Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Gene Bess, head coach of the Raiders men’s basketball team at Three Rivers College, cemented his place in basketball history by securing his 1,200th win over State Fair Community College on Thursday, January 6 in Sedalia, Missouri.
“I feel overwhelmed but very proud to be part of the team that allowed me to reach this milestone,” said Bess. “It’s an amazing achievement, and one that has been made possible by the extraordinary players, coaches, and supporters I’ve been able to work with here at Three Rivers.”
Bess has coached men’s basketball at Three Rivers for over 40 years, leading the Raiders to two NJCAA national championships in 1979 and 1992. He now holds the record for most wins by a single coach in all of college basketball, has held the record for most wins in junior college basketball since 2006, and is eclipsed by only four coaches in the NBA. He has been inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame, and was twice named NJCAA’s Coach of the Year.
“Three Rivers is deeply honored to have been host to Coach Bess’ extraordinary career,” said Dr. Wesley Payne, President of Three Rivers College. “He has left an indelible mark on the careers of hundreds of players, as well as the lives of thousands of students and fans. His dedication to his sport and to this college is nothing short of amazing.”
The Raiders are currently 15-5 this season, with a 1-1 record in their division. Their next home game will be on Tuesday, January 13 at 7 p.m. in the Bess Activity Center. For more information on Raiders basketball, as well as all Three Rivers athletics, visit raidersathletics.com.
Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.
Perryville, Missouri – Dexter led by 10 points early on before the Pirates powerhouse Eli Tripp rallied for a game-high 21 points to lead Perryville to victory 65-50.
The first quarter looked like a completely different ballgame than the last quarter. Dexter tallied 20 points. Ethan Flowers returned to the line-up recording the first six points with a 3-pointer, a bucket and one from the charity stripe.
“We are obviously struggling in scoring,” commented head basketball coach Josh Dowdy. “We were up by 10 and had a chance to push it, but didn’t cash in. Perryville scored and brought it back to seven.”
“We have good kids who truly don’t know how to win. It’s tough to be patient, but I believe in them and we are getting what we deserve right now.”
Perryville shot the ball well especially from the outside tonight. Conner Stark netted 15 points including an impressive 4 treys. Eli Tripp was remarkable with his addition of 21 points and Luke Schlichting recorded a 3-pointer before fouling out.
“We struggled tonight around the rim finishing,” continued Dowdy. “We aren't the tallest team out there and we are primarily playing our sophomores and juniors and a couple of seniors. We also have Noah out this week.”
“We aren’t working hard enough in practice at least I think we can work harder and put more energy into the game as well. I know these kids want to win and I believe they will.”
Jacob Pedigo recorded a team-high 16 points including two 3-pointers. Jason Jarrell tallied 11 points along with Ethan Flowers who also added 11 including his two treys.
Final Score Dexter 50, Perryville 65
Dexter 20 9 8 13 - 50
Perryville 13 18 18 16 - 65
Dexter (50) – Jason Jarrell 11, Peyton Pollock 4, Jacob Pedigo 16, Austin Chesser 4, Ethan Flowers 11, Tyler Heil 2, Addison Moore 2. FG 12, FT 14/27, F 21 (3-pointers: Pedigo 2, Flowers 2. Fouled Out: Chesser, Jarrell).
Perryville (65) – McGwire Bartley 6, Conner Stark 15, Luke Schlichting 5, Garrett Johnson 5, Nathan Noland 4, Collin Stief 2, Eli Tripp 21, Wyatt Johnson 5, Ryan Noland 2. FG 18, FT 14/17, F 21 (3-pointers: Stark 4, Schlichting 1. Fouled Out: Schlichting).
In JV action Perryville also defeated the Bearcats 39 – 37 in a much closer game.
“I thought the JV played exceptionally well tonight,” stated Dowdy. “They have worked hard in practice. They put on an entertaining ballgame tonight. Those boys have put in a lot of effort, but still need to work on skill development. They will spend some much needed time this summer shooting the ball.”
Friday night is Winter Homecoming and the Bearcats take on the Woodland Cardinals. Game time is 5:00 p.m. beginning with a Freshman game, followed by the Junior Varsity and Varsity games.
The introduction of the Homecoming Queen and her court will also be announced with a Homecoming Dance to follow the games.
“Woodland is another SCAA conference game and we are going to have to be a lot better than what we played tonight to beat them.”
Players selected for the 58th Annual Bloomfield Christmas All-Tournament Team are: Jason Jarrell of Dexter, Rantrell Caruthers and Andre Oliver of Kennett, Seth Snider of Twin Rivers, Cortez Dobbins of Malden, Indaqual Presberry of Hayti, Noah Vandiver and Tyler Battles of Bloomfield, Zack Tucker and Seth Luttrull of Puxico, Caleb Ellenburg and Matt Vernon of Bernie.
Oran, Missouri – Bernie Mules earned a win on the road Tuesday evening defeating the Oran Eagles 65 – 58.
