MOBERLY, Mo. — After everything had gone right for the Raiders in their previous two games, nothing did Sunday at Moberly Area. The Greyhounds played nearly a perfect game, and Arizona State commit Alonzo Verge looked every bit like someone who belongs in the NCAA at the Division I level. Verge scored a game-high 37 points, his third straight 30-point game, and shot 14- of-25 from the field. "Verge is at another level," Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said. "The first three times he got the ball he got to the hole with it. He didn't really have to even work too hard for his shots. But overall, their guys are just really athletic." Six-foot, 5-inch guard Sean Miller-Moore complemented Verge's performance with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, 13 rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes as Moberly Area throttled Three Rivers 113-87 to win its eighth consecutive game. The Greyhounds' 113 points were two shy of matching a season high. "We did such a super job getting ready for State Fair and Mineral Area, and tonight I thought we worked equally hard — we had an extra day — and we didn't do anything right," Bess said. "We didn't guard their best player right. We knew everything Moberly was going to do. "I don't know if we'd sat around all day in the motel, but anyhow, we didn't come to play." The game was originally scheduled for Saturday night, but heavy snow in the area caused it to get rescheduled for Sunday since the referees were unable to get to the gym. The Raiders (8-10, 2-1 Region XVI) scored two points higher than their season average per game, but an inability to get stops and rebound the ball hurt them throughout the game. They gave up a season high in points, topping the 112 they surrendered to MSU-West Plains in an overtime game earlier in the season. At one point in the second half, the Raiders trailed by 43 points before the Greyhounds let their foot off the gas. The Greyhounds' (15-5, 1-0 Region XVI) athleticism was too much to handle for the Raiders. Moberly started the game on a 26-7 run in the first half with Verge and Miller-Moore serving as the catalysts. When the Raiders had chances to finish defensive possessions, Moberly showed its dominance on the glass, finishing with a plus-23 rebounding margin with 61 total boards, 13 of which were on the offensive end and led to 18 secondchance points.
Nate Fields - Daily American Republic