The Missouri-Iowa JUCO men's basketball challenge gave fans a chance to check out some top competition and for the host Three Rivers College Raiders to find out more about themselves during the embryonic stage of the season.
Southeastern CC out of Burlington, Iowa met up with the host Raiders to wrap the eight-game over two days event Saturday night at the Libla Family Sports Complex, got an early lead, and fended off about a half-dozen rallies by the host in a 72-63 win.
The Raiders (2-4) were led by Mo Niang (17 points, eight rebounds), Hosane Kitenge (15 points, eight rebounds), Lamont Jackson (12 points), and Jordan Hamilton (11 points, 12 rebounds) as Three Rivers lost its fourth straight game.
"We are still trying to figure out what our roles are and who we are and it's early in the year," Three Rivers head coach Brian Bess said. "We do know we need to play through Hosane and Jordan and they make good things happen."
Southeastern shot 50 percent from the field and Three Rivers only 34 percent - after struggling to hit 32 percent the previous evening against a ferocious defensive effort by Indian Hills and Bess knows that despite some good efforts defending the Raiders basket, the performance on that side of the ball has to be even better until the offense figures itself out.
"We have been off and on through the preseason, but not this weekend," Bess said. "Both teams shot real well against us."
Bess added that most of the defensive hiccups come from the random missed assignments on perimeter shooters and at some of the more inopportune times.
Next up, the Raiders travel to Illinois Central 5 p.m. Friday at Mineral Area College in Park Hills and then ASU-Mid South 3 p.m. Saturday at the same location. Both teams are NJCAA Division II programs.
Trailing by 14 at halftime, the Raiders came out with that well-known fighting spirit to start the second half, and on a three-point shot by Jackson with 16:39 to go in the game suddenly the Raiders were down 45-38.
Less than a minute later, Jackson duplicated the feat and the Three Rivers men were suddenly down 45-41 with plenty of time to go.
The Blackhawks created a little separation over the next seven minutes to go up 58-48, but the Raiders had plenty of time to fix that.
A B.J. Francis rip off a Blackhawk ball handler at halfcourt ended up in easy layup 40 feet later and the Raiders were down 59-54 at the 7:12 mark.
The back-and-forth nature of the game continued as the Blackhawks would try to build the lead only to see the Raiders catch back up to pull within two possessions. A Jackson triple with 3:50 to go eased Three Rivers to within 64-59.
A defensive stop and a Hamilton 17-footer then got the Raiders within 64-61 as the clock struck three minutes.
The teams exchanged two-point trips to keep the Blackhawks up a possession until two free throws got Southeastern up 68-63 with 70 seconds left.
That ultimately was enough to secure the win and leave Poplar Bluff feeling good about a trip back to Burlington, Iowa.
Three Rivers started the contest with better efficiency on offense and effectiveness, but that also had a lot to do with Southeastern defense not being near as formidable as Indian Hills.
Yet Southeastern is also able to make shots themselves and they held an early three-point lead in the first 5 minutes of the contest.
Niang hit two triples and a layup to keep the Raiders at pace with Southeastern as Three Rivers trailed 21-18 halfway through the first half.
"Tonight (Niang) made some big shots and he's a really good catch-and-shoot shooter," Bess said. "I told him that it's not that the teams have him scouted really well, 'it's you.' I thought he took advantage of what he did well and he had overall good shot selection."
Niang said that it was just a matter of looking around and seeing the team needing more guys to step up.
"First couple of games were rough and my shots weren't falling while I was trying to find my rhythm," Niang said. "I am trying to take off some of the pressure on Hosane and Jordan. Everyone has to step up - I have to do better because I know what I am capable of and I have to play up to my potential.
"It's just reps and I have to keep shooting. I just have to live with the results because I put all the work in. They told me at first my shot was getting up too slow so I've been working on getting it up faster. I am catching and letting it go. It looks bad when I catch it and dribble it and try to do too much."
Shots started having trouble falling and a couple ill-advised turnovers helped Southeastern take an eight-point lead as the first half started to creep to a close.
Despite their offensive struggles, the Raiders found themselves within a manageable 43-29 halftime deficit. Niang finished with a Three Rivers-high of 13 points in the first 20 minutes.
Southeastern shot 60 percent from the field in the first half compared to the Raiders 31 percent.
"It really hurt us when Hosane went out in the first half," Bess said. "We've got to find a way to not feel that - he needs to stay out of foul trouble too."
Missouri-Iowa Challenge results from Saturday
Marshalltown (IA) 70-56 over Missouri State University-West Plains
Moberly (MO) 74-71 over Triton (IL)
Indian Hills (IA) 75-57 over State Fair (MO)
Iowa wins direct series vs. Missouri, 4-2
Alan Dale - Daily American Republic