Raiders take two at Bob Sechrest Classic

Three Rivers center William Patterson shoots against Pratt during Saturday's men's college basketball game at Mineral Area College in Park Hills.

DAR/Mike Buhler

PARK HILLS —The Three Rivers College men's basketball team put a two-game losing streak in its rearview mirror with a pair of strong performances over the weekend at the Bob Sechrest Classic on the campus of Mineral Area College.

The Raiders rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to down the Link Year Prep Lions Gold squad 83-70 on Friday, then led almost the entire way in a 67-48 win over the Beavers of Pratt Community College from Kansas.

On Saturday, Three Rivers (6-2) got a big game from its tallest player, William Patterson. The 7-foot-2 freshman transfer from Syracuse paced the team with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

After Pratt took an early 2-0 lead, the Raiders went on a 9-2 run which was capped by a one-handed dunk by Patterson with 15:42 left in the opening half. Patterson scored six points during that run, while Allen Stoddard also added a 3-pointer from the corner.

The Beavers (4-2) did not go away, tying the score at 15 on Khasen Robinson's basket with 10:07 left befure halftime and briefly leading 16-15 after a Justin Robinson free throw 49 seconds later, but Demetris “Meechie” White answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to put Three Rivers back on top at 18-16.

Cole Nichols followed with a layup at the 8:15 mark to push the lead to 20-16, as he and White sparked an 11-0 run which was concluded by an Ali Oralkan layup with 5:14 to go in the first half to make it 26-16.

Patterson capped the Raiders' first-half with a pair of putback dunks, the last one making it 33-19 with 47 seconds left before the break. The big man finished the first half with 14 points and six rebounds

Three Rivers scored the first two baskets of the second half to push its lead to 37-21 on White's coast-to-coast layup with 18:23 left in the contest as the Raiders led by double digits the rest of the game.

White added 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Oralkan added 10 points off the bench. Nichols, Stoddard and Matt Hampton each had seven points, while Nichols and Marial Malek also had two steals apiece.

On Friday, the Raiders trailed 40-29, but outscored the Lions 20-8 to begin the second half, taking their first lead after the intermission (49-48) on Hampton's free throws with 10:44 left in the game.

Link Year Prep retook the lead at 59-58 on a Jobe Bryant layup with 5:18 left in Friday's contest, and the score was tied at 63 with 3:14 to go. However, Ethan Johnson's three-point play put Three Rivers ahead 66-63 and sparking a game-turning 14-1 run which was capped by a pair of White free throws with 1:46 left in the contest.

Overall, the Raiders closed Friday's contest on a 20-7 run.

Hampton led Three Rivers with 19 points on Friday, while Johnson added 14, White had 13, Antonio Williams chipped in 10 and Nichols finished with nine. White and Williams each added six rebounds, while White blocked three shows and had three steals. The Raiders also outrebounded Link Year Prep 43-30.

Three Rivers is back in action this Saturday when the Raiders head to Illinois to take on Olney Central. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.

Notes: Link Year Prep's Gold squad has played against three Region XVI schools this season, beating Moberly 85-73 at Moberly on Nov. 2 and falling 96-78 at Mineral Area on Saturday evening after the Raiders beat Pratt. … The Gold squad also defeated Shawnee (Illinois) 80-74 at Moberly on Nov. 1. Three Rivers hosts Shawnee on Dec. 4. … Pratt's other loss this season was a 79-64 setback at Indian Hills (Iowa) on Nov. 8.