By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Sunday, February 20, 2005
Updated: Sunday, February 20, 2005 12:17 AM CST

PARK HILLS - The Mineral Area College Cardinals played tenacious defense to dominate arch-rival Three Rivers throughout a large majority of Saturday night's Region XVI showdown, then avoided a nearly disastrous meltdown in the final minutes to claim a big 84-78 victory.

MAC (19-9) held a 21-point lead on three occasions during the second half, but a prolonged stretch of sloppy play and turnovers down the stretch allowed Three Rivers (18-9) to pull to within four points before time ran out.

The Cardinals forced a couple of quick turnovers near mid-court while opening the game with a 7-0 scoring run, capped by a three-point play from sophomore Ryan Byrne, who scored a game-high 26 points including four three-pointers and an 8-8 performance at the free-throw line.

The Raiders scored just nine points in the first 10:00 of action as the Cardinals consistently denied their attempts to score inside. Three Rivers also endured a cold streak from the perimeter until Dominitrix Johnson buried a triple make the score 21-15. Johnson scored 24 points and hit four threes to lead the Raiders.

Mineral Area used its strong defensive play to build momentum before halftime. After Curtis Muse finished a fast-break with a hard slam, Byrne made a steal and found Dantwan Chillers in transition to stretch the margin to 28-17.

Another triple from Byrne and an offensive putback by Muse helped build the lead to 17 points as the Cardinals seized greater command late in the first half. However, four straight points from Jermaine Dailey closed the stanza, bringing Three Rivers to within 38-25 at the break.

Reaynundo Sturdivant, who scored 21 points for the Raiders, drained a three-pointer to make it a 10-point contest early in the second half, but the Cardinals mounted another powerful response.

An emphatic two-handed dunk by Muse highlighted a 15-4 run and widened the gap to 62-41. The margin stood at 19 with 4:43 left as Kenny Burke hit a baseline jumper for two of his 14 points.

The Raiders then went into a desperation comeback mode and the Cardinals were suddenly unable to stop them. A tough driving layup by Johnson trimmed the Three Rivers deficit to 12. C.J. Hadley then reduced it to 76-68 on a three-pointer with 1:31 remaining.

Some missed free throws by the Cardinals also contributed to the late anxiety. Following an empty trip to the stripe for MAC, Johnson connected again from behind the arc with 21 seconds to go, making it 81-76.

After T.J. Britton made 1-2 at the line, the Cardinals fouled Hadley on a three-point attempt. The Three Rivers converted 2-3 attempts to make the difference four, and Burke sealed the game with two free throws for the Cardinals.

MAC is currently 3-4 in region play, one-half game behind second-place Three Rivers. The Cardinals will host Forest Park on Tuesday with a win giving them at least a share of the MCCAC conference title.

Three Rivers - 25 53 - 78

Mineral Area - 38 46 - 84

SCORING:

Three Rivers - D Johnson 24, R Sturdivant 21, C Hadley 12, J Dailey 11, D Demaree 4, A Ajasin 3, K Bedritis 3.

3-pointers - D Johnson 4, R Sturdivant 2, C Hadley 1, K Bedritis 1.

Mineral Area - R Byrne 26, K Burke 14, C Muse 12, A Jackson 9, T Wilkerson 6, T Britton 5, D Hicks 5, J Jackson 3, D Chillers 2, R Peterson 2.

3-pointers - R Byrne 4, K Burke 1, A Jackson 1.