The Three Rivers College men's basketball team secured its first sweep of the Bank of Grandin Thanksgiving Classic in nearly a decade with a 71-60 victory over Wabash Valley College Saturday afternoon.
TRC improved their record to 8-4 on the season.
Having dealt with injuries for a large portion of the early season, the Raiders were also shorthanded against Wabash Valley.
However, the team refused to make excuses for the situation.
The Raiders were led by sophomore point guard Matt Hampton, who compiled a game-high 26 points while distributing seven assists. Fellow guard Tristin Fleming chipped in 12 points, while post player Johann Pautsch contributed 10 points and six rebounds.
Nazier Leonard and Byron McNeil led Wabash Valley College with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
"Wins are hard to come by, regardless of whether it's by one or two points, but it's especially good to get wins during Thanksgiving break," Raiders head coach Robert Kirby said. "Matt did a good job of guiding us offensively in that first half, and Johann has really grown with his work ethic and dedication to the game."
The Raiders started the game off slowly, but managed to fight back into the matchup by tying the game at 20 with eight minutes left in the first half.
A series of Hampton jump shots gave the Raiders a lead with 5:20 left that they never ended up relinquishing for the rest of the night. Hampton's offensive exploits got the Raiders out of tough situations the entire night.
"We had a whole week of practice to get ready for this, and it feels good because we really locked in as a group for this," Hampton said.
Fleming's layup and one extended the Raiders' advantage to 30-25, while Pautsch scored the last five points of the first half for Three Rivers, who led 38-29 heading into intermission.
TRC started the second half well offensively, as Antonio Williams' putback layup extended their advantage to 45-32 with just under 15 minutes left in the contest. The Raiders' lead reached its peak with a Pautsch hook shot that further stretched the lead to 16. After a Wabash Valley three-pointer trimmed the deficit back to 13, Williams converted another basket to extend the Raiders' lead.
Hampton closed out the contest with a dunk and several drives to the basket, thus resulting in the 11-point victory for the home team.
"We really looked good in the second half, and that was the result of us coming together as a unit," Hampton said.
With the victory, the Raiders now can ride the momentum of a four-game win streak into their upcoming games while also gaining confidence in each other as the season progresses.
The Raiders are next back in action on Dec. 3 against Shawnee Community College.
Liaudwin Seaberry Jr. - Daily American Republic