Rock Valley College Athletics

Game Preview: #1 Rock Valley men play College of DuPage in Region IV Semi-Finals in Milwaukee on Friday

2/25/2016 8:24:00 PM

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Upcoming Date
Feb 26 vs. College of DuPage, 6:00 PM at Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI

Probable Starters

Rock Valley College (27-3, 11-3 in N4C)
PG- LT Davis, 5-11, So., Rockford, IL; 18.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg
SG- Dalton Menke, 6-3, Fr., Winnebago, IL; 8.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
SF- Kooper Glick, 6-3, Fr., Columbus, IN; 12.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg
PF- Jontrell Robinson, 6-5, So., Rockford, IL; 1.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg
C- Elijah Williams, 6-7, So., Chicago, IL; 16.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 67.3% FG
Sub- Dalton Payton, 6-6, So., Byron, IL; 9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Sub- Mo Jackson, 5-10, So., Belvidere, IL; 7.9 ppg, 2.8 apg

College of DuPage (18-11, 6-9 in N4C)
PG- Anthony Taylor, 5-11, So.; 3.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg
SG- Lawrence Stewart, 6-2, Fr.; 5.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg
SG- Fredrick Joshua, 6-0, So.; 7.9 ppg, 2.4 apg
PF- Christian Mathis, 6-3, So.; 17.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg
C- Moter Deng, 6-6, So.; 14.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg
6th – Marcel Phillips, 5-10, Fr.; 8.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg

College of DuPage Notes
College of DuPage is an NJCAA DIII member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C) located in Glen Ellyn, IL… Head coach of the Chaparrals is Dr. T. Earl Reed… Rock Valley was a perfect 2-0 against DuPage during the regular season… On January 23rd, 2016, the Golden Eagles beat the Chaparrals 89-50 in Glen Ellyn… The Golden Eagles were led by LT Davis who scored 23 points (9-13 FG)… Elijah Williams finished with 18 points while Dalton Payton chipped in with 10… Kooper Glick nearly missed a double-double posting 9 points and 10 rebounds… The Golden Eagles connected on 32-66 FG (48.5%) while holding the Chaparrals to 19-58 FG (32.8%)… Rock Valley also held a 53-58 rebounding advantage over DuPage… On February 17th, 2016, Rock Valley beat DuPage 80-61 in Rockford, IL… Four Golden Eagles scored 70 of Rock Valley's 80 points led by Kooper Glick (Columbus, IN) and LT Davis (Rockford, IL) with 20 points each… Glick added 8 rebounds… Elijah Williams (Chicago, IL) scored 19 points and ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds… Dalton Menke(Winnebago, IL) chipped in with 11 points... College of DuPage advanced to the Region IV Semifinals with a 64-62 win over Madison College Wednesday in Glen Ellyn… Friday's match-up marks the third consecutive year that Rock Valley and DuPage have squared up in the Region IV Semifinals.

Rock Valley College Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… RVC is the #1 ranked team in the country at the NJCAA DIII level… The Golden Eagles have been ranked #1 for the last 21 national polls dating back to 10-27-2014... Rock Valley is currently 27-3, including a 15-2 mark against NJCAA DI and NJCAA DII schools… In their last contest out, Rock Valley ran past Wilbur Wright College with a convincing 95-40 victory to finish regular season play… Sophomore Elijah Williams (Chicago, IL) led the way for Rock Valley with a game-high 23 points shooting a perfect 9 for 9 from the field and 5 for 5 from the free throw line… Williams added a game-high 7 rebounds in under 20 minutes of action… Sophomore LT Davis (Rockford, IL) scored 21 points (9-16 FG) in only 22 minutes while freshman Kooper Glick (Columbus, IN) scored 18 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3PT) and grabbed 5 rebounds… Sophomore Mo Jackson (Belvidere, IL) had the best all-around floor game for Rock Valley College posting 17 points (7-10 FG), 4 rebounds, 5 assists and committing 0 turnovers in 20 minutes of action… Rock Valley was on fire from the field shooting 37-65 (.569) from the field while holding Wright College to a chilly 14-48 (.292) from the floor… RVC out-rebounded the Rams 41-24 in the contest.

