M-Basketball: Payton leads #1 Rock Valley over #8 Bunker Hill; RVC advances to the Final Four
The #1 nationally ranked and #1 seeded Rock Valley College men's basketball team took the floor in the first round of the NJCAA DIII National Tournament in Loch Sheldrake, New York on Thursday and didn't disappoint.
Dalton Payton (Byron, IL) led RVC to a Quarterfinal win over Bunker Hill Community College (Boston, MA) 81-66.
(
Craig Doty,
Dalton Payton,
Kooper Glick,
Dalton Menke - RVC Athletics)
Payton had 26 points (9-13 FG, 5-6 3PT), 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists.
Kooper Glick (Columbus, IN) had 15 points and 7 rebounds while
Dalton Menke (Winnebago, IL) added 14 points and 6 rebounds. The Golden Eagles improve to 31-3 on the season which ties the school record for wins that they set last season.
"As a team we played well in spurts. Dalton (Payton) played one of his best games in a Golden Eagles uniform," head coach
Craig Doty stated. "We will need to put together 40 minutes of quality play on Friday vs. Nassau in the final four."
Nassau and Rock Valley have met one time before. The team from Long Island, NY and the Golden Eagles met in the first round of the 2013-14 national tournament, the year RVC won their first and only national championship to date. The Golden Eagles defeated the Lions 83-72 behind
Frank Cimino's 26 points (5-7 3PT).
"Nassau is athletic, they are well-coached, and they represent the region who is hosting the tournament," Doty said. "They are very familiar with this gym, the officials, and the game is being played in their backyard. We like the matchup but will have to play really well."
Game-time is set for 6:00 PM CST (7:00 PM EST). You can watch live on NJCAA TV at the following link:
http://njcaatv.com/landing/index
