DALLAS -- A young and hampered Raiders roster learned a sobering lesson Saturday. Competitive and talented, they are. A top 10 team they are not. At least for now.
With nine active players, Three Rivers went 2-1 in its preseason opener Saturday at the Dallas Jamboree. The Raiders, who open their regular season against Tallahassee and Link Year Prep in the First Midwest Bank Classic on Nov. 3-4, beat Northwest Kansas Tech 51-40 and Lamar 60-43 while losing 71-47 to South Plains.
"We played decent for two of the three. That second game, we were over our head. South Plains is a top 10 team and we learned a pretty good lesson from them," Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said. "We've got to be good enough to compete against a South Plains if we are going to win our region, so we are working hard and trying to catch up."
Aidan Saunders led the Raiders with 38 total points in three games.
"He has a pretty good ability to get the ball to the basket and we have a couple freshmen who can do that too if we can get them stabilized," Bess said.
The 6-foot, 4-inch sophomore was 7 for 8 shooting against Northwest Kansas Tech and 6 for 13 against Lamar.
Saunders had a tougher time against South Plains, which is coming off a third place finish in the NJCAA Tournament. He was 4 of 14 from the floor and 1 for 5 on 3-pointers.
The Raiders collectively went 15 for 46 (33 percent) while South Plains shot 51 percent.
Bess said the Raiders got frustrated during the tough matchup and resorted to quick shots. South Plains consequently got a lot of run outs and prevented Three Rivers from getting into its half-court defense, which was strong at times during the weekend.
Saunders is the Raiders' top returning scorer this season and one of three returning sophomores. He averaged 11 points as a freshman and started 18 of 32 games.
Poplar Bluff alum Willie Lucas led Three Rivers in 3-point shooting after going 4 for 10 overall. Lucas was 1 for 4 against both South Plains and Kansas Tech, and was 2 for 2 against Lamar.
Lucas finished with 16 points overall and was 6 for 12 overall. He also grabbed five rebounds.
"Willie works hard on his shooting and has over the years. He's probably our best shooter, to say the least. We are trying to get him a few more shots," Bess said.
Chris Stocks, another former Mule, got 13 points and three rebounds. Stocks was 6 for 7 on free throws and 2 for 5 shooting.
"Chris is really working hard. He was halfway injured off and on all fall, but he doesn't let it affect him," Bess said.
Sophomore Ludy Kayouloud led Three Rivers with 13 rebounds after grabbing six against both Kansas Tech and Lamar. Kayouloud averaged 5.5 minutes as a freshman and appeared in 18 games.
"He's our post man as of right now. He's the only one back who is a post man and our new guys are searching," Bess said. "He was a difference maker (against Northwest Kansas Tech)."
Three Rivers players Jeffery Porter, Corey Bown, Miganeh Jama and Alex Coggins did not play because of injuries or physical reasons.