NJCAA DIII National Rankings
The Rock Valley College men's basketball program has been on a tear since winning the 2013-2014 NJCAA DIII National Championship. On Tuesday, the NJCAA national office in Colorado Springs, CO reported that the Golden Eagles were ranked #1 in the final national poll of the 2015-16 season.  This is the second consecutive season the Golden Eagles have been ranked #1 in the country for the entire season.  RVC took home all 8 first place votes while boasting a record of 27-3 (.900) overall which included road wins over top ten ranked NJCAA D1 powerhouse programs Vincennes and Indian Hills as well as a road win at the defending NJCAA D2 national runner-up John Wood CC.  Rock Valley started off the season 19-0 and, despite being an NJCAA D3 pogram, had a 15-2 (.882) record against NJCAA D1 and D2 scholarship programs.

#1 Ranking Facts

• Rock Valley men's basketball has been ranked #1 in the country since October 27th, 2014.
• RVC has been ranked #1 in the nation for 24 consecutive national polls.
• The Golden Eagles have been ranked #1 in NJCAA DIII for 484 days as of today (2/23/2016).
• RVC's record since being ranked #1 is 58-7 (.892) as of today.
• By the time the next national poll is released on October 25th, 2016, Rock Valley will have been ranked #1 for 729 consecutive days
• In head coach Craig Doty's 2nd season Rock Valley cracked the top 10 national poll on 12/3/2013. This was the first time in over a decade the Golden Eagles were nationally ranked. RVC held their top 10 national ranking and would climb as high as #2 in the country that season. The Golden Eagles would go on to win the NJCAA DIII National Championship that season.
• The October 27th, 2014 #1 ranking was the first time in the 48 year history of RVC men's basketball that the program was ranked #1 in the country.

NJCAA DIII Region 4/District 2 Standings
1. Rock Valley College, IL: 27-3 (.900)
2. Milwaukee Area Technical College, WI: 23-6 (.793)
3. Joliet Junior College, IL: 22-9 (.710)
4. College of DuPage, IL: 18-11 (.621)
5. Mid Michigan College, MI: 16-10 (.615)
6. Lorain County Community College, OH: 12-18 (.400)
7. Harper College, IL: 11-20 (.355)
8. Madison College, WI: 10-19 (.345)

Individual and Team Stats
*Note: The NJCAA DIII level is represented by approximately 120 men's basketball programs from Texas to Minnesota, from Illinois to New York and throughout the United States.
-The Golden Eagles are led by LT Davis who is averaging 18.1 PPG.  LT ranks 5th in the country in 3PT field goals made with 101. LT has scored a total of 544 points this year which is 16th best in the country… LT Davis redshirted last season after being named MVP of the 2014 NJCAA DIII National Tournament.  In the 2013-14 season Davis averaged 15.5 points per game, second on the team to Jared Mayes who averaged 19.0 PPG that season and earned National Player of the Year.
-Elijah Williams is second in scoring (16.5 PPG) and leads RVC in rebounding (7.7 RPG) this season. Williams is 2nd in thecountry in FG% shooting 177-236 for an impressive 67.3%.
-Kooper Glick is the third leading scorer for the Golden Eagles scoring 12.6 PPG.  Glick's free throw percentage of 82.6% ranks him 20th nationally
-As a team, Rock Valley currently ranks 4th in 3PT made per game (10.5).  Last season the Golden Eagles ranked 6th at 9.2 3PTM per game.  In 2013-14 RVC finished 1st in the nation hitting 10.0 3PT shots per game. In Doty's first season, RVC ranked 2nd in the country at 9.2 3PTM per contest.
-The Golden Eagles are currently hitting a sizzling 73.6% of their free throws which ranks them 6th in the nation
-Over the past three seasons the Golden Eagles have been ranked in the top 20 for assists per game.  This year RVC comes in at #17 (17.8 APG), in 2014-15 the Golden Eagles finished #7 in assists per game at 17.9 while in 2013-14, RVC handed out 17.8 assists per contest, good for 19th nationally.
 
Tough Scheduling
The Golden Eagles play one of the most difficult schedules in the country again this season…RVC scheduled 13 of their 16 non-conference games against NJCAA D1 and D2 opponents including 2015 NJCAA D1 national tournament teams and top 10 ranked 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 (W: 76-51, Nov. 13), all on the road.  Rock Valley played no JV teams or prep schools. The Golden Eagles went a perfect 16-0 in their non-conference schedule...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).