Raiders’ season defined by adversity

Battling adversity was a theme for the Three Rivers College men’s basketball team this past season.

While the Raiders did not suffer quite as many injuries as they did the previous season, they still played a factor. Forward Devarious Montgomery went down with a season-ending injury in late November, while forwards Bryce Wallace and Anthony Sellars — the team’s best player — both saw their seasons end prematurely.

The lack of size and bodies took a heavy toll down late and may have cost Three Rivers a shot at a winning season. The Raiders finished 14-18 after losing five of their last six games, two of them by five points or less.

“We battled through some adversity, tons of injuries and just little things that we had to overcome — and not having much size at the end of the year was something we had to overcome,” TRC coach Brian Bess said. “Ultimately, that’s why we didn’t win the last game that we played.”

But despite the rough finish to the season, there were some positives. The Raiders defeated Missouri State-West Plains in the first round of the Region 16 tournament, their first postseason win since winning the Region 16 title in 2017.

And in the Region 16 semifinals, Three Rivers led at nationally-ranked Mineral Area with 11 minutes to go before the host Cardinals pulled away late.

“At the end of the year, I think we were playing hard and playing our best,” Bess said. “That’s probably what I liked the best about this team is that we ultimately came together and played well down late, but we had a lot of things to overcome.”

Bess also had words of praise for the team’s three sophomores, Sellars, Caleb Young and D.J. Prater. Sellars average 13.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, both of which led the team, and also was named first-team all-Region 16.

“Anthony deserved to be all-region,” Bess said. “He was our best player until he got hurt. He has had three or four Division I schools reaching out to him, so I think he will definitely be able to go on and further his education once he gets healthy.”

Young averaged 10.2 points per game and drained a team-high 47 3-pointers. He was named second-team all-Region 16, as was freshman Demetris “Meechie” White.

“I thought Caleb really scored it well throughout the season,” Bess said. “Although he had some ups and downs, he really shot it well and overall, had a good sophomore year.”

Meanwhile, Prater was the team’s consummate role-player, but also was one of the team’s top defenders as he led the Raiders in steals per 40 minutes and also had the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio among the team’s regular players.

“D.J. was a great team player and sacrificed for the team,” Bess said. “He guarded the post … and he guarded some 6-10 guys, so he really sacrificed and put the team first. That’s ultimately what you’re trying to build through your team — you’re wanting everybody to do the best they can to help the team.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders have already begun to build for next year as they seek to dethrone three-time defending Region 16 champion Moberly in 2024-25.

“It’s an exciting time,” Bess said. “(We are) definitely building for the future, and even got word (Saturday) two of our signees won a state championship in Arkansas in Class 6A. So we’re excited about the future and excited about what we’re building.

“But our league is just really good — that’s the bottom line. Moberly has been really good for (several) years in a row — and then Mineral Area has one of the top coaches in the country, so obviously we’ve got a lot to overcome.”

Editor’s note: Look for more about the Raiders’ 2024-25 recruits later this week in the Daily American Republic and on semoball.com.