By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:23 AM CST

PARK HILLS — The Mineral Area College men’s basketball team attacked  the compact zone defense of Meramec with its most explosive long-range shooting performance in recent memory on Wednesday night.

Freshman Riley Raulston buried six 3-pointers, Martell Anderson drained five more and the Cardinals were a remarkable 16-for-28 from beyond the arc while rolling to their 11th straight home victory in a 90-66 rout.

Raulston added a driving baseline dunk down the stretch and matched Drew Thomas for game-high honors with 20 points each, while Anderson tallied 15 and Kaleb Wright added 11 for the Cardinals (15-5).

Mineral Area finished the first half with a 13-3 spurt after briefly trailing 26-25, and eventually enjoyed a 30-point cushion after Raulston splashed in four straight triples in less than two minutes of action.

Sophomore Carlton Guyton beat the halftime buzzer with a deep three that created a 38-29 spread, then sparked the second-half onslaught with another from the left wing.

Meramec (13-8) established its usual deliberate pace early on, but still committed 20 turnovers on the night. Josh Dale paced the Magic with 17 points while Dallis Johnson and Dietrick Sooter notched 14 each.

Johnson converted a powerful 3-point play in the first half after Meramec saw Anderson connect three times in a row from downtown, but Al Rapier countered with back-to-back field goals for a 25-20 MAC advantage.

Wright earned two offensive rebounds for a third-chance putback during a sudden 14-2 run, and the Cardinals extended the margin to 79-49 when Thomas hit a reverse scoop in the lane.

Sooter entered the contest ranked ninth in free-throw percentage among NJCAA Division II players, and finished a perfect 6-for-6 at the stripe.

Mineral Area hopes to avoid an 0-3 start in Region XVI play Saturday night against Moberly.

Meramec  29  37 - 66 

Mineral Area  38  52 - 90

SCORING:

Meramec - Josh Dale 17, Dietrick Sooter 14, Dallis Johnson 14, Ronald Patton 6, Dylan Briscoe 6, John Alexander 4, Eric Kiminau 3, Josh Kane 2. 3-point FG - Sooter 2, Briscoe 2, Kiminau.

Mineral Area - Riley Raulston 20, Drew Thomas 20, Martell Anderson 15, Kaleb Wright 11, Carlton Guyton 8, Al Rapier 8, Edwin Shorter 2, Greg Gibson 2, C.J. Crittendon 2, Shamus Ferguson 2. 3-point FG - Raulston 6, Anderson 5, Thomas 2, Guyton 2, Wright.