POPLAR BLUFF – It felt like New Year's Eve at the Libla Family Sports Complex on Friday night as Three Rivers hosted Raider Madness going into the early hours of Saturday morning to ring in the new college basketball year. Both the men's and women's teams were on hand to scrimmage and put on a little entertainment for Raider Nation.
"We had a good crowd for a midnight scrimmage," Three Rivers men's basketball coach and athletic director Brian Bess said. "It was a good way to let the guys have some fun in front of the fans."
When the clock struck midnight, it officially started the first day of practices for men's and women's basketball, letting the defending Region XVI Champion Lady Raiders take the court first to scrimmage.
"The fans got to see a lot of new faces on this team," women's basketball coach Alex Wiggs said. "I was shocked how many people were here. The new girls are getting used to how we do things here and they're coming together."
Even Coach Gene Bess was on hand as he was the first to greet fans when the doors opened at 10:30 p.m. With an hour and a half to kill, the men's and women's squads went head-to-head in a 3-point contest, in which Mo Niang bested Maiya Bergdorf in the finals, and the men held a dunk contest.
With no celebrity judges in the building, the voting was deciding among the fans and 6-foot-5 freshman Caleb Young easily won as he leap-frogged the 5-foot-8 Darian Webb and finished with the one-handed jam.
B.J. Francis came in a close second as he donned his practice jersey around his neck like a cape, but standing at just 6-feet he needed a little help from his friends, Maurice Washington and Hosana Kitenge, to get up to the rim as the rest of their teammates gathered around to film on their phones and post to social media.
Along with the basketball teams, the cheer squad did a routine as midnight approached.
The Lady Raiders scrimmaged in three minute periods followed by the men playing in two 10-minute periods.
"There's definitely some things we need to work on," Bess said.
Both basketball teams will have some preseason scrimmages in October including a couple of showcases for the men in Dallas, Tx. and Carbondale, Ill. while the ladies have a showcase in Lawrence Ks.
The Raiders start their season on Nov. 1 at Olney Central while the Lady Raiders will host Wabash Valley for College for their opener on Nov. 5.
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic