By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

The Three Rivers Raiders finished their most successful season in nearly 15 years by placing fourth at the NJCAA National Tournament with a 29-8 record.

After an 81-63 loss Saturday night to Seward County at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kan., the Raiders came home Sunday with their plaque, the 10th top-five showing in 15 appearances at the national tournament and the first since 1995.

Brandon Rogowski, Archie Valov, Aaron Redecker, Vitaly Ahmedov and Bryan Sherrer all played their final games in the Black & Gold, finishing with a 55-19 career record and becoming the first class in 13 years to reach Hutch twice.

Sherrer, the region player of the year, Valov and Redecker and were all integral parts of the Raiders' gameplans throughout the season.

"At the end of last year, those three young men gave us a lot of optimism about this year," Raiders coach Gene Bess said. "They have just been Rocks of Gibraltar. They have all been very good kids that worked hard and were great leaders."

The sophomores accounted for 55.9 percent of the teams' scoring over the course of the season. Over their two years as Raiders, they have been part of some memorable wins for a program that has more than 1,100 to choose from.

The Raiders won the 2007 Region XVI title by defeating Mineral Area in a three-game series and won it again this past season by defeating West Plains in the championship game, 80-61.

Two region titles in a row is the best streak for Three Rivers since it won five consecutive titles from 1992-96.

Sherrer, who earned the nickname "Big Time" as a freshman, came up with big shots when they were needed most. He started all 35 games that he played during his sophomore season and a floor general like him will be tough to replace.

"He has been as good as I have had at the point guard," Bess said. "You never worry about presses hurting you or him losing the ball. He just takes care of it and he was kind of our go-to guy late in the possession when the clock was running down."

During the tournament run, the Raiders' freshman got valuable experience.

Jeff McClain and Ken Bingham started in their first year and Adam Carpenter gave the Raiders key minutes off the bench. McClain finished the season with a rebounding average of 8.81 per game, the highest in Region XVI. Bingham started 30 of the 33 games he played in over the course of the year. Allan Spencer and Alonzo Louis Sherrer and Rogowski breaks gave with solid effort and energy.

"We have got some good ones coming back," Bess said. "We have got a few replacements for (the sophomores) around the area that we are working to bring in but we have to kind of reload."

Bess, who is now 1,056-278 in 38 season at Three Rivers, said he hasn't given much thought about returning to the bench next season as the team made its long trip home Sunday.

"As far as I know I am," he said. "I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing."

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View photos from Hutch online at darnews.com.