Raiders go into break with win over Quakerdale Prep

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Trailing by seven points midway through the second half, the Three Rivers Raiders could have folded up against Quakerdale Prep.

However, the Raiders once again rallied from behind, taking the lead for good with 1:37 left in the game as they downed Quakerdale Prep 95-88 in the Grizzly Holiday Classic at the West Plains Civic Center.

Quakerdale took a 70-63 lead on Thomas Wilder's free throw with 9:54 left in the game, but a 3-pointer by Brian Patterson and a bucket by Torry Butler cut the Raiders' deficit to two (70-68) just 41 seconds later.

Butler's basket with 2:21 to go tied the score at 82 and Patterson's free throws 19 seconds later gave Three Rivers (10-4) its first lead since early in the second half. Kaharri Carter's basket with 1:47 later tied the score at 84-all, but Jared White's free throws 10 seconds later made it 86-84 and the Raiders never trailed again.

White added two more free throws with 1:06 to go and Butler hit a bucket with 45 seconds to go to stretch the lead to six (90-84). Thatch Unruh's free throws with 25 seconds left cut the lead to 92-88, but Three Rivers hit three of its last four free throws to seal the win.

The Raiders came out of the gate strong, taking a 16-7 lead on Eli Sample's basket with 12:30 left in the opening half, but Quakerdale chipped away, cutting the Raiders' lead to 25-24 on Unruh's free throws with 5:11 to go in the opening session.

Nelson Ollie's basket pushed the Three Rivers lead to 37-30 with 2:18 left before the break, but Darrion Strong's trey as the first half ended pulled Quakerdale to within two (43-41) at half and gave the prep school momentum.

Carter's 3 just 29 seconds into the second half gave Quakerdale its first lead of the game at 44-43 and another Strong triple with 18:58 left in the game gave Quakerdale a 47-45 lead.

White led the Raiders with 20 points, while Patterson added 14, Uzonna Akazi chipped in 13, Butler tossed in 12 and Meyer finished with 10. Butler led the rebounding attack with 11 boards for a double-double, while Patterson added eight and Akazi finished with seven.

Chris Galbreath Jr. led Quakerdale with 25 points, while Strong chipped in 17, Carter added 14 and Wilder finished with 11.

The Raiders are tentatively off until Jan. 4 when they host Mineral Area to open Region XVI play.

New Mexico pulls away to down Raiders

WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Three Rivers Raiders did a great job of hanging with nationally-ranked New Mexico for 27 1/2 minutes Friday night.

However, the game is 40 minutes long, and the Thunderbirds dominated the game's last 12 1/2 minutes to pull away for a 77-55 victory over Three Rivers in the Grizzly Holiday Classic at the West Plains Civic Center.

The Raiders (9-4) trailed 44-38 after a pair of Jared White free throws with 12:42 left in the game, but New Mexico scored 15 of the game's next 19 points, taking a 59-42 lead on Jeff Newberry's free throws with 8:56 left on the clock.

Three Rivers did not come within 15 points of the T-Birds the rest of the way.

New Mexico's defense frustrated the Raiders all night, limiting the black and gold to less than 33 percent shooting from the field and forcing two dozen turnovers which led to 26 points.

The first half was much closer, however. Rashaun Madison's 3-pointer gave the Thunderbirds a 28-18 lead with 3:35 left in the first half, but Three Rivers answered with a 7-0 run, cutting the lead to 28-23 on Nelson Ollie's free throw with two minutes left in the opening session.

Kenrich Williams' basket 56 seconds into the second half extended the New Mexico lead to 37-28, but the Raiders did not go away, cutting the lead to 39-34 on White's free throws with 17:15 remaining before New Mexico's game-ending run.

White led Three Rivers in scoring with 15 points, while Torry Butler added seven points and eight rebounds.

Madison and Williams led the Thunderbirds with 13 points apiece, while Newberry chipped in 12 and Chris Boucher finished with 11 and also blocked four shots.

The Raiders will be back in action at the Grizzly Holiday Classic on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they take on Quakerdale Prep at the West Plains Civic Center.

Lincoln Trail snaps Raiders' winning streak

ROBINSON, Ill. -- The Lincoln Trail Statesmen handed the Three Rivers Raiders their last loss on the basketball court more than a month ago. Tuesday night, the Statesmen did it again.

Jake Newton drained six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 29 points as Lincoln Trail won a hard-fought 83-80 victory over the Raiders.

Three Rivers (9-3) trailed 79-75 before a Jared White trey cut the lead to one with less than a minute and a half remaining. White added a pair of free throws with three seconds left to again cut the lead to one (81-80), but the Statesmen got the ball back and added a Jason Smith bucket to set the final score.

Lincoln Trail came out of the gate strong Tuesday night, scoring the game's first seven points and taking an 11-point lead (20-9) on Caleb Begle's free throws with 12:52 left in the first half.

The Statesmen still led 27-17 when Three Rivers answered with a 10-2 run, cutting the deficit to two (29-27) on White's 3 with 6:19 left in the opening half. White tied the game at 37 on his 3-pointer with 1:32 left in the half to cap a 7-0 run.

