Game Preview: Men's Basketball Travels to Elgin for Region IV Showdown
Elgin, IL – Rock Valley College Men's Basketball (10-1) travels to Elgin, IL to take on NJCAA DIII Elgin Community College (7-2). This will be the first of 3 games in 5 days for the Golden Eagles.
Probable Starters
NJCAA DIII Rock Valley College
PG- Darius Branch - 5'9, So., Chicago, IL; 14.5 ppg, 2.8 apg
SG-
Malique Ross - 6'1, So., Montgomery, IL; 15.5 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.7 rpg
SF-
Elijah Pappas - 6'4, So., Rockford, IL; 9.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.4 apg
PF-
DeAnte Barnes - 6'6, So., Belvidere, IL; 8.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg
C-
DeMari Davis - 6'6, So., Indianapolis, IN; 10.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg
NJCAA DIII Elgin Community College
PG- Keyvon Kyles - 5'8, So., Elgin, IL; 12.0 ppg, 3.3 apg
SG- Keunte Howard - 6'0, Fr., North Chicago, IL; 10.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg
SG- Parker Sigmon - 6'2, Fr., Madison, WI; 2.7 ppg
SF- Xavier Williams - 6'3, Fr., Park Ridge, IL; 12.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg
PF- Johnny Flynn - 6'6, Fr., Kalamazoo, MI; 10.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Rock Valley Picks Up Road Win Over Glen Oaks Community College
On Saturday afternoon, RVC Basketball started off slow, but rallied for 52 points in the second half in order to earn an 85-78 win at Glen Oaks Community College (MI)... The Golden Eagles improve to 10-1 overall with 5 games remaining in the non-conference schedule... The Golden Eagles managed to hold a 33-30 advantage over the Vikings at halftime... Thanks to a strong start to the second half, RVC was able to establish a double-digit lead which forced Glen Oaks to play from behind for the remainder of the game... The Golden Eagles had 20 assists to only 8 turnovers... 5 players scored in double figures, led by
DeAnte Barnes with team-highs in points (17) and rebounds (12). Darius Branch and
DeMari Davis both added 16 points...
Elijah Pappas contributed 15 points, while
Malique Ross had 13 points and 9 assists.
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… The Golden Eagles split with Elgin Community College last year, beating the Spartans 94-74 at Rockford University and falling 72-69 in the Region IV Championship game... On New Years Eve, RVC was fueled by 6 Golden Eagles in double figures, led by Oswego High School graduate
Malique Ross with 20 points... Ross also contributed a game-high 7 assists... Sophomores
Dalton Menke and
Jace Kitchen added 15 points a piece...
Elijah Pappas contributed a strong floor game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists...
Alec Pena contributed 10 points... Indianapolis native
DeMari Davis perhaps did the most damage for RVC with 12 points and 17 rebounds, 8 of which came on the offensive end... In the Region IV Championship game, the Golden Eagles were plagued by a poor shooting performance... Elgin went on to become the NJCAA DIII National Runner-Up.
Elgin Community College Notes
Elgin Community College is an NJCAA DIII member of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) located in Elgin IL… The Spartans are coached by Reed Nosbisch in his 9th year as the head coach... Elgin came into the 2017-18 season ranked #2 in the NJCAA DIII National Poll... Elgin is currently 7-2 on the season... On Saturday, Elgin was knocked off 98-63 at N4C member Madison College... The Spartans are led by Xavier Williams, who leads the team in scoring (12.6) and is second in rebounding (6.9).
