RCC Championship Game: Standout Performers and Evals

<p>DJ Sokol Arena on the campus of Creighton University was the site for the championship contest of the River Cities Conference Tournament, pitting Mount Michael against Roncalli Catholic. Roncalli, the three seed in the tourney, was coming off a hard-fought 59-56 upset on the road at #2 seeded Skutt Catholic. Top-seeded Mount Michael on the other hand handled their semifinal opponent #4 seeded South Sioux City 80-41 to set-up the title match-up.</p> <p>Mount Michael looked every bit the highest seed in the tourney in the 56-32 victory. The defensive side of the ball was where the Knights completely dictated the action. While the Pride fought with great effort, Mount Michael held Roncalli to just 10 points the entire first half, taking a 13 point halftime lead with them into the locker room at intermission. The Knights would put the game away in the third frame with their best offensive segment, leading 47-21 at the end of that quarter.</p> <p>Players of Note:</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Parker-Hottovy.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1121153 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Parker-Hottovy-257x300.jpg" alt="" width="257" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="1035627" first="Parker" last="Hottovy"]  SF  Senior  6’3  Mount Michael</p> <p>It isn’t often a player who logs in four points would be a standout performer. However, the 6’3 small forward deserves respect for his efforts this evening. It was clear from the opening tip head coach Derek Spooner’s instructions for Hottovy (#0 pictured) was to faceguard Roncalli’s talented junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="890575" first="Jake" last="Orr"], and the senior did just that.  Hottovy disregarded almost everything else on the floor with that one mission in mind, sometimes only seeing the Pride’s scoring forward for entire possessions at a time.  He denied, followed, bumped, and ultimately frustrated Orr, the #26th ranked junior according to Prep Hoops, for the duration of the contest.  Without the talented junior to help trigger the Roncalli offense, the Pride were forced to rely on one-on-one drives to the baskets, which often ended up in vain. His complete focus, unselfishness, and energy for his "team’s cause" was a performance any coach would have been proud of.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Airan-Lopez.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1121154 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Airan-Lopez-255x300.jpg" alt="" width="255" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="1035621" first="Airan" last="Lopez"]  PG  Senior  5’7  Mount Michael</p> <p>While Roncalli’s offense could not run because of Hottovy, Mount Michael’s offense would not have run without the offensive efficiency of Lopez.  The #77 ranked senior according to Prep Hoops opened up the scoring with a three-point field goal and then showed the ability to breakdown the Roncalli defense with patience as well as penetration. Lopez (#24 pictured) connected on 2/3 shooting from three-point range as well as hitting several pull-ups from mid-range.  When he wasn’t scoring the point guard was getting the ball to his teammates.  Those teammates of mention: #56 ranked senior in Nebraska according to Prep Hoops [player_tooltip player_id="890491" first="Joe" last="Chouniard"] (17pts) and #29 Nebraska senior according to Prep Hoops and Concordia University commit [player_tooltip player_id="890477" first="Brad" last="Bennett"] (12pts, including a 3/4 court make at the end of the first quarter).  The 5’7 150 pound guard finished the evening with 13 points of his own, and already has offers from Midland University as well as Hastings College.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>