March 23, 2009

Kansas City, Mo. – Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) earned its spot in the national championship game of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 75-70 victory over Robert Morris College (Ill.) in national semifinal action Monday evening at Municipal Auditorium.

The unseeded Battlin’ Bears, which had never won an NAIA Tournament game in five previous appearances, have assured that history will be made in Tuesday’s title game. Rocky Mountain will face another unseeded team in either Columbia College (Mo.) or MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) Tuesday at 8:50 p.m. CDT, marking the first time that two unseeded teams will play for the NAIA Division I title since seedings first began in 1957.

“I think we played really well together,” said Rocky Mountain head coach Bill Dreikosen. “I told the (guys) before the game started, if we are going to do it we are going to do it together. That’s been our motto all year. Attitude and effort make a difference. Our attitude this week has been great. Our effort has been exceptional.”

Rocky Mountain shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half (15-of-26) to overcome a 38-31 halftime deficit. All five starters scored in double figures for the Battlin’ Bears, led by a 17-point effort from Chase Sukut. Anthony Allen posted 13 points and eight rebounds, while James Bulluck and Devin Uskoski each chipped in with 11 points. Nate Richardson rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for Rocky Mountain with 10 points. Uskoski led the Battlin’ Bears on the boards with 10 rebounds as he also dished out four assists.

Robert Morris led for all but two minutes, 26 seconds in the first half. The Eagles grabbed a 16-10 lead on a three-pointer by Kenny Page at the 13:58 mark before Rocky Mountain answered with eight consecutive points to grab their only lead of the period, 18-16, with 10:42 left in the period. Back-to-back three-pointers by Andre White and Marcus Hall pushed Robert Morris back in front, 22-18, and they built the margin up to 38-31 at the half.

To begin the second half, Rocky Mountain scored the first eight points to regain a 39-38 lead. Robert Morris held its final lead of the night, 50-48, following a shot in the lane by Page with just over 13 minutes to play. The Battlin’ Bears then reeled off seven straight points to move back in front, 55-50. The Eagles tied the game on three different occasions after that, including a basket from Reggie Bunch that knotted the contest at 64-64 with 4:46 on the clock.

Bulluck drained a three-pointer on the Battlin’ Bears next possession as Uskoski followed with a field goal to extend the lead back to 69-64 just under a minute later. A pair of free throws by Hall with 31 seconds remaining brought Robert Morris within 71-70. Sukut was quickly fouled, and his two free throws pushed the Rocky Mountain lead back to three points. The Eagles missed a potential game-tying three-point attempt, and Uskoski grabbed the rebound, he was fouled but missed the ensuing foul shot.

But the rebound was tipped out to Allen, who hit two shots from the stripe with just over seven seconds left to seal the victory for the Battlin’ Bears.

Robert Morris, which was making its fourth trip to the NAIA Division I Fab Four since 2005, closes its season with an overall record of 27-4. Bunch led the Eagles with 22 points. White finished with 16 points while Hall was next with 14 points. Bunch and Billy Rush each grabbed a team-leading six rebounds in the effort.

- NAIA -

GAME NOTES –

Both team shot 12 three-pointers in the first-half, with Robert Morris making five and Rocky Mountain only sinking one…Rocky Mountain started the second half on an 8-0 run and after that there were five lead changes and seven ties… Rocky Mountain won for the third time this tournament when trailing at halftime, coming back from deficits of 11, nine and seven points…all five Rocky Mountain starters scored in double figures, the second time it has accomplished that this tournament … Devin Uskoski has his fourth double-double of the tournament with 11 points and 10 rebounds, his final rebound coming with 11 seconds left on the missed three-pointer by Robert Morris which would tied the contest…Robert Morris’ Reggie Bunch scored over 20 points for the second time in the tournament … Robert Morris falls to 12-6 all-time in tournament play and lost for the fourth time in the NAIA national semifinals…Rocky Mountain is the first Frontier Conference school in the championship contest … Robert Morris saw its 21-game winning streak, which ties for the longest in the nation this season with Oklahoma Baptist and McKendree (Ill.), snapped… Robert Morris’ four losses this year have come by a combined 16 points … Rocky Mountain has won nine of its last 10 games.