Joliet Junior College and Rock Valley split a pair of regular season games. 

However, Saturday's Region IV Tournament Championship game made the stakes for the rubber match a lot greater. 

Mitchell Kwasigroch nailed a pair of free throws late to ice the contest as the Wolves defeated the Golden Eagles 74-70 capturing the Region IV Championship and a date at the District II Championship game at either Lorain or Columbus State Community College at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. 

"I am very happy for our guys. They have been outstanding all year and really earned this championship," coach Joe Kuhn said. "They really played fearless this weekend, which is what it takes at this time of year. It has been a while since we won the region, so it really feels good. I'm very proud of our group."

While Kwasigroch nailed big free throws late, it was Region IV Tournament MVP Jarret Gmazel who stole the show this weekend. Gmazel, who ended Milwaukee Area Technical College's season with a buzzer beater on Saturday, followed that performance up with a 21-point gem including five 3-pointers to capture the award. 

Rock Valley wouldn't go away. The Golden Eagles trailed by seven at halftime, but came back to take a three-point lead on the Wolves. JJC has been a resilient bunch all season and went on a 9-0 run to recapture the lead. The Golden Eagles hit big shots to cut the Wolves lead to three points in the final minute, but Kwasigroch's late free throws put the kibosh on the comeback effort.

Sophomore Quincey Butler continued his excellent campaign with 14 while Kwasigroch finished with 13 points. Butler and Kwasigroch each added eight rebounds.

Chase Travis was huge for JJC this weekend scoring 16 points on Saturday and 11 in Sunday's championship game. 

JJC will travel to Ohio next Saturday with a berth to the NJCAA National Tournament on the line. The winner of the game on March 3rd will represent District II in Loch Sheldrake, NY., where the tournament will be held beginning on March 15. 

Addresses for JJC's potential opponents:

Ohio Christian University (vs. Columbus State)
1476 Lancaster Pike  Circleville, OH 43113

Lorain County Community College
1005 N. Abbe Rd.  Elyria, OH 44035

* If Columbus State is the opponent, the game will be played at Ohio Christian University.