Game Preview: #3 Golden Eagles Back at Home Against Harper College
Rockford, IL – Rock Valley College Men's Basketball (16-1, 1-0 in N4C) returns to The Nest for the next 3 games. The Golden Eagles take on Harper College (IL) on Saturday, January 6th at 3 PM.
Probable Starters




NJCAA DIII Rock Valley College (16-1, 1-0 in N4C)
PG-
Darius Branch - 5'9, So., Chicago, IL; 17.3 ppg
SG-
Malique Ross - 6'1, So., Oswego, IL; 14.2 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.9 rpg
SF-
Elijah Pappas– 6'4, So., Rockford, IL; 10.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.5 apg
PF-
DeAnte Barnes - 6'6, So., Belvidere, IL; 10.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg
C-
DeMari Davis - 6'6, So., Indianapolis, IN; 10.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg
NJCAA DIII Harper College (2-14, 0-1 in N4C)
G- Christian Rettig - 6'0, So., Rolling Meadows, IL; 5.0 ppg
G- Jesse Young - 6'3, Fr., Chicago, IL; 24.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 3.3 apg
G/F- Joe Gatziolis - 6'4, So., Elk Grove, IL; 15.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
F- Michael Petrella - 6'4, Fr., Schaumburg, IL; 3.1 ppg
F- Kyle Nwogu - 6'3", So., Huntley, IL; 3.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Rock Valley Earns Comeback Win at Joliet
On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles trailed by as much as 14 points early in the second half, and down 75-68 with 2:12 remaining in the game… RVC managed to fight back, closing the game on an 11-2 run to win 79-77 at Joliet Junior College… Joliet went on a run over the last 5 minutes of the first half to take an 8-point advantage into the intermission… The Wolves did not stop there, quickly getting up 14 points with a little over 17 minutes remaining in the game… The Golden Eagles gradually settled in and progressively chipped away at the lead… In the last 6 minutes of the game, behind timely free throws, and three made 3-point field goals (
DeAnte Barnes,
Darius Branch 2) in the game's final possessions, the game was knotted at 77 points with roughly 40 seconds remaining… RVC's defense stepped up with
Elijah Pappas picking up 1 of his 8 steals and finishing with what proved to be the game winning lay-up on the other end... The Golden Eagles rallied on behind 54% shooting from the field, and forcing 22 Joliet turnovers… Four Golden Eagles recorded double figure scoring, led by
DeAnte Barnes with 19 points and 11 rebounds...
Darius Branch added 19 points...
Elijah Pappas recorded 14 points, 8 steals, and 6 rebounds, while
Malique Ross chipped in 12 points.
Game Notes
Rock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C)… Rock Valley was 2-0 against Harper College last season, earning an 113-83 win at home and a 97-74 win in Palatine… Despite a sluggish start at home, RVC managed to run out to a sizeable halftime lead, 60-37… RVC forced 14 Harper turnovers, and were able to turn them into transition buckets and free throw opportunities… RVC shot a sizzling 39-73 (53.4%) from the field in the game… The Golden Eagles also held a 49-32 rebounding advantage over Harper… Six RVC players scored in double figures in the game...
Alec Pena led the way with 17 points... Freshman
Terrence Lakes put together his best game in a Golden Eagle uniform thus far, scoring 15 points, dishing out 5 assists, and hauling in 4 rebounds... Sophomore
Jace Kitchen (DeKalb, IL) also scored 15 points...
DeMari Davis (13),
Elijah Pappas (13), and
Malique Ross (10) rounded out the double figure scorers... On the road, the Golden Eagles started out of the gate with a three-point field goal from
Dalton Menke… Relying on pressure defense, RVC was able to expand their lead quickly... At the 13 minute mark in the first half, a steal and bucket by
Elijah Pappas (Rockford, IL) led to a Harper timeout with an 18-10 RVC advantage... The Hawks did not quit in the early going, cutting the RVC lead to 27-22 thanks to several baskets from Isaiah Butler... The Golden Eagles held the Hawks to 8 points over the last 9 minutes of the first half... A three-point field goal complements of
Jace Kitchen (DeKalb, IL) pushed the RVC lead to 46-30 to enter halftime... RVC stretched its lead to over 20 within the first 5 minutes of the second half, and held it there for the rest of the half... The Golden Eagles shot 38-75 (50.7%) from the field and 13-15 (86.7%) from the free throw line…
DeMari Davis led the Golden Eagles with a career-high 30 points.
Harper College Notes
Harper College is a NJCAA DIII school located in Palatine, IL...The Hawks are led by Sean Stochl in his second year with the program... Stochl is also the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Harper College… Harper is led by Region IV's leading scorer, Jesse Young (24.6 ppg)… Young ranks 5th in all of Region IV in rebounding at 10.1 rpg… Sophomore Joe Gatziolis adds 15.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg overall to fuel the Hawk attack.