Raiders fall short of second upset of Moberly

MOBERLY — The Three Rivers College men's basketball team took a 12-point lead to the locker room, but could not hold on in the end as the Moberly Greyhounds rallied for a 75-67 win on Saturday night in a Region XVI contest at Fitzsimmons-John Arena.

With the win, Moberly (24-4, 10-1 XVI) clinches the No. 1 seed in the region tournament. The Raiders (16-11, 5-4) have a one-game lead over Mineral Area in the race for the No. 2 seed and can secure that spot by winning their two homes games this week, or by winning at Mineral Area next Saturday.

The Raiders led 38-26 at the intermission, but Moberly opened the second half on a 28-7 run to take a 54-45 lead and never trailed again. TRC came within four points late, but could not get any closer.

Meechie White paced Three Rivers with 17 points, while Matt Hampton added 15, Ethan Johnson had 10, Antonio Williams contributed nine and Robert Alexander finished with six. Sikou Diagouraga had six rebounds, while Alexander added six assists and White had three steals.

Ade Popoola, a leading contender for Region XVI Player of the Year, led the Greyhounds with a game-high 27 points, while K.J. Vasser and Thomas Diew each had 16 and Javaris Moye finished with 10. Popoola also had 14 rebounds for a double-double, while Moye had eight rebounds and a pair of steals.

The Raiders are back in action Monday when they host Missouri State-West Plains in another Region XVI contest. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Libla Family Sports Complex.