Rock Valley College Athletics

GAME PREVIEW: #1 RVC men travel to Quincy, Illinois to play John Wood and Macomb; Williams named National Player of the Week

11/12/2015 10:38:00 AM

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Upcoming Dates
Nov. 13- vs. John Wood Community College, 7:00 PM; Quincy, IL
Nov. 14- vs. Macomb Community College (MI), 1:00 PM; Quincy, IL
 
Probable Starters
Rock Valley College (6-0)
PG- LT Davis, 5-11, So., Rockford, IL; 21.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 43.1% 3 PT
SG- Dalton Menke, 6-3, Fr., Winnebago, IL; 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
SF- Kooper Glick, 6-3, Fr., Columbus, IN; 11.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg
PF- Jontrell Robinson, 6-5, So., Rockford, IL; 2.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg
C- Elijah Williams, 6-7, So., Chicago, IL; 19.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 66.1% FG
Sub-G- Dalton Payton,  6-6, So., Byron, IL; 8.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Sub-PG- Mo Jackson, 5-10, So., Belvidere, IL; 11.0 ppg, 45.8% 3 PT
 
John Wood Community College (0-3)
PG- Lincoln Elbe, 5-10, Fr., Quincy, IL; 2.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg
SG- Larry Plummer, 6-2, Fr., Clayton, LA; 16 ppg, 71.4% 3 PT
SF- Gabe McKenzie, 6-4, Fr., Canton, MO; 5.5 ppg, 40% 3 PT
PF- Andrew Howard, 6-7, Fr., Charlotte, NC; 5.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
C- Munachiso Okonkwo, 6-9, Fr., Nigeria; 10.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg
6th – Wayde Smith, 6-0, So., Pittsfield, IL; 7.5 ppg
 
Macomb Community College (2-0)
Joe Harbowski, 6-2, So., St. Clair Shores, MI; Lakeview High School
Joe Morris-Tuft, 5-9, So., Eastpointe, MI; East Detroit High School
Chris Dorsey, 6-2, So., Troy, MI; Troy High School
Malcolm Cohen, 6-5, Fr., Warren, MI; Warren High School
Dalton Okie, 6-7, Fr., Harbor Beach, MI; Harbor Beach High School
 
John Wood Community College Notes
John Wood CC is an NJCAA DII member of the Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) located in Quincy, IL… Head coach of the Blazers is Brad Hoyt… Hoyt is currently in his 6th year at the helm of John Wood and has a 92-44 (.676) record over the past five years… John Wood was NJCAA D2 National Runner-up last season, the best finish in school history… The Blazers are currently 0-3 in this young season losing to NJCAA D2 national power Kirkwood, Rend Lake and D1 Moberly Area CC… The Blazers and Golden Eagles last played during the 2013-14 season where RVC defeated JWCC in Rockford by a score of 88-85 on 11/23/2013… In the win, the Golden Eagles were led by LT Davis' 32 points; Jared Mayes scored 18 points while Frank Cimino scored 17 for RVC.

Macomb Community College Notes
Macomb Community College is a member of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) located in Warren, MI… Head Coach is Jim Twigg… Last season the Monarchs went 16-13 overall including an 8-7 clip in the MCCAA… Macomb is currently 2-0 on the season... This is the first meeting between Rock Valley and Macomb.
 
Rock Valley College Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… In the NJCAA Division III Preseason Poll (October 27th, 2015), the Golden Eagles earned the top spot with a #1 ranking nationally… RVC is coming off of a big weekend at the Blackwell Tire Classic in Ottumwa, IA and a home game vs. Black Hawk College (Moline, IL) on Tuesday…The Golden Eagles improved to 6-0 with a 83-76 victory over Blackhawk… This past week the Golden Eagles went 2-0 which included a 88-86 win over NJCAA DI powerhouse #7 Indian Hills CC… Against Black Hawk, RVC big man Elijah Williams was dominate again posting 25 points and 8 rebounds to lead RVC…LT Davis scored 17 points while Mo Jackson and Kooper Glick each chipped in with 12 points… The Golden Eagles are currently 3rd in NJCAA DIII in total points scored (557) 2nd in free throw percentage (78.6%) and 5th in three-point makes per game (10.7 per game).

Elijah Williams named NJCAA D3 National Player of the Week

(Elijah Williams - RVC Athletics)
Over the previous three seasons the Golden Eagles boasted an 80-25 overall record, won the 2014 National Championship and was 2015 National Runner-up… However, during that time no member of the program was ever awarded with National Player of the Week… Following up LT Davis getting awarded POW last week, Elijah Williams won the award this week to make it back-to-back for the Golden Eagles… And rightfully so, Elijah scored 31 points and ripped down 15 rebounds at #7 NJCAA D1 Indian Hills to help RVC shock the world again by knocking off their second top 10 Division 1 program in as many weeks… Elijah is currently RVC's second leading scorer averaging 19.5 points per game… He leads the team in rebounding (9.2 per game), field goal percentage (66.1%) and is one of the best free throw shooting big men in the country knocking in 78% (39-50) of his attempts.
 
Tough Scheduling
The Golden Eagles will play one of the most difficult schedules in the country again this season…RVC has scheduled 14 of their 16 non-conference games against NJCAA D1 and D2 opponents including NJCAA D1 national tournament teams Vincennes University (W: 78-66, Oct. 30) and Indian Hills (W: 88-86, Nov. 7), as well as the 2015 NJCAA D2 National Runner-up John Wood Community College (Nov. 13), all on the road.  Rock Valley will play no JV teams or prep schools.  For the complete schedule along with game times click here.
 
Tradition
The Golden Eagles men's basketball program started as NJCAA members in 1966 under Charles Behrends.  With a rich tradition, RVC has taken the men's basketball program to new heights over the past three seasons.  Despite reaching the NJCAA National Tournament only one time from 1966-2012 (in 2001 under  Carl Armato), the Golden Eagles have won the NJCAA Region IV tournament each of the past three seasons to make three straight trips to the national tournament in New York.  The Golden Eagles have placed 7th, won the National Championship and was National Runner-up respectively, over the past three seasons.  To view the year-by-year success of the Golden Eagles program click here.
 
 
Craig Doty is in his 4th season as the Golden Eagles' head coach. Doty has produced three of the best seasons in the 49 year history of the RVC program.  Rock Valley won the Region 4 Championship in all three seasons, earning a 7th place finish at the 2013 national tournament in Doty's inaugural season followed by a 30-5 season and winning the NJCAA DIII national championship in 2014. Last season, the Golden Eagles went 31-4 overall and made a return appearance in the National Championship game finishing 2nd in the country.  The 31 victories are the most in program history in a season.  In 2014, Doty was named the Spalding NJCAA national coach of the year, the Gary S. Cole coach of the national tournament, the NJCAA coaches association coach of the year, and the NJCAA national all-star game coach.  In all three seasons at RVC Doty earned Region 4 coach of the year, District 2 coach of the year as well as the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association coach of the year awards.  Doty graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English from Morningside College (IA) and served previous stints as an assistant at the University of Sioux Falls (NCAA Division II), Riverland Community College (NJCAA), Central Wyoming College (NJCAA) and Morningside College (NAIA).  Doty served as interim head coach at Central Wyoming College in the spring of 2011 and also spent a season as the head boys basketball coach at Akron-Westfield high school (IA).