ROBINSON, Ill. — The Raiders lost their second straight game by one possession. After losing to Mineral Area by two points on Saturday, the Raiders turned around and lost their final road game of the season to Lincoln Trail 85-82 in overtime. Five of the past six games for the Raiders have been decided by three points or less. They are 1-4 in those contests, with the lone win being at home against Arkansas Baptist. Three Rivers is 2-5 on the season in games decided by one possession and 4-6 in games decided by single digits. "I know the coaches are pretty frustrated. Everything is just catching up with us, we are not very fundamentally sound and everybody is playing their best game this time of year," Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said. Three Rivers (11-17) was down by seven with four minutes left and then scored eight straight and took the lead on Chucky Wilson's three-point play.
Lincoln Trail (8-17) answered with a 3 and Aidan Saunders got a layup to tie it with 27 seconds left. The Raiders forced a turnover and took a timeout with 6 seconds left, but Jeffery Porter missed a jumper and the game went into overtime. Overtime was tied with 90 seconds left, but Lincoln Trail scored and added a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to go ahead by four. Wilson missed the quick shot the other way, but Keiondre Jefferson was there for the putback. Three Rivers started to foul and Kendall Jones missed both free throws. Down by two with the ball and 10 seconds left. The Raiders got the ball to Wilson, who had 18 points to lead the team, but he missed and fouled Jones on the rebound. Jones made the first and missed the second with 2 seconds on the clock. Wilson grabbed the rebound gave it a heave but missed forcing a second overtime. "We had our chances … we just couldn't compete when the going got tough," Bess said. Jefferson and Corey Bowen came off the bench with strong games, and finished third and fourth in minutes played behind Wilson and Chris Stocks. Bowen had 15 points and 11 rebounds on 6 for 9 shooting for his first doubledouble of the season. "He had his best game," Bess said. "We haven't had anybody rebound all year except maybe Porter consistently … But Porter got in foul trouble early and that hurt us a lot." Jefferson added 11 points and nine rebounds on 5 for 13 shooting. Three Rivers shot five percent better from the field than Lincoln Trial, but was minus-three on points off turnovers and minus-four on second-chance points. Three Rivers committed three more turnovers and grabbed five fewer offensive rebounds. Lincoln Trail had 16 points off the bench compared to 43 by the Raiders. Lawrence Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Statesmen while Jones had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Three Rivers will complete its regular season schedule at 7 p.m. Saturday at home against On Point Academy.
Scott Borkgren - Daily American Republic