PARK HILLS, Missouri — The Three Rivers Raiders men's basketball team turned in one of its best performances — if not its best performance — of the season Wednesday night at Mineral Area College.
Three Rivers led for a big chunk of the second half and went the full 15 rounds with the host Cardinals before ultimately falling short 73-70 at the Bob Sechrest Fieldhouse.
"Great effort tonight and all eight players really bought in and executed the game plan," Three Rivers coach Brian Bess said after the game.
The Raiders (12-15, 4-6 Region XVI) trailed 33-24 at halftime, but opened the second half on a 15-6 run that was capped by Mo Niang's 3-pointer with 15:08 left in the game that tied the score at 39.
Hosana Kitenge's basket gave Three Rivers its first lead of the night at 45-43 with 11:50 remaining, then a Niang triple with 8:36 to go pushed the Raider advantage to 52-48.
Mario Fleming's layup with four-plus minutes remaining again made it a four-point Three Rivers advantage at 62-58, but 3-pointers from Devon Barshow and Martise Mitchell helped the Cardinals retake a 64-63 lead with just under 2 1/2 minutes left.
Niang's putback with less than 90 seconds to go briefly put the Raiders back ahead 65-64, but Mitchell hit his second go-ahead 3-pointer of the half on the next possession — and Mineral Area (20-6, 6-3) never trailed again.
"We pulled some 'Gene Bess' defense tonight," Brian Bess said. "Only problem was leaving Mitchell open and he made us pay. Also, we didn't block out (Ibrahim) Drame and he jumped over us."
Three Rivers got within one point twice in the last 11 seconds — the last time on a pair of Niang free throws that made it 71-70 with six seconds left — but the Cardinals were 4-for-4 from the line in the final 10 seconds to preserve the victory.
Niang led the Raiders with 18 points, while Kitenge added 17, Lamont Jackson had 15, Caleb Young chipped in 11 and Fleming finished with nine. Kitenge had 11 rebounds for a double-double, Jackson had seven rebounds, while Jackson and Young each had five assists.
"I thought Lamont Jackson might have had his best game of the season," Brian Bess said. "MAC puts a lot of pressure on our guards and he handled it well. Hosana really competed and did everything tonight. He is improving his free throws and we are going to be fine."
Drame paced Mineral Area with 15 points, while Mitchell had 14 and Za-Ontay Boothman finished with 13.
Three Rivers is back in action Saturday when it hosts Tennessee Prep at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
"We are a dangerous team," Brian Bess said. "We have to play well at this time of year to have momentum to go into the playoffs."
Around the region
The Raiders got some help in Wednesday's other Region XVI game, as State Fair defeated Missouri State-West Plains 80-70. Three Rivers can clinch the third seed in the upcoming Region XVI tourney if Mineral Area wins at West Plains Saturday, or if the Raiders beat West Plains Wednesday at home. … Moberly Area beat Southeastern (Iowa) 65-56 in a battle of nationally-ranked teams Wednesday at Moberly.
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic