Slow starts sink Raiders over weekend; Lady Raiders earn 10th win

The Three Rivers College men's basketball team could not dig out of a pair of early holes as the Raiders lost twice to Illinois teams over the weekend.

Three Rivers trailed John A. Logan by 15 points at halftime on Saturday afternoon before falling 60-52 to the Volunteers in Carterville, Illinois. The next day, the Raiders trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half against Southwestern Illinois before the Blue Storm won 68-66 on a buzzer-beater at the St. Louis Community College Shootout.

The Raiders fall to 10-5 with the two losses.

Meanwhile, the Lady Raiders used a fast start as they rolled to an 88-46 win over John A. Logan — the team's 10th win of the season.

On the men's side at Carterville, the Raiders struggled behind the 3-point line, making just one of their 13 shots behind the arc, and also shot just 56% (9-for-16) at the free-throw line. Three Rivers also was burned by 20 turnovers. but did outrebound the host Volunteers 36-35.

Matt Hampton paced the Raiders with 15 points, while Ethan Johnson added nine. Hampton and Johann Pautsch also had six rebounds apiece, while Ali Oralkan had four steals and the duo of Meechie White and Robert “Deuce” Alexander added two steals apiece. Sikou Diagouraga also blocked a pair of shots.

Marcus Eaves paced John A. Logan with 12 points, while Davius Loury added 11 and Xavier Zubric finished with 10. Taylor Smith had four steals, while Eaves had three and three players — Loury, Jayden Miles and Caden Hawkins — had two each. Loury and Miles also blocked two shots apiece.

Three Rivers trailed the Blue Storm 44-36 at the intermission and was down as many as 14 points in the second half before rallying. However, a late basket by Southwestern Illinois ended up being the difference in the game.

The Raiders again struggled behind the 3-point line, making just 21% of their attempts from downtown (4-for-19) and committed 19 turnovers in the loss — but did hold a 37-25 advantage on the boards.

Cole Nichols led Three Rivers with a season-high 18 points, while William Patterson added 12, White had nine, Hampton chipped in eight and Diagouraga finished with seven. Antonio Williams had a game-high nine rebounds, while Diagouraga added eight. White had three steals while Hampton added a pair and Diagouraga blocked a pair of shots.

Matthew Curprew-Elsy paced the Blue Storm with 27 points, while Bennett Briles added 18 and Nick Horras had 10. Curprew-Elsy also added six rebounds and eight steals, while Briles and Dylan Craven also had six rebounds and DaQuan Little had six assists Craven also added three steals and Briles blocked a pair of shots.

By contrast, the Lady Raiders (10-2) sprinted out to a 27-8 lead after the opening period and led 50-16 at the intermission. Three Rivers outrebounded the Lady Volunteers 30-23 and used its defense to pressure Logan, which committed 26 turnovers as a team.

Lexi Weaver led the Lady Raiders with 15 points, while Kamille Brown and Laylah Reese each had 11, Kaleigh “KT” Thompson and Sydnei Marshall each had 10 apiece and Emma Toombs finished with nine as 12 Lady Raiders scored.

Thompson had seven rebounds while Brittani Wells had six, plus Wells dished off a season-high 10 assists and had three steals. Brown also had three steals, while Weaver and Jasmine Davis added a pair.

The Raiders are back in action Friday when they host Jones College of Mississippi — the No. 12 team in the country — while the Lady Raiders head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend to take on a pair of nationally-ranked teams in host Shelton State Saturday (No. 7) and Pearl River on Sunday (No. 11). The Three Rivers women are ranked eighth in this week's NJCAA poll.