead.

Moss and Davenport would continue to add points out of the locker room, extending the Vikings’ lead to 20. The Eutectics cooled the Vikings’ lead down to seven with two minutes remaining, before the Vikings were able to close out the win.

Davenport led the way for Missouri Valley with 33 points, including 14 from the free-throw line. Senior Antwon Ferrell added 18 points, while Moss netted 17 in his debut for the Vikings. As a team, the Vikings went 30-for-37 from the charity strike, their highest total in four years. The Vikings will host Avila next Saturday at 4 p.m.