The Mules started out slow scoring only 5 points in the first period before coming alive in the second tallied 22 points. Matt Vernon hit a 3-pointer while Gavin Smith hit one basket in the first 8 minutes of play.
Vernon tallied a team-high 21 points including three treys for the Mules.
“Tough road win tonight,” stated Bernie Mule’s head basketball coach Brad Botsch. “We didn’t play particularly well and missed a lot of free throws down the stretch. They made us earn everything we got!”
Brandon Sparks and Gavin Smith scored 14 points each and Caleb Ellenburg finished with 12 points.
“We have to keep grinding out wins. That seems to be our style this year,” continued Botsch. “It is tough on the coaches, but an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.”
Bernie (11-1) will have a tough game on Friday as they travel to Advance. “We will really have to be ready to play to win up there,” stated Botsch.
Final Score Bernie 65, Oran 58
Bernie 5 22 11 27 - 65
Oran 11 15 8 24 - 58
Bernie (65) – Blake Gilmore 2, Matt Vernon 21, Brandon Sparks 14, Caleb Ellenburg 12, Devin Trammell 2, Gavin Smith 14. FG 17, FT 25/36 F 21 (3-pointers: Matt Vernon 3, Brandon Sparks 3, Foulded Out: Sparks, Trammell)
Oran (58) – Jacob Priggel 17, Preston Hahn 3, Hunter Schlosser 20, Jason Bennett 2, Garrison Mangels 6. FG 22, FT 13/19, F30 (3-pointers: Hunter Schlosser 1, Fouled Out: Priggel, Schlosser, Mangels)
In JV action the Bernie Mules defeated Oran 66 – 35 to improve their record to 6-1 on the season.
Brown recorded 20 points. Pippins tallied 18 points.
Bloomfield, Missouri – The Bernie Mules won the 58th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Tuesday evening in front of a packed crowed of fans!
The Mules jumped on the board first and were able to secure a 6 to 7 point lead throughout the duration of the game with the exception of a few close calls. At the end of the first period they led by only one point. Bernie scored double digits in each of the four periods to secure their win over Kennett 49 – 45.
“We kept getting it up to seven, eight or nine and then they would fight right back,” commented Bernie head basketball coach Brad Botsch. “A good program like Kennett is going to do that. Coach Vaughan is one of the best coaches in the area. His kids are going to play hard. They gave us trouble with their pressure, but you cannot say enough about a kid like Matt Vernon and his ball-handling tonight. He had two guys on him pretty well all night and still found a way to get us into our defense.”
Kennett’s Carlos Turner tallied a team-high 11 points including three 3-pointers. Rantrell Caruthers finished with 9 points before fouling out. He also hit one trey. Andre Oliver and Jad Kenny each scored 8 points.
Matt Vernon, a senior, scored 11 points for the Mules. “We just wanted to execute Coach Botsch’s game plan,” stated Vernon. “If we got the lead we could control the tempo and that’s what we wanted to do.”
Powerhouse Caleb Ellenburg tallied a game-high 23 points including one 3-pointer. “We worked really hard and we thought we could win this tournament coming in,” Bernie athlete Caleb Ellenburg stated. “We knew we were the four seed and had some work to do, but we were really ready to win it. Most of us were here last year on the team and we were really excited to get another chance at Kennett.”
“Caleb had an outstanding tournament,” Botsch stated. “He does what he does. He hits tough shots. Just when you think you cannot hit that shot he will take it up over two or three guys that are three or four inches taller than him and knock it down. You just cannot say enough about him and the rest of the kids on our team. Everybody on our team contributed in a positive way tonight.”
Bernie (10-1) will take a break for about a week and return to action on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 when they travel to Oran.
“We are not one of those teams that is going to walk in here and show-off our offensive fire power,” Botsch said. “We are going to have to grind things out. These kids have worked hard all summer for this moment. They lift weights and religiously put in the time. That kind of culminates tonight when you get to celebrate a championship!”
“I just cannot say enough about how hard our kids fought and the heart they displayed,” continued Botsch. “They played all out and had an everything you got performance.”
Final Score #4 Bernie Mules 49, #3 Kennett Indians 45
Bernie 11 12 14 12 - 49
Kennett 10 9 13 13 - 45
Bernie (49) – Caleb Ellenburg 23, Brandon Sparks 6, Matt Vernon 11, Gavin Smith 4, devin Trammell 5. FG 21, FT 5/9, F 16. (3-pointers: Ellenburg 1, Trammell1. Fouled Out: Trammell)
Kennett (45) – Carlos Turner 11, Andre Oliver 8, Jaylean Kinnon 2, Jad Kenny 8, Rantrell Caruthers 9, Fred Gooden 5, Jarvis Stewart 2. FG 14, FT 12/16, F 16. (3-pointers: Caruthers 2, Turner 3. Fouled Out: Caruthers.)
