HOW SWEET IT IS: Raiders beat Moberly for first time at Libla

Former Three Rivers College men's basketball radio announcer Wilbur Thornton's catchphrase after a Raiders' win was “How sweet it is!”

So it just seemed appropriate that the Raiders would earn one of their sweetest wins in many years the weekend Thornton was posthumously inducted into TRC's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Three Rivers did just that, earning arguably the biggest win of the Robert Kirby era with a 75-61 win over the ninth-ranked Moberly Greyhounds at the Libla Family Sports Complex Saturday night.

Just beating a region rival — especially one as tough as Moberly — is a big deal. But this win was even bigger for many reasons.

* The Raiders had lost nine games in a row to Moberly, dating back to 2022.

* Three Rivers had not beaten the Greyhounds in Poplar Bluff since Jan. 23, 2016 — including never before at the Libla Family Sports Complex.

* Moberly had a 23-2 overall record against the Raiders since that win in 2016.

* And last but not least, Three Rivers did so on alumni reunion night in front of perhaps the biggest crowd of the season and with several members of Kirby's teammates on the 1979 national championship team on hand — not to mention TRC legend Sunday Adebayo, who was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame alongside Thornton.

The Raiders gutted out 40 minutes of gritty, ferocious, determined basketball to knock off their Region XVI nemesis, matching Moberly shot for shot in the early minutes of the game. Their defensive intensity and a fast-break offense helped them take the lead early in the first half, eventually building a 13-point lead at halftime that they would never relinquish.

Three Rivers (14-8, 4-2 Region XVI) matched that same intensity and determination in the second half, building leads of 18 and 20 points at times, never allowing Moberly to get any closer than eight points and never giving them space or time to mount a comeback. The Raiders controlled the game from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

“It’s always great when you get a win,” Kirby said. “No matter what, who it’s against, or what are the rankings are, it's great to get that win. I think our guys were more prepared this ball game mentally, because physically, they were ready, but mentally, they were ready this time.

“Moberly is a great team. They played really hard, played really well. Our guys just did what was asked of them tonight, and I thought that was a big key.”

Three Rivers’ leading scorers were Matt Hampton with a game-high 21 points, while Ethan Johnson added 20 and Deuce Alexander had 15. Hampton also had six assists, while Alexander had five.

Moberly was led by Javaris Maye with 17 points and Ade Popoola with 15.

The Raiders also dominated Moberly on the boards, outrebounding the Greyhounds 38-13. Hampton had eight rebounds, while Alexander had seven and the duo of Johnson and Antonio Williams had five apiece.

The game opened with fast and physical play from both squads in what looked every bit like a postseason game. Moberly opened with a 3-pointer that was matched by Johnson for Three Rivers, followed by a two and a 3 from each side, and the game was tied at 8 after the first five minutes.

Johnson gave the Raiders their first lead of the night with two free throws, and the home team led 10-8 with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. Alexander nailed a trey on Three Rivers’ next possession to extend the lead to 13-8.

Neither team left their opponent much room to score, with man-to-man defenses that forced turnovers on both ends and left shooters heaving it up from 3-point range with little success.

Moberly (20-4, 6-1) tied the score at 13 with a layup and a foul shot at 10:18 in the first half. Each successive score was a physical confrontation for both teams, but the Raiders managed to pull out to a 21-17 lead with less than six minutes left in the half.

Alexander hit a jumper at 4:41 to give the Raiders their biggest lead of the half at 23-17, and Three Rivers’ defense continued to frustrate the Greyhounds, blocking shots and pulling down rebounds to keep them off the scoreboard.

Johnson connected on a deep 3-pointer to push the Raiders' lead to 26-17, but Moberly made a free throw to cut the Raiders’ lead to eight with less than three minutes left.

Timely shooting and smothering defense led the Raiders to close out the first half on a 12-3 run that sent them into halftime with a 34-21 lead.

“They kept their attention to the detail of the defense,” Kirby said. “Last time, we didn’t stay within our framework of what we wanted to do and we let things get personal, but this time, they stayed focused on the team and didn't get fragmented.”

Three Rivers came out in the third quarter and outscored Moberly 6-4 in the first three minutes to lead by 15 points at the media timeout. The Greyhounds hit a 3 after the timeout to cut the score to 40-28 in favor of the Raiders.

A pair of shot-plus-one scores for Moberly brought them within eight points at 46-38 with 12:30 in the second half, but two more field goals for the Raiders made the score 50-38.

Alexander hit an NBA-range triple with the shot clock expiring to make it 58-40 for the Raiders at 8:20, then Matt Hampton then made two free throws for a 20-point lead (60-40) — their largest lead of the night

The Raiders continued to press an aggressive man defense, but in the process of going for a loose ball, Three Rivers committed their seventh foul, sending the Greyhounds into the bonus for the final eight minutes of the game.

Moberly used those free throws to cut into the Raiders lead, bringing them within 14 points at 62-48 with six minutes left to play. Three Rivers, however, scored on its next two possessions for a 66-48 lead.

Alexander fouled out of the game with 2:01 remaining and the Raiders holding a 71-57 lead after Moberly made their foul shots.

The Greyhounds managed to get as close as 12 points, but didn’t have enough time to mount a comeback, and the Raiders hit their free throws in the last minute to close out their biggest win of the season.

Three Rivers is back in action Wednesday when it heads to State Fair for another Region XVI contest. Tipoff time is set for 7:30 p.m.