March 14, 2007

Top-seeded Robert Morris College (Ill.) held off an upset bid from Westmont College (Calif.) to post an 81-68 victory Wednesday in first-round action at the 2007 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Baskeball National Championship. The tournament is being held at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City.

 

Robert Morris, the top-ranked team in NAIA Division I since the pre-season, pushes its record to 30-0 with the victory. The Eagles had to hold off an upset bid from the unseeded Warriors to move into Friday's second round. Robert Morris will meet No. 16 Oklahoma Baptist University Friday at 10:45 a.m. CDT.

 

Senior forward Freeman Taylor and senior guard Jimmie Miles each scored a team-high 17 points for Robert Morris, while Taylor grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds. Senior guard Steve Strong came off the bench to record 12 points, and senior guard John Winchester registered 10 points for the Eagles.

 

Robert Morris scored the first seven points of the game on its way to a 17-5 game-opening run. Westmont chipped into the Eagles' lead and pulled to within 33-29 on a free throw by senior forward Santiago Aguirre with just under five minutes left in the first half. Robert Morris extended its advantage back to 42-33 at the intermission.

 

Westmont opened the second half on an 8-1 run to rally within 45-41 early with 15:43 on the clock. The Warriors eventually pulled to within three points before Robert Morris slowly pulled away in the final eight minutes.

 

Aguirre finished with a team-high 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead Westmont. Freshman guard Andrew Schmalbach chipped in with 16 points and four assists, while sophomore guard Tyler Dutton posted 13 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors. Westmont, which earned an at-large berth in the NAIA national tournament, ends its season with a record of 16-13.