HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The clock finally struck midnight on the Three Rivers College men's basketball team's best season in more than a decade.
Taking on the 14th-seeded Vincennes Trailblazers in the opening round of the NJCAA Tournament, the No. 19 Raiders could not dig out of an early hole and fell 69-51 Saturday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Three Rivers ends its season with a record of 21-13.
Without a doubt, shooting proved to be decisive in Saturday's contest. Three Rivers made just under 34% of its shots on the night (20-for-59) and was just 5-for-20 behind the 3-point arc, while the Traiblazers made 52% of their shots (25-for-48) — including 56% in the first half (14-for-25) — and also hit on 43% of their shots behind the arc for the game (6-for-14).
"I noticed (Vincennes) shot it well in warmups and they also shot it well in the game from the perimeter," Three Rivers coach Robert Kirby said. "That's always a tough gym to shoot in because the depth perception behind the baskets is a lot different than you normally play in.
"Our guys struggled from the perimeter. They had good looks and just couldn't get them to go down. At this time of year in tournament play, it could keep you level, or it could sink you — and was one of those games where we didn't shoot it quite well, but they knocked down their shots."
Vincennes (27-4) never trailed in Saturday's contest, but the Raiders got within one point (18-17) on Matt Hampton's layup with 10:56 left in the first half. However, the Trailblazers answered with a 7-0 run, taking a 25-17 lead on Bryan Akanmu's jumper with 8:05 left before halftime to retake control of the contest.
The Raiders did not give up as they got within six points (34-28) just two minutes and change into the second half on Marial Malek's triple. However, Vincennes answered with a 14-4 run to take a 48-32 lead on Michael Cooper's layup with 12:32 remaining and led by double digits the rest of the way.
Ethan Johnson and Meechie White paced Three Rivers with 13 points apiece, while Hampton added 12. Hampton also had six assists in the loss.
Lebron Thomas led the Trailblazers with 18 point, while Cooper added 14 and Travelle Bryson had 12. Thomas also had seven assists, two steals and blocked three shots, while Bryson also blocked two shots.
Despite the loss in the early exit from the national tournament, it still was a season to remember for the Raiders.
TRC made its first national tournament appearance since 2012, won its first Region XVI title since 2017 and also had its first 20-win season since 2017. Additionally, first-year head coach Robert Kirby won Region XVI Coach of the Year honors after leading the Raiders from a 14-18 record last season to the national tournament this season.
"It was an unbelievable year," Kirby said. "I give credit to my (coaching) staff and to my players. They did an outstanding job of preparing every day. When you have 11 freshmen, sometimes they don't always understand — and it took us a while to get to that point and figure it all out that we were just trying to get the best out of them, and they bought into that fact. They worked extremely hard to get there, and things just happen to fall just right for us as we finished up the season."
And with several of those freshmen eligible to return next season, the good times could just be beginning for the Raiders.
"We had a lot of freshmen and those guys grew up in a lot of ways, more in between the ears than skill set wise," Kirby said, "because they were just growing and understanding that what they did in high school didn't always transcend to the next level. And a lot of those guys have grown up and bought into what we're trying to get accomplished in the system that we've put in place. I think it'll help us from the standpoint of maturity, because the teams that we played against in the (postseason) were dominated by sophomores — and that maturity helps."
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic