March 16, 2006

Kansas City, Mo. - No. 3 seed Robert Morris College (Ill.) held off a strong challenge from unseeded Southern Wesleyan University (S.C.) to post an 88-80 victory Thursday in the first round of the 69th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship at Municipal Auditorium.

The win gives Robert Morris, now 29-3 on the year, a six-game win streak. It also pushes the Eagles into Friday's second round, where they will face another unseeded foe, Spring