WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa — The Three Rivers College men's basketball team has proven itself to be a second-half warrior in the early going this season.
Saturday morning, that second-half prowess got the Raiders their biggest win of the season thus far.
Three Rivers rallied from a pair of 10-point first-half deficits with a strong second half on the way to a 78-66 win over the Triton Trojans to open the second day of the Culver's Midwest Classic at Southeastern Community College. The game was a rematch of last season's Midwest District championship, which Three Rivers won to earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA Tournament.
"I thought that the guys came out with the intent to do things the right way and play the right way," Three Rivers coach Robert Kirby said. "Defensively, I thought we did a really good job of executing our gameplan. … I thought our guys did a great job of adjusting."
The Raiders (3-2) took the lead for good on Tristin Fleming's 3-pointer with 8:47 remaining in the contest that snapped a 55-all tie. Thirty-one seconds later, Johann Pautsch's bucket made it 60-55 — Three Rivers' biggest lead since the early part of the contest.
Triton (2-2) did not give up, getting a pair of free throws from Papa Kounta with 6:12 to go to make it a one-possession game at 64-61, but the Raiders responded quick. Matt Hampton's basket with 5:41 pushed the lead back to five points (66-61), then Davin Francis popped a triple right in front of the Raiders' bench to make it a 69-61 advantage with 5:15 to go.
Antonio Williams's free throw with 3:50 left in the game increased the Three Rivers' lead to 72-63, then Hampton buried a fadeaway jumper with 3:01 remaining to make it 74-64. Francis and Kounta each traded a pair of free throws in the final two minutes, while Francis added a putback with 31 seconds to go which set the final score.
Just like the day before, the Raiders started fast, taking a 7-0 lead on Josiah Cotto's jumper with 17:21 left in the opening half, but Triton began to take control from there, taking a 16-15 lead on Brandon Davis's layup with 11:47 remaining in the opening session — the Trojans' first lead of the game.
Terez Holmes's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5:12 remaining staked the Trojans to a 31-21 lead — their biggest of the game to that point.
Three Rivers did not give up, getting a three-point play from Hampton with 4:40 left in the half to cut the lead back to single digits. Drew Ward's triple with 2:26 to go in the opening session got the Raiders within four points (33-29), but Miles Mitchell's layup with 1:07 pushed the Triton lead back to 10 points at 39-29.
However, the Raiders responded before the break, getting a pair of free throws from Ward with 39 seconds to go in the first half and a Williams bucket ahead of the halftime buzzer to cut their deficit to 39-33 at the intermission.
The Raiders carried that momentum into the second half, as Cotto's 3 with 17:40 to go in the game cut the Trojans' lead to 39-38, then Williams tied the game at 41 with a free throw at the 15:25 mark.
Hampton's layup with 12:51 to go gave Three Rivers a 49-48 lead — the team's first since the first half.
Former Raider Ethan Johnson's three-point play 10:35 to go re-tied the score at 53, then Holmes's dunk with 9:09 to go again tied the score at 55, setting the table for Three Rivers' strong finish.
Hampton paced the Raiders with 21 points, while Fleming and Williams each had 11, the duo of Cotto and Pautsch added eight apiece and Ward finished with seven . Williams led Three Rivers with seven rebounds, while Hamptpn added six and the duo of Fleming and Francis each had five.
"I think the guys are (growing up and) taking a step in the right direction," Kirby said.
Kounta led Triton with 20 points, while Holmes added 15 and Davis added 11. Johnson added seven points against his former team.
The Raiders continue their road trip Tuesday when they head to southeastern Mississippi to take on Jones College. The Bobcats made it to the NJCAA Tournament last season and were ranked sixth in this year's NJCAA preseason poll.
Tipoff time in Ellisville is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday's contest is a rematch of a December contest from last season in Poplar Bluff, which Jones won 91-64.
"They came up to our place last year and did a really great job of executing their gameplan," Kirby said. "They gave us a couple of good straight right hands, gave us another couple of left jabs and an uppercut, then went back home. Hopefully we can go down there and continue to grow as a team. It'll be a tough ballgame on the road. … We've got to do a good job of rebounding the ball and taking care of the ball in a hostile environment. The guys have got to continue to grow and step up."
Mike Buhler - Daily Amercican Republic