The Three Rivers Raiders and State Fair Roadrunners battled all evening in their Region 16 matchup, as both teams filled up the stat sheet and scoreboard in an attempt to advance to Saturday's region title game.
The Raiders drew more offensive firepower from their key players to secure a 94-87 home victory and advance to Saturday's region final against Mineral Area College.
"I am extremely proud of our guys, but hats off to State Fair, they did a really good job being prepared and ready to get a win," head coach Robert Kirby said. "They made a heck of a run to get here to this point, but our guys did a really good job of staying together tonight and having each other's backs. That's what it's about this time of the year."
Sophomore forward Antonio Williams scored the first 10 points for the Raiders, slamming home a highlight-reel worthy flush while getting several mid-range jump shots to go. He finished the night with 18 points.
"My teammates did a good job of finding me for good looks; all the credit goes to them," Williams said.
The Raiders' defense permitted the Roadrunners to get an early 14-10 lead behind several three-pointers from various players, most notably Gavin Q. Murphy, who hit six on the evening in total.
After Hampton hit a three-pointer midway through the first quarter to give the Raiders their first lead of the night, Murphy promptly nailed another long-distance basket to accelerate State Fair back in front. Freshman guard Drew Ward connected on two three-pointers that wrested the lead away from State Fair, and Hampton nailed one in the process. However, Murphy concluded the quarter by nailing a three-pointer to take a two-point lead into intermission.
"We took some punches from them in the first half, and gave some out too," sophomore forward Allen Stoddard said. "We did a better job of locking in defensively in the second half, though. We had to hang in there, State Fair didn't go away easily at all.
As the second-half commenced, freshman guard Josiah Cotto nailed a three-pointer for the Raiders. Fellow guard Miles Jones followed suit, and big man Johann Pautsch finished at the rim to make it 51-50 with 16 minutes left.
Murphy nailed yet another three-pointer for State Fair, and Stoddard weaved his way to the rim as the teams continued to go back and forth in the second half. Jones hit his second three of the half to make it 72-72 past the midway point of the frame. Williams hit a jump shot to take a three point lead, and a final three from Jones put the Raiders in the driver seat for good. The Raiders held on for a 94-87 victory.
With the victory, Three Rivers moves on to Saturday night, where they will take on top-seeded Mineral Area in Park Hills for the region championship. Kirby's confident his team can go on the road and get the win; however, he's well-aware of the caliber of team his men will have to overcome.
"Mineral Area is a really good team, they play well together, but I am always confident when we step on the floor that we can compete and defeat anyone," Kirby said. "We will have to come together as we did tonight, and we will have a great chance of getting the job done."
The top four scorers from each team:
State Fair--Andin Ashford 22, Gavin Q Murphy-20, JP Ndong 18, Nate Wilder 14
Three Rivers-Matt Hampton 22, Antonio Williams 18, Myles Jones 11, Johann Pautsch 10,
Liaudwin Seaberry Jr. - Daily American Republic