For the second game in a row, the Three Rivers College men's basketball team shook off an early slump to come away with a big win on the opening night of the Bank of Grandin Thanksgiving Classic.
Trailing Southern Arkansas University Tech by seven points with 7:18 left in the first half, the Raiders took the lead for good exactly four minutes later and ultimately cruised to an 80-60 win over the visiting Rockets Thursday night. It was the Raiders' first game at the Libla Family Sports Complex since Nov. 2.
Three Rivers (8-2) trailed 29-22 after a 7-0 run by the Rockets, forcing head coach Robert Kirby to call a timeout to settle the team down and re-focus his players.
Whatever Kirby said worked, as the Raiders scored the next nine points to retake control of the game. Ethan Johnson's steal-and-layup tied the score at 29 with 4:39 left in the first half, then Sikou Diagouraga's dunk 19 seconds later capped the spurt and put the Raiders ahead 31-29.
DeBrion Broomfield sank a pair of free throws with 3:34 left in the opening half to tie the score at 31, but Johnson answered on the other end with the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:18 left before halftime to put Three Rivers ahead 34-31 — a lead TRC never relinquished.
Glenn Applewhite IV sank a pair of free throws with 17:44 left in the game to get SAU Tech within five points (42-37), but the Raiders responded with a 10-3 run which was capped by a triple from the corner by Deion Wesson with 14:31 left in the contest to push their lead into double digits (52-40).
Wesson's free throws with 9:05 to go pushed the Three Rivers lead to 63-45, and Meechie White's layup 39 seconds later made it a 20-point TRC advantage.
Antonio Williams' one-handed jam with 3:46 to go made it 76-51 and gave the Raiders their biggest lead of the night to add the exclamation point on the Thanksgiving victory.
White led Three Rivers with 18 points, while Wesson added 15 off the bench and Johnson finished with 11. Matt Hampton had nine points, while Diagouraga finished with eight points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. White added seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots, while Johnson had three steals and Wesson added a pair of steals.
Christopher Barnett paced the Rockets with 15 points, while Fred'Travious Benjamin added 13 and Broomfield had 10. Charles Hervey IV finished with nine points and 10 rebounds to just miss a double-double, while Barnett also had seven rebounds.
The Raiders take on Motlow State on Friday at the Thanksgiving tournament and will face off with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to conclude the tournament on Saturday. The Norsemen of NEO improved to 8-1 with a 107-87 win over Motlow State to kick off the Thanksgiving tournament and are currently ranked 12th in the latest NJCAA Division I men's basketball poll.
Notes: NEO's only loss this season was an 85-82 setback on Nov. 8 against No. 11 Butler (Kansas). The Norsemen have also beaten Coffeyville (Kansas) and Missouri State University-West Plains on the way to the 8-1 record. ... Hampton is currently the Raiders' leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, while White is second at 12.6 and Wesson is third at 8.3. Hampton also leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per game, while Will Patterson is second at 4.3. White leads Three Rivers in both assists (3.5 per game) and steals (2.30 per game).
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic