M-Basketball: Pena's Big Night Lifts the Golden Eagles Past Columbus State CC
Behind a career-high 38 points and 7 rebounds from sophomore big man
Alec Pena, the Golden Eagles were able to come away in a nail biter at Columbus State CC - 94-91. The Golden Eagles now move to 5-1 as they enter the Thanksgiving holiday.
In a dogfight from start to finish, RVC managed to shoot 37-67 from the field (55.2%). In addition to Pena, the Golden Eagles got strong contributions from Guilford HS graduate
Elijah Pappas (13 points, 7 rebounds) and
Jace Kitchen (12 points).
"On a positive note, when we didn't turn the ball over, we got what we wants offensively. We also never gave in when we faced a little adversity," stated Head Men's Basketball Coach
Evan Lavery. "In contrast, we did not contain the dribble drive. We did not crash the offensive glass in a manner we are capable of. We need to pay more attention to what our job is on that particular offensive or defensive possession, and do it the best to our ability. We need to focus more on who we need to be within the confines of our program."
In the game's final minutes, the Golden Eagles were able to get up as much as 8 points with 3:31 left in the game. Behind 4 FT's from
Alec Pena down the stretch, the Golden Eagles were able to get up 6 points to finish off the Cougars. A late 3 PT field goal as the clock expired by Matthew Gierhart cut the lead to the game's final score.
"Pena was huge tonight," said Lavery. "We liked the match-up he had inside. He has worked very hard on his body and skill set this off-season to put himself in a situation to be successful this year."
UP NEXT
RVC hosts their first annual Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, November 25th and Saturday, November 26th. The field consists of NJCAA DI Kankakee Community College, #19 NJCAA DII Macomb Community College (MI), and #11 NJCAA DII Southwestern Community College (IA). The Golden Eagles play at 7 PM on Friday, November 25th against Kankakee, and at 3 PM on Saturday, November 26th against Macomb Community College.
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