Game Preview: 3 Games in 4 Days in The Nest for Men's Basketball to Head Into Thanksgiving
Rockford, IL – Rock Valley College Men's Basketball (4-1) will host back-to-back games this weekend. The Golden Eagles take on Morton College (IL) on Saturday, November 18
th at 3 PM. Sunday's game also begins at 3 PM as Rock Valley College take on Columbus State Community College (OH). The Golden Eagles play 3 home games in 4 days prior to Thanksgiving.
Probable Starters
NJCAA DIII Rock Valley College (4-1)
PG- Darius Branch - 5'9, So., Chicago, IL; 15.8 ppg, 2.2 spg
SG-
Malique Ross - 6'1, So., Oswego, IL; 14.8 ppg, 4.6 apg,
SF-
Elijah Pappas - 6'4, So., Rockford, IL; 10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.4 apg
PF-
DeAnte Barnes - 6'6, So., Belvidere, IL; 7.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg
C-
DeMari Davis - 6'6, So., Indianapolis, IN; 9.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg
NJCAA DII Morton College (2-2)
PG- Mason Vires - 6'0, So., Clarkston, MI
SG- Deonte McReynolds - 5'11, So., Chicago, IL
SF- Larenzo Moore - 6'3, So., Chicago, IL
PF- Joffrey Brown - 6'1, So., Willowbrook, IL
C- Ricardo Whitehead - 6'2", So., Bellwood, IL
NJCAA DIII Columbus State Community College (5-1)
PG- Tyson Kent - 6'0, Fr., Manfeild, OH; 8.8 ppg, 3.0 apg
SG- Chris Byrd - 6'2, So., Columbus, OH; 21.8 ppg, 3.3 apg, 5.3 rpg
SF- Mario Young - 6'3, So., Manfeild, OH; 18.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
PF- Shamar Brown - 6'4, Fr., Columbus, OH; 4.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
C- Anthony Butler - 6'5, Fr., Pickerington, OH; 15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Rock Valley Gets Road Win at McHenry
Last Tuesday, Rock Valley traveled to NJCAA DII McHenry County College and defeated the Scots 80-55… Rock Valley took control from the jump, using tight defense to frustrate McHenry, and fuel their offense… The Golden Eagles went into half time up 19 points, 39-20… The Golden Eagles defense held the Scots to 37% shooting from the field… The Golden Eagles were led by Darius Branch (Chicago, IL) and his 17 points... Sophomores
Malique Ross (Oswego, IL) and
DeMari Davis (Indianapolis, IN) both finished with 12 points... Rock Valley also got some help from big man Bryanth Farr (Beloit, WI) off the bench, who scored 10 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… Rock Valley did not match up with Morton College last year… This will be the first meeting between the two teams in recent history… RVC traveled to Columbus State Community College in the 2016-17 season… Rock Valley came away with the win in a high-scoring affair, 94-91… The Golden Eagles shot 55% from the field, hitting 37-67 shots... Rock Valley was led by a 15-22 shooting performance from sophomore big
Alec Pena (Rockton, IL), who finished with 38 points.
Morton College Notes
Morton College is a NJCAA DII school located in Cicero, IL... The Panthers are led by Aaron Rolle, who is in his first year with the program... Morton College is off to a 2-2 start with back-to-back wins over Wilbur Wright College and Bryant and Stratton College (WI)... Morton is led by a group of sophomores that include Mason Vires (Clarkston, MI), Lorenzo Moore (Chicago, IL) and Joffrey Brown (Willowbrook, IL)… The Panthers will come into the contest Saturday afternoon looking to add to their winning streak.
Columbus State Community College Notes
Columbus State Community College is an NJCAA DIII school out of Columbus, Ohio... The Cougars are led by head coach Edward Thompson in his fourth year with the team... After a 13-13 finish in the 2016-17 season, the Cougars opened up this year with a loss to Community College of Beaver County (PA), but have since caught fire winning 5 straight… Columbus State's fast paced offense averages 102.5 points per game as a team… Columbus State has 4 players averaging over 15 points per game, led by sophomore Chris Byrd (Columbus, OH) who pours in 21.5 points per contest… The Cougars take on N4C and Region IV member Madison College (WI) on Saturday afternoon.
