In St. Louis, the Three Rivers men tried to mount a comeback late in the second half, but fell short 72-70 to Southwestern Illinois College at St. Louis Community College.

Lamar Wilkerson led the Raiders with 23 points while Kinyon Hodges had 14 and Keith Kiner and Shannon Strickland each had 10 points.

The Raiders had the lead going into halftime 34-32, but the undefeated Blue Storm (9-0) overtook the Raiders in the second half and Three Rivers was playing from behind down the stretch.

The Raiders were able to cut the deficit down to two with 14 seconds showing on the clock.

They turned to their top scorer in Wilkerson who fired from 3-point range, but it fell short off the front of the iron. The Raiders had to foul on the other end and both free throws were converted.

Wilkerson was able to make a half-court shot at the buzzer, but it was too late as the Raiders now fall below .500 at 6-7 overall.

Three Rivers lost their third straight by less than six points and fell to 3-5 in games decided by single digits.

Both of the Three Rivers teams will be home at the Libla Family Sports Complex on Thursday for a double dip as the ladies will host Williams Baptist JV at 5 p.m. followed at 7 p.m. with the guys taking on North Arkansas College.

Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic