Raiders, Lady Raiders both going to nationals

The Three Rivers College men's and women’s basketball teams have made history in more ways than one.

First of all, the Lady Raiders earned their school-record fifth consecutive bid to the NJCAA Tournament on Sunday when they were awarded an at-large bid to the national tournament.

Three Rivers will be the sixth seed at the 24-team national tournament in Casper, Wyoming, which tips off next Tuesday.

“I'm at loss for words for the history part of it, because there's so much history here,” Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. “Gene Bess is the GOAT (greatest of all time). He's a Naismith Hall of Famer and so for the first time (for this) to ever happen here, it's a pretty cool feeling.”

As one of the top eight seeds, TRC has a first-round bye at nationals and will face the winner of No. 11 Hutchinson and No. 22 South Georgia Tech at 4:45 p.m. on March 28.

“Last year, we were all excited and knew what to expect going into it,” TRC sophmore Laylah Reese said, “but this year, working towards it and finally being able to accomplish it was really (amazing) --- we're all really excited for it.”

Teammate Kamille Brown echoed Reese's sentiments.

“It feels great to be in that environment with same people we were in it with last year,” Brown said.

There was some concern when the Lady Raiders dropped the Region XVI championship game on Friday to State Fair, but those concerns were alleviated when TRC got not only one of the eight at-large bids, but also a first-round bye.

“We had to leave it in the committee's hands, but it's big time,” Wiggs said. “It's big time. We're very fortunate that with our body of work and what we were able to accomplish this this season. Like they said, it's about the 30 games that you play during the regular season --- and the girls did enough during that during that time. So I'm super proud of them.”

Going 28-3 this season with the team's rugged schedule --- which includes wins over NJCAA Tournament qualifiers Wabash Valley (No. 2 seed), Shelton State (No. 8 seed) and State Fair (No. 20 seed) --- paid dividends with the selection committee.

“We've got to be tested and we've got to go out and play people, not only to prepare you for the season, but prepare you for the national tournament,” Wiggs said. “I think the girls obviously did enough work and did enough stuff to really showcase their talent and their skill level --- and that we are a team good enough to go out to Casper and compete.”

With the Three Rivers women getting an at-large bid on Sunday, it will be the first time since 1995 that both the Raiders and Lady Raiders are in the national tournament field.

“I think the guys are a really good group of boys, and they all work really hard,” Reese said. “They're doing two-a-day practives, and we also work really hard. So it's great seeing both teams' work pay off.”

The Raiders men's team is seeded 19th at the men's NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas and will open play at 8 p.m. Saturday against 14th-seeded Vincennes. The winner of that contest will take on No. 3 Indian Hills next Monday in the round of 16.

“We get an opportunity to continue playing,” Three Rivers men's coach Robert Kirby said. “There are very few teams in the country have that opportunity and I think our guys are very excited to play whoever it is. It just so happens to be Vincennes, who's a very good program, but our guys will be up for the task.”

Three Rivers is one of five NJCAA Division I junior colleges to send both its men's and women's basketball teams to nationals this season.

“That's unbelievable,” Kirby said. “When I played here, they didn't have a women's program --- and to have both programs have that kind of success generates more enthusiasm for the program. … So it's always a plus when you have multiple sports doing extremely well.”

That concept also resonates with TRC's athletes.

“I think it makes our school and our programs look really good,” TRC sophomore Kaleigh Thompson said. “So it's a good place to be at this time.”

Notes: Christy (Johnson) Nichols, the mother of current Raider men's basketballer Cole Nichols, was on the 1994-95 Lady Raiders squad which went to nationals in Tyler, Texas. … Vincennes and the Raiders have several common opponents, as the Trailblazers are in Region XXIV with John A. Logan, Olney Central, Southwestern Illinois, Shawnee and Lincoln Trail. Vincennes also played Moberly, Mineral Area and Triton this season, beating Triton in December and losing to both Missouri colleges.