#1 Rock Valley College secures bid to National Tournament in New York with big win over Mid Michigan
Box Score The #1 team in the country for the past two years at the NJCAA DIII level flexed their muscle in the District 2 championship game vs. Mid Michigan on Tuesday night. Rock Valley built a 31-9 lead to start the game and never looked back dominating Mid Michigan in nearly all facets of the game en route to a 99-69 victory. This is the 4th consecutive season under head coach
Craig Doty, who is in his fourth season, that the Golden Eagles won the Region IV/District 2 championship to secure their national tournament bid.
(
Craig Doty,
LT Davis,
Elijah Williams,
Kooper Glick,
Dalton Menke - RVC Athletics)
RVC freshman sharp-shooter
Dalton Menke (Winnebago, IL) scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half and sophomore big man
Elijah Williams (Chicago, IL) went 5-5 scoring 11 of his 18 points in the first session as RVC took a 48-34 lead into intermission. In the game the Golden Eagles shot a season-high 60.3% (38-63) which included a 14-24 (.583) performance from behind the three-point arch. RVC was a sizzling 19-28 (.679) in the second half as Mid Michigan had no answer to the offensive firepower and depth of the Golden Eagles.
LT Davis (Rockford, IL) led the way for Rock Valley with a game-high 21 points (5-7 3PT) to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Davis has now hit 112 three's on the season which ties
Frank Cimino's single-season record. Cimino was 112-244 (.459) in 2013-14. The first 3PT field goal that Davis hits at the national tournament will break Cimino's record. Along with Williams 18 points and Menke's 14 points,
Kooper Glick (Columbus, IN) scored 17 points (6-8 FG) and grabbed a game-high and tied a career-high with 9 rebounds.
Dalton Payton (Byron, IL) chipped in with 11 points.
Mo Jackson (Belvidere, IL) dished out a career and game-high 10 assists on the night.
"This was the last time nine of our student-athletes would play at home," head coach
Craig Doty stated. "Additionally this was a 'win or stay home' game for a bid to the national tournament in New York. Our guys stepped up to the challenge and played incredibly well on both ends of the floor. Mid Michigan took us to overtime earlier in the season. Our guys knew they couldn't get complacent. I couldn't be more proud of our student-athletes leading into the national tournament. Tonight our community said goodbye to perhaps the most talented, close-knit and fun-to-watch groups that Rock Valley has ever had."
The Golden Eagles will leave for Loch Sheldrake, New York in a week to play in the national tournament. RVC is a projected #1 seed in the tournament. All games will be live streamed. Check out
http://sunysullivan.edu/championships-sullivan/ for all tournament information including seeding, matchups, game times, watch live links, and more.
