Game Preview: NJCAA DII Wilbur Wright College Visits The Nest for a Match Up with #2 RVC
Rockford, IL – #2 Rock Valley College Men's Basketball (17-1, 2-0 in N4C) hosts NJCAA DII Wilbur Wright College on Wednesday evening. Tip off is set for 7:30 PM in The Nest.
Probable Starters
NJCAA DIII Rock Valley College (17-1, 2-0 in N4C)
PG-
Darius Branch - 5'9, So., Chicago, IL; 16.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg
SG-
Malique Ross - 6'1, So., Oswego, IL; 14.2 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.8 rpg
SF-
Elijah Pappas– 6'4, So., Rockford, IL; 10.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.3 apg
PF-
DeAnte Barnes - 6'6, So., Belvidere, IL; 9.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg
C-
DeMari Davis - 6'6, So., Indianapolis, IN; 11.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg
NJCAA DII Wilbur Wright College (9-6, 2-0 in N4C)
PG- Kewan Smith - 5'8, So., Chicago, IL; 21.0 ppg, 5.4 apg
G- Antonio Newman - 5'10, Fr., Chicago, IL; 17.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg
G- Jason Newman - 6'1, Fr., Chicago, IL; 12.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
PF- Ahmad Brown - 6'2, Fr., Chicago, IL; 9.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg
C- Nicolas Rios - 6'8", So., Lansing, MI; 5.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg
Rock Valley Rolls Harper
Behind forcing 12 first half turnovers, RVC were able to jump out to a sizable 52-27 halftime advantage… The Golden Eagles were firing on all cylinders, dishing out 23 assists to only 11 committed turnovers… The Golden Eagles shot 39-69 (56.5%) from the field, 11-26 (42.3%) from three-point land, and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line… All 10 Golden Eagles that appeared in the game made at least 1 field goal… The Golden Eagles had 3 players record double-figure scoring, led by
DeMari Davis with a season-high of 29 points (14-16 FG)...
Elijah Pappas added 14 points while
Malique Ross added 13 points...
DeAnte Barnes added a team-high 8 rebounds, while
Darius Branch dished out 7 assists to 0 turnovers in 23 minutes.
NJCAA DIII Men's Basketball National Poll (January 9th, 2018)
| Rank |
College (1st Place Votes) |
State |
Record |
Points |
Prev |
| 1 |
Herkimer (4) |
NY |
11-0 |
73 |
1 |
| 2 |
Rock Valley (3) |
IL |
17-1 |
72 |
3 |
| 3 |
Eastfield (1) |
TX |
15-2 |
63 |
2 |
| 4 |
Brookdale |
NJ |
13-0 |
59 |
4 |
| 5 |
Suffolk County |
NY |
13-1 |
45 |
5 |
| 6 |
Mohawk Valley |
NY |
12-1 |
30 |
7 |
| 7 |
Sandhills |
NC |
13-3 |
27 |
6 |
| 8 |
Sullivan County |
NY |
13-2 |
23 |
7 |
| 9 |
Quincy |
MA |
13-1 |
20 |
10 |
| 10 |
Rowan Gloucester |
NJ |
16-2 |
13 |
NR |
Others Receiving Votes
|
College |
State |
Record |
Points |
Prev |
|
Lorain County |
OH |
12-0 |
7.0 |
NR |
|
Rochester |
MN |
11-2 |
7.0 |
RV |
|
Philadelphia |
PA |
13-3 |
1.0 |
RV |
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… Rock Valley was 2-0 against Wilbur Wright College last season, winning 88-57 in Chicago and 109-58 in Rockford on Sophomore Day… In Chicago, the Golden Eagles took a 42-27 lead into halftime, and would keep their foot on the gas winning the game 88-57… Rock Valley shot a solid 52.8% (28-53) from the field and 47.1% (8-17) from behind the arc... The Golden Eagles ripped down 47 rebounds, winning the battle of the boards by 14… RVC had a balanced scoring attack with 6 players in double figures…
Jace Kitchen (DeKalb, IL) led the way off the bench scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for his first career double-double… Freshman
Malique Ross (Oswego, IL) added 13 points and a game-high 6 assists…The Golden Eagles had three players with 12 points:
Dalton Menke (Winnebago, IL),
DeMari Davis (Indianapolis, IN), and
Alec Pena (Rockton, IL)… In his first start for the Golden Eagles,
Terrence Lakes recorded 11 points on 4-5 shooting and added 5 assists… On Sophomore Day, The Golden Eagles entered the break up 57-25… RVC did not let up after halftime as they outscored the visiting Rams 29-13 over the first 10 minutes of the second half… The Golden Eagles owned the glass all afternoon long, out-rebounding Wright 47-20 for the game… RVC finished the game shooting 42-70 (60.0%) overall and 14-26 (53.8%) from three-point land… Seven Golden Eagles recorded double figure scoring, led by
Alec Pena (Rockton, IL) with 22 points on 10-13 shooting... Pena also recorded a game-high 14 rebounds...
Andrew Squires (Pecatonica, IL) recorded 17 points and did not miss a shot in the game going a perfect 5-5 from behind the arc and 2-2 from the free throw line...
DeMari Davis (Indianapolis, IN) and
Equavion Monroe (Rockford, IL) both added 12 points, while
Dalton Menke (Winnebago, IL) and
Jace Kitchen (DeKalb, IL) chipped in 11 each...
Malique Ross (Montgomery, IL) rounded out the Golden Eagle scoring attack with 10 points.
Wilbur Wright College Notes
Wilbur Wright College is a NJCAA DII school located in Chicago, IL...The Rams are led by Edmund Pryor in his first year with the program… Wright is led by Region IV's 6th leading scorer, Kewan Smith (21 ppg)… Freshman guard Antonio Newman averages 17.4 ppg and 3.4 rpg… The Rams are fresh off a road win Monday night at #11 NJCAA DII Olive-Harvey College (Chicago, IL).
