Blazers Douse Raiders with Season-Opening Heat in Missouri

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – Jakob Zenon scored a career-high 33 points, going 8 of 12 from three-point range, as Dallas College North Lake's No. 7-ranked National Junior College Athletic Association Division III men's basketball team beat NJCAA Division I Three Rivers College, 89-81, on the road to open the season Friday.

Zenon was 11 of 19 from the field, and added six rebounds and two steals, while playing all but 1:08 in the Blazers' win in the Three Rivers College Classic.

Bryson Smith finished with 15 points, three assists and three steals, Autavius Hobbs had 11 points and three assists, and Ring Deng finished with 10 points in a game where three North Lake starters scored in double figures.

"Really happy for our guys, our team," North Lake second-year head coach Josh Mills said. "To go on the road and win a game versus a scholarship school is an incredible feat for us."

North Lake, which was outrebounded 33-29, shot 50 percent from the floor. The Blazers were 12 of 23 from three-point range for 52 percent. Three Rivers hit 49 percent of its shots, and went 10 of 24 from long distance for 42 percent.

Caleb Young finished with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds for the Raiders, who led, 44-39, at halftime. Bryce Wallace scored 12 points, and Zyier Beverly and Robert Alexander each 10 for Three Rivers.

North Lake was 16 of 31 from the floor in the second half, including a 9 of 14 performance beyond the 3-point line. The Blazers shot 19-for-24 from the free throw line. Three Rivers went 17 of 22 from the stripe, but were held to 2 of 8 from long distance in the second half.

The Blazers outscored the Raiders, 19-10, in second chance opportunities, and locked down defensively in the second half to pull out the win.

North Lake's Randy Woolf finished with eight points, five assists and four steals. Jermey Irwin had six points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals in the redshirt freshman's debut.

"We still have a lot of work to do," said Mills, who collected his first season-opening victory. "It's a good start to a long season."