The Three Rivers College men’s basketball team has fought through its share of adversity — and then some — to earn its first NJCAA Tournament berth since 2012.
“Every program is going to go through some mountains and valleys,” Three Rivers coach Robert Kirby said. “That’s just the nature of the business. The guys are continually growing and understanding what us as a (coaching) staff are trying to get them to see. Those four sophomores that we have, they’ve grown into being juniors and the 11 freshmen have grown up to be sophomores now.
“They’re starting to understand more of what we’re trying to get them to do — and not just understanding, but doing it with the best effort and attitude possible.”
The most notable bit of adversity struck last Friday night, and on the eve of the Raiders’ biggest game of the year no less. A tornado struck the TRC on-campus apartment complex, displacing the basketball team and forcing them to stay in the Next Chapter housing provided by Mt. Calvary Powerhouse Church.
Despite that blow coming less than 24 hours before facing defending national runner-up Triton in the Midwest District championship game at the Libla Family Sports Complex, Three Rivers defeated Triton to earn its first trip to the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas in more than a decade.
“Adversity builds character,” Kirby said. “Our guys came in the door with a lot of character to begin with because that’s one of the things we pride ourselves in recruiting — we won’t sacrifice character for talent. … When you go through adversity, it tends to bring you together as a unit.”
The national tournament’s 19th seed, the Raiders will open play in Hutchinson at 8 p.m. on Saturday against the No. 14 Vincennes Trailblazers, another tradition-rich junior college program which sits in western Indiana, on the banks of the Wabash River.
“I think it’s a great matchup from the standpoint of how we fit against each other,” Kirby said. “It’s going to be a man’s game. We’ve got to do a good job of stepping up and taking on the challenge, because they do present a strong challenge for us.”
The Trailblazers enter Saturday’s contest 26-4 after their 20-game winning streak to end the regular season was ended March 10 by Kaskaskia College in the quarterfinals of the Region 24 Tournament. Vincennes and Three Rivers have several mutual opponents on their schedules, as the Trailblazers lost to Moberly 63-51 in November and fell to Mineral Area 82-79 on Dec. 1. However, Vincennes has two wins apiece over John A. Logan, Southwestern Illinois, Lincoln Trail and Shawnee and also beat Triton 85-71 on Dec. 7 in Vincennes.
Sophomore Lebron Thomas leads the Trailblazers in scoring at 14. 1 points per game, while Michael Cooper averages 12.9 ppg and Dayton Williams averages 11.3 ppg. Bryan Akanmu leads Vincennes on the boards at 7.4 rebounds per game, while Cooper averages 6.4 rpg and Williams averages 5.9 rpg.
Thomas leads the Trailblazers in passing with 5.7 assists per contest, while Williams averages 1.27 steals per game and 1.60 blocked shots per contest.
Matt Hampton leads the Raiders in scoring at 14.8 ppg, while Meechie White averages 13 points per contest and Robert Alexander averages eight points each game. Hampton also leads the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and assists (3.6 apg), while Alexander averages 4.8 rpg and 2.8 apg and White averages 4.5 rpg and 3.5 apg. All three average one or more steals per game.
So what does Kirby think the Raiders need to do to make a deep run at Hutch?
“A lot of people tend to think it’s about this or that, but actually it comes down to the team executing the best and staying together as one when adversity hits on the floor,” Kirby said. “(When a) team makes a run on you, how do you regroup? … It’s going to be about chemistry, having each other’s backs and staying together.”
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic