Game Preview: #3 RVC Opens Up N4C Play at Joliet Junior College
Joliet, IL – #3 Rock Valley College Men's Basketball (15-1) travels to Joliet, IL to take on NJCAA DIII Joliet Junior College (13-3). This will be the N4C opener for both teams.
Probable Starters
NJCAA DIII Rock Valley College
PG- Darius Branch - 5'9, So., Chicago, IL; 17.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg
SG-
Malique Ross - 6'1, So., Montgomery, IL; 14.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.9 rpg
SF-
Elijah Pappas - 6'4, So., Rockford, IL; 10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.4 apg
PF-
DeAnte Barnes - 6'6, So., Belvidere, IL; 9.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg
C-
DeMari Davis - 6'6, So., Indianapolis, IN; 10.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg
NJCAA DIII Joliet Junior College
PG- Richie Elias - 6'2, So., Plainfield, IL; 8.4 ppg, 3.6 apg
SG- Jarret Gmazel - 6'0, So., Burr Ridge, IL; 19.1 ppg, 3.1 apg
G- Quincey Butler - 6'0, So., North Chicago, IL; 10.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg
PF- Mitchell Kwasigroch - 6'5, So., Manhattan, IL; 13.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg
PF- Nick Welter - 6'5, Fr., Plainfield, IL; 5.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Rock Valley Finishes Non-Conference Slate with Win Over Malcolm X College
In their non-conference finale at Malcolm X College, the Golden Eagles picked up a 77-49 win over the Hawks... RVC's defense was the story in this game, holding Malcolm X to 19-73 (26.0%) shooting from the field and 3-12 (25%) from 3-point land... Despite struggling early only, Darius Branch (Chicago, IL) and Rico Duncan (Noblesville, IN) put on a 3-point shooting display to spark the Golden Eagles to a 41-27 halftime lead... RVC's defense held Malcolm X to only 22 points in the second half, allowing them to stretch their lead out of reach... Branch had a career-high of 33 points, connecting on 10-16 from the field, 6-10 from 3-point land, and 7-7 from the free throw line... DeMari Davis (Indianapolis, IN) added 11 points in the rout.
Lavery Earns National Award
HoopDirt.com, one of the leading men's basketball job and information websites in the country, named Rock Valley College head coach
Evan Lavery the National Coach of the Week for the junior college level the week of December 25th... RVC is 15-1 overall during the 2017-18 season... The Golden Eagles currently are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak as they head into N4C play... Prior to the holiday break, RVC knocked off 3 NJCAA DI opponents, all on the road: 69-58 over Kankakee Community College, 94-70 over Sauk Valley Community College, and 77-49 over Malcolm X College... Lavery joins NCAA Division I head coach Mike Young (Wofford College, SC), NCAA Division II head coach Bart Lundy (Queens University of Charlotte, NC), NCAA Division III head coach Mike Schauer (Wheaton College, IL), and NAIA head coach Kelvin Starr (The Master's University, CA) as national coach of the week recipients from HoopDirt.com for the week.
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… The Golden Eagles went 3-0 last year against Joliet Junior College, beating the Wolves 81-74 in Joliet to open N4C play, 71-66 in The Nest, and 82-78 in the Region IV Semifinals... In a tight, fast paced game for 40 minutes in Joliet, both teams came out hot from the field... Just before the 12 minute mark in the first half, RVC held a narrow advantage 25-24 over the Wolves... The defense picked up considerably for both sides... RVC held a 38-32 advantage heading into halftime... The Golden Eagles started the second half sluggish, and Joliet was able to cut the lead to 1 point with 17 minutes remaining in the game... That would be as close at the Wolves would get as RVC never gave up the lead in the second half... Behind timely free throw shooting from sophomores
Jace Kitchen and
Dalton Menke (both 6-6 in the second half) and strong defensive possessions, the Golden Eagles were able to keep Joliet at distance... RVC shot the ball well all night long, hitting 28-52 FG (53.8%) and 8-19 from three-point range (42.1%)... Kitchen's 21 points led the way for the Golden Eagles.
.. Alec Pena added 13 points... Indianapolis native
DeMari Davis contributed a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
.. Malique Ross added 11 points in the win... In their second meeting on January 28th, 2017, the Golden Eagles started off red hot from the field taking an early 9-0 lead thanks to a barrage of treys from sophomores
Dalton Menke and
Jace Kitchen... Joliet responded quickly to cut the lead to 9-8... The rest of the first half featured a back and forth battle with Joliet taking a 2-point advantage into halftime... After the break, the Golden Eagles were able to buckle down defensively and pull away in the game's final 8 minutes... Despite only shooting 42.1% from the field, #6 RVC managed to torch the nets for 11-23 shooting (47.8%) on the afternoon...
Alec Pena (Rockton, IL) recorded his first double-double of 2017 with 18 points and 10 rebounds... Winnebago HS graduate
Dalton Menke contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds... Kitchen (12),
DeMari Davis (11), and
Malique Ross (10) rounded out the five Golden Eagles in double figure scoring... Ross also contributed a game-high 9 assists to only 1 turnover... In the Region IV Semifinals, RVC was able to erase a 9-point second half deficit against Joliet Junior College to earn a 82-78 win... The Golden Eagles relied heavily upon their half court defense in the first half to take a 29-25 lead into the break... The second half featured fast paced offensive for both teams, each scoring 53 points as a team after the break... RVC's defense held Joliet to 25-74 (33.8%) from the field and 8-36 (22.2%) from the three-point line... The Golden Eagles were led by
Jace Kitchen's (DeKalb, IL) double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds... Freshman guard
Elijah Pappas (Rockford, IL) contributed 19 points and 5 rebounds while fellow freshman guard,
Malique Ross (Montgomery, IL), contributed 18 points and 9 assists.
Joliet Junior College Notes
Joliet Junior College is an NJCAA DIII member of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) located in Joliet, IL… The Wolves are coached by Joe Kuhn in his 21st year as the head coach... Kuhn has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments including being inducted into the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame class of 2016 and Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame class of 2015, the 2010 NJCAA national championship, seven N4C conference championships, six trips to the national tournament including three national championship appearances, and four final fours... Kuhn, the 2010 NJCAA National Coach of the Year, has amassed an overall JJC record of 454-203 and 478 career wins... He is currently second on the JJC career wins list behind A.A. Fizz Wills... The Wolves are currently 13-3 overall... Joliet ranks 6th nationally in total points, 4th in three-point field goals made per game (11.2), and 6th in assists per game (21.6)... The Wolves are led by sophomores Jarret Gmazel (19.1 ppg) and Mitchell Kwasigroch (13.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg).
