The Three Rivers men used a big surge to wrap up an impressive fourth-quarter rally to beat Arkansas State-Mid South, 68-59 on the second and final day of the Imo's Bob Sechrest Classic in Park Hills and the home of Mineral Area College.

Three Rivers (4-4) was led by Jordan Hamilton (19 points, five rebounds), Hosana Kitenge (17 points, 10 rebounds), Makur Jongkuch (11 points, six rebounds), and Lamont Jackson (10 points, six rebounds) while the team finished the night with 15 turnovers (after committing 11 in the first half) and a 44.8 shooting percentage.

"We took care of the ball better and had better looks in the second half," Three Rivers head coach Brian Bess said. "We grew this weekend. We were tested a lot. They pressed down late and we had to handle the pressure and we really handled that well."

The Raiders trailed by five with about seven minutes to go before going on a 14-point outscoring run to seal the victory.

"It was a little bit of better offensive efficiency and defense," Bess said. "Our defense got a couple of big stops and we got rebounds in crowds – about two or three where they could have had offensive rebounds for putbacks. Once again (Makur) got a couple of big rebounds in that stretch and Hosane did. Those were keys late."

Three Rivers trailed 13-2 at the start of the game, but slowly found its footing and closed the gap, trailing 27-25 at halftime.

"We battled and competed up until halftime," Bess said. "I like that we are doing that – playing hard and getting after it.

"They did a really good job guarding Jordan and made it really hard for him to score. They did a better job matching up with us than some teams, because they were big. They matched up well with Hosane, but he was really good."

Bess noted Hosana's leadership during the rougher moments of the contest.

Alan Dale - Daily American Republic