After back-to-back losing seasons, the Three Rivers College men's basketball team has come a long way during the first month of this season.
Saturday night, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M reminded the Raiders they still have not quite arrived yet.
The 12th-ranked Norsemen dominated the final 15 minutes of Saturday's contest as they downed Three Rivers 96-82 in the final game of the Bank of Grandin Thanksgiving Classic at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
It was the Raiders' first home loss this season, a game which also saw NEO score the most points the Raiders have given up this season. The previous high was 70 in a win against Link Year Prep on Nov. 15 at Mineral Area.
Three Rivers (9-3) took a 52-49 lead with 15 minutes left in the game on an Ethan Johnson 3-pointer, but the Norsemen answered with a game-turning 26-8 run — a run capped by a pair of Patric Prince free throws with 8:47 remaining to take a 75-60 lead.
The Raiders did not give up, going on a 7-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to 85-77 on Deion Wesson's layup with 3:53 remaining, but NEO scored five points in a row and went up 90-77 on Buddy Hammer Jr.'s dunk with 2:56 left in the contest.
The Norsemen led by double digits the rest of the way.
By contrast, the first 25 minutes of Saturday's contest was a back-and-forth affair.
Matt Hampton's putback with 3:06 left in the first half gave Three Rivers a 38-32 lead, but the Norsemen used a 9-4 spurt to cut the lead to one point (42-41) on Hammer's dunk-and-three-point play with 41.1 seconds left before the intermission.
Hampton led the Raiders with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Wesson added 17 points, Meechie White had 12, Cole Nichols had 11 and Johann Pautsch finished with 10.
Hampton and White also had five assists apiece, while Pautsch and Ali Oralkan each added five rebounds and Wesson also had three steals.
Hammer paced the Norsemen with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds while blocking a pair of shots and Damarion Vann-Kelly added 19 points off the bench. Ronyo Obou had 14 points, while La'Bree Williams added 10 and Jamaria Clark finished with nine. Jimma James dished off five assists and had three steals, while Obou and Vann-Kelly each had four steals and Clark added three steals. Prince also blocked a pair of shots.
The Norsemen held Three Rivers to just 39% shooting on the night (24-for-61) and also outrebounded the Raiders 42-41. Three Rivers also was hindered by 18 turnovers on Saturday.
The Raiders are back in action Wednesday night when they host Shawnee at the Libla Family Sports Complex. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic