Raiders win first region title since 2017

HILLSBORO — The Three Rivers College men’s basketball team is king of Region XVI once again.

The Raiders connected on a whopping 14 of their 23 shots behind the 3-point line as they defeated the top-seeded — and three-time defending region champion — Moberly Greyhounds 72-61 on Saturday night at the Jefferson College Fieldhouse.

It is Three Rivers’ first Region XVI championship since 2017 and just its second since 2012. With Saturday’s win, TRC also improves to 20-12 on the season — its first 20-win season since 2016-17.

“The Raiders are back — that's for sure,” Three Rivers coach Robert Kirby said. “We're still trying to climb that mountain, though the Raiders' toughness and physicality, that part is there because we've got a whole group. … We've got some guys back healthy — which at this time of year, it's always critical to have enough people.”

After Saturday's game, Kirby was named the Region XVI Coach of the Year in his first season at the Raiders' helm, while sophomore Meechie White and freshman Matt Hampton were named first-team all-Region XVI and sophomore Robert “Deuce” Alexander was named second-team all-region.

“Bringing a new coach in (for this season), it was just a new environment and a new thing to get used to — but we all bought in,” White said. “We all got committed to win. When you have a team that's committed to win, there's a limitless amount of possibilities and things that can happen.”

The Raiders have overcome their share of adversity this season, including a three-game losing streak in December and back-to-back two-point losses to Mineral Area and at St. Louis Community College last month.

“Going through the season, we had so many ups and downs and so many bumps in a row that for a team is easy to quit and lay down,” White said. “But (Coach Kirby) made everybody play to the best of their abilities — and we rose up to our talent.”

Said freshman Ethan Johnson: “We put in the work all season. We just we worked all season, we stayed together and gelled — and we got it done.

Three Rivers turned a 28-24 deficit into a 30-28 halftime lead to the locker room thanks to 3-pointers from Cole Nichols and White, respectively. White's triple with 36 seconds left in the opening session ended up being the go-ahead basket for TRC.

The Raiders got hot behind the arc to open the second half, draining five triples in the first 6:15 of the second half to take a 47-38 lead after Johnson's second trey of the second half.

The Greyhounds did not give up, cutting the lead to four points (65-61) after a triple with 3:10 left in the game, but Three Rivers shut out the 'Hounds the rest of the way to wrap up the victory.

“I've got to give credit to Moberly,” Kirby said. “That was a hard-fought victory. It was one of those things where we just outlasted them through attrition. It was an all-out fight.”

Perhaps one of the biggest signs of the Raiders' growth Saturday was their ability to close out a win. Before the region tournament, TRC was 1-6 in games this season decided by one possession and overtime and held 15-point leads in three of its losses, including a 75-67 loss at Moberly on Feb. 22.

“One of the things that we went back and worked (were) situations,” Kirby said. … “Each possession is critical and (our) guys are starting to figure out how important it is to value each possession of the ball. They're soaking in the knowledge that we're giving them and are growing from it. That's a big part of this time of year. Everybody's banged up and everybody's fighting for life.”

White led Three Rivers with 25 points, including a 6-for-7 performance behind the 3-point line, while Hampton added 20 and Johnson had 13. Alexander had eight rebounds, while White added seven and the duo of Hampton and Alexander each had six. Alexander, Hampton and White also each dished off six assists.

The Raiders now will host the Triton College Trojans from suburban Chicago next Saturday at the Libla Family Sports Complex for the Midwest District championship and an automatic bid to the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Triton is 28-4 on the season and ranked seventh in the NJCAA poll. The Trojans defeated Kankakee 79-76 on Saturday to win the Region IV championship.

“It's a great opportunity for our guys, especially for our sophomores who were here last year,” Kirby said. “They fell a little bit short (last season) of what their goals were at the start of (that) year. But the guys that came back this year, they kept getting better and growing up, growing up, growing up and growing up. That's what it's all about, understanding what you did wrong and how to improve that.”