Raiders win, sweep region road games

West Plains' Chris Williams (50) trys to defend a pass by Raider Josh Terry during the first half Saturday night in West Plains. To right is Three Rivers' Aloysius Henry. (Alex Abate/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

WEST PLAINS -- The Three Rivers Raiders knew starting Region XVI play with four games on the road was a tall task but after Saturday night, things couldn't look much better.

The Raiders executed offensively and played solid defense as they held on to beat MSU-West Plains 74-65 and pushed their region mark to 4-0.

"It was the most important game of the year," Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said. "I like the way our kids competed. It was one of those games where if you let down for any length of time and those guys could sure fill it up."

Three Rivers (18-5) was led by Jeremy Marrs who had 19 points and 12 rebounds while Ken Bingham had 16 points. Marquise Carter had 10 points and added five assists.

Late in the game, the Raiders defense was solid as it allowed just two field goals with under 2 minutes remaining. Defense was key because the Raiders made just 8-of-14 from the freethrow line during that span.

"Those were our primary players that were doing that," Bess said. "Josh (Terry) I think hit all of his."

The Grizzlies got within five points late but the Raiders went on a 5-1 spurt with under a minute remaining to hold on for the win.

Marrs opened the second half for the Raiders with a turnaround basket to give Three Rivers a seven-point lead. However, the Grizzlies went on an 8-2 spurt of their own to get within 35-33 with 16:35 left. Later in the half, Three Rivers had a 44-40 lead but Marrs got his shot going again. He made two straight turnaround hooks to give the Raiders an eightpoint lead with 12:13 left.

The Grizzlies got within four again at the 9:33 mark but Marrs and Josh Terry each hit two free throws to increase the Raiders' lead to 52-44 at 8:09. After a Grizzlies 3-pointer, Carter made two free throws and Walker made two of his own to give the Raiders a 56-47 lead.

The Raiders entered the half with a 31-25 edge by scoring the final six points of the first half. With the game tied at 25-25, Marrs made a basket in the post at the 3:43 mark. Aloysius Henry continued the solid post play with a turnaround basket and Carter made a field goal with 34 seconds left in the half to complete the scoring.

Midway through the first half, the Grizzlies were down 11 and made a push. Terrell Bruce made a jumper with 10:08 left in the first half and Xavier Jones followed with a 3-pointer to get the Grizzlies within 23-17. Bruce followed Jones' 3-pointer with one of his own at the 8:57 mark to make it 23-20.

The Raiders may not have taken the Grizzlies as serious as they should've, Bess said.

"We didn't handle the prosperity too well, I didn't think we probably had as much respect for them as we should've because we didn't know much about them," Bess said. "They are a good team."

game strong as Bingham scored on a baseline drive. After a Grizzlies basket, Richard Walker scored in the post to give the Raiders a 4-2 lead. After Bingham nailed a 3-pointer, Adam Carpenter gave the Raiders a 9-2 edge with 16:19 left in the half with two free throws.

Later in the run, Carter gave the Raiders a 13-2 lead with a basket at the 15:00 mark.

"It was one of those games I we were prepared," Bess said.

Notes: Three Rivers had 13 points off turnovers as compared to 10 for the Grizzlies. ... The Raiders had 33 rebounds on the night as compared to 20 for West Plains. ... Three Rivers had six steals while the Grizzlies finished with seven. ... Raiders backup guard Jeff Shelton didn't dress for the game due to illness.