Raider rally comes up just short at Lewis & Clark

GODFREY, Ill. — The Three Rivers College men’s basketball team used a furious late rally to overcome a 16-point deficit, but could not seal the deal in a 72-70 road loss to the Lewis & Clark Trailblazers Wednesday night.

It was the fourth game in seven days for the Raiders (11-14).

“This was a very winnable game,” Three Rivers coach Brian Bess said. “They were 7-13 (coming in) and played like they had nothing to lose.”

Trailing 64-54 late in the contest, Three Rivers went on a 16-4 run, taking a 70-68 lead on a pair of Mo Niang free throws, but the Blazers answered with a 3-pointer to retake the lead at 71-70.

After a missed 3-point attempt by Niang, LeTarion White sank a free throw to make it 72-70. Lamont Jackson got a good look at a 3 at the buzzer, but came up short.

The Raiders struggled from the field, making just 38% of their shots (25-for-66) on the night, while Lewis & Clark connected on 48% of its shots (28-for-59) and also drained 10 3-pointers. However, the Raiders did sink 15 of their 16 free throws on the night.

Mo Niang led the Raiders with 23 points despite Lewis & Clark playing a box-and-1 defense against him, while Hosana Kitenge had 14 and Lamont Jackson added 13. Niang had a team-high seven rebounds, while Kitenge also had six rebounds, six assists and blocked a pair of shots.

Armond Williams led the Trailblazers with 16 points, while White added 11 and Damarion Shanklin had 10. Williams also had 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Three Rivers is back on the court Saturday night at home against Region XVI rival State Fair.

A win would put the Raiders in the driver’s seat for the third seed in the region tournament.

“The biggest game of our year is on Saturday,” Bess said. “State Fair is really well coached. (Head coach) Matt Brown has been the head coach at (Division I) UMKC.”

Notes: Lewis & Clark was coached by athletic director Cedric Brown after the school fired their head coach last week. … In other Region XVI action Wednesday, Moberly beat Missouri State-West Plains 88-81 in West Plains.