Torry Butler's basket with 18:40 left in the game gave the Raiders their first lead of the night at 40-39, and Brian Patterson's trey put the black and gold ahead 54-48 with 14:28 left in the game – the Raiders' biggest lead of the night.

However, Lincoln Trail did not give up, retaking the lead for good on Dennis Hightower's free throws with 7:12 left on the clock.

White paced Three Rivers with 25 points – including a 4-for-5 performance behind the arc – while Uzonna Akazi added 19 and Patterson finished with 11.

Hightower added 15 points for the Statesmen, while Nick Painter added 11 and Smith finished with 10.

The Raiders lost despite shooting 60 percent (6-for-10) behind the 3-point line and shooting better overall from the field (47 percent to 42). However, Lincoln Trail outscored the Raiders 30-22 from the foul line as Three Rivers missed 10 first-half free throws. The Statesmen also scored 15 points off of turnovers, compared to seven by Three Rivers.

The Raiders are back on the court Friday when they head to West Plains for a tournament and will face New Mexico Junior College. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.

Raiders beat SWIC in OT

Editor's note: Last week's winter storm prevented Back in Black from attending Sunday's contest. Look for more in-depth coverage of Three Rivers men's basketball in the future.

ST. LOUIS – Just a few weeks ago, the Three Rivers Raiders men's basketball team was sitting at .500 after a 16-point home loss to Lincoln Trail.

They haven't lost since.

The Raiders made it seven wins in a row Sunday thanks to a 72-71 overtime victory against the Southwestern Illinois Blue Storm at the Forest Park campus of St. Louis Community College.

Three Rivers (9-2) led 28-16 at the half, but the Blue Storm (8-2) made a furious rally and hit a buzzer-beating bucket to force overtime. However, Three Rivers prevailed in the extra session to get its ninth win of the season.

Jared White led a balanced Raiders' attack with 15 points, including a 13-for-16 performance from the free-throw line. Eli Sample added 13 points, while the duo of Brian Patterson and John Meyer added 12 apiece.

Patterson was 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line, while Meyer added eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

Dominic Page paced Southwestern Illinois with 16 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Brandon Book added 12 points and Falondo Wilkinson finished with 11, including a 3-for-5 performance behind the arc.

Three Rivers is back in action Tuesday when it heads to Robinson, Ill. for a rematch with Lincoln Trail. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Notes: Southwestern outrebounded the Raiders 41-27. … Three Rivers has a 6-1 record against Illinois junior colleges this season.

Raiders to contend with tough foes, weather in coming days

The Three Rivers Raiders men's basketball team might have to contend with more than some tough competition over the next few days.

The National Weather Service has placed much of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and Arkansas under a Winter Storm Warning for Thursday and Friday as ice and snow are forecast to overspread the area. The storm could jeopardize contests against Arkansas Baptist (Saturday at home), Southwestern Illinois (Sunday in St. Louis) and Lincoln Trail (Tuesday in Robinson, Ill.)

However, if the games do get played, the Raiders (8-2) will have three straight tough tests.

Arkansas Baptist enters Saturday's contest with a 5-5 record, having won four of its last five games after a 1-4 start. The Buffaloes are led in scoring by freshman guard Deonta Thomas, who averages 13.2 points per game, and sophomore guard James Parker at 12.8 ppg. Sophomore Charleston Dobbs leads Arkansas Baptist in rebounding at 5.1 rebounds per contest, while Thomas adds five boards per game. Thomas also adds 4.5 assists and 2.90 steals per game.

Southwestern Illinois was 7-1 ahead of Wednesday night's contest against Rend Lake. The Blue Storm split a pair of games with Region XVI foe Mineral area earlier this season, losing 80-56 at MAC on Nov. 5 before winning the rematch 88-74 a week later at home in Belleville, Ill.

SWIC is led in scoring by freshman Kyle Lemons at 18 points per contest, while sophomore guard Jaquail Townser adds 15 per contest. Freshman guard Falando Wilkinson adds 11.8 points per game, while forwards Brandon Book and Jacob Tolbert add 10 points apiece each game. Tolbert leads the Blue Storm with six rebounds per game, while Romondo Ray and Hunter Reine each average 5.8 boards per night and Dominic Page adds five rebounds per contest.

Lincoln Trail is 5-4 after seeing a three-game winning streak snapped by Lake Land on Wednesday night. The Statesmen handed Three Rivers its last loss, an 86-70 setback on Nov. 9, and also defeated Lewis and Clark 91-83 on Nov. 26.

Sophomore guard Dennis Hightower leads Lincoln Trail in scoring at 18.4 points per game, while sophomore guards Caleb Begle and Tyler Alexander average 10.2 and 9.9 points per night, respectively. Sophomore center Jesse Tesmer leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 boards per contest, while Hightower adds five rebounds per game.

Welcome to Back in Black

Welcome to the blog devoted to Three Rivers College men's basketball. Over the coming weeks and months, we hope to bring you coverage of Raiders basketball as the black and gold fight for a trip to the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.