PARK HILLS — Bob Sechrest Fieldhouse traditionally has been a tough place to play for the Three Rivers Raiders men's basketball team.
That proved true again Saturday night, as the Raiders dropped a 75-51 decision to the Mineral Area Cardinals in a Region 16 contest.
"They really pressured us and really played hard," Three Rivers coach Brian Bess said. "Mineral Area is really well coached. Defensively, they really made it hard for us."
The Raiders also were missing big man Hosana Kitenge, who broke his nose a week ago in practice and had surgery last Thursday.
"He's been a go-to player for us and we really missed him," Bess said. "I think he could have helped some on relieving their defensive pressure."
Three Rivers also struggled to get the ball in the hoop Saturday, shooting just 34 percent (20-of-59) from the field and only 13 percent (2-for-15) from behind the 3-point line.
"We've got to shoot better," Bess said. "We've got to show more patience getting it to the third side of the floor."
The Raiders (5-9, 0-2 Region 16) trailed by just one point (20-19) after Mo Niang's 3-pointer with less than seven minutes left in the first half, but Mineral Area answered on its next possession with a 3 from Dior Conners, sparking a 13-5 run that made it 33-24 at halftime.
It was a sign of things to come for Three Rivers.
After Jordan Hamilton opened the second half with a layup to cut the Cardinals' lead to 33-26, Mineral Area forced five consecutive turnovers to fuel an 18-4 run, taking a 51-30 lead and breaking the game open.
"It was from their pressure and their defensive intensity — (and those) really caused us problems," Bess said. "They took us out of our offense and turned our turnovers into fastbreak layups — and (they were the) killer."
Back to back baskets by Lamont Jackson capped a 6-0 run to briefly cut the Three Rivers deficit to 15 points (51-36), but the Raiders could get no closer the rest of the way.
Niang led the Raiders with 11 points, while Jackson added 10 in the loss.
Notes: Three Rivers will close out the 2022 portion of its schedule this Saturday at John A. Logan. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Carterville, Ill. … All the proceeds from Saturday's game went to Kevin Thurman, a longtime supporter of Mineral Area basketball, who is battling cancer.
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic