The Raiders opened up the tournament on Thanksgiving Day and recorded an 85-67 win over Motlow State Community College.

Three Rivers led 44-21 at halftime, behind an impressive 29-9 rebounding edge with Jackson leading the way with 14 points in the first 20 minutes and Hamilton going for eight points and eight boards.

Three Rivers led 10-0 out of the gate.

"We had a great first half," Bess said. "The 29-9 dominating rebound and we held them to 26 percent field-goal percentage and did a pretty good job on their best player."

The Raiders finished the game shooting 53 percent from the field – including 50 percent from behind the arc - compared to 38.2 percent for Motlow State,

Bess wasn't happy with the finish to the game, although the Raiders never let up on the lead despite committing 22 turnovers. Hamilton led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Jackson finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, Mario Fleming contributed 14 points and Makur Jongkuch and Mo Niang went for 12 and 10 points respectively.

"We had good balance," Bess said. "We shoot a lot in practice and for us to be a 26 percent three-point shooting team has been a shock to me and we are a better three-point shooting team than what we've shown (up until this game).

"I thought we let them do whatever they want the last 3-5 minutes – and the game was over at that point – but I am not a big fan of that either."

Alan Dale - Daily American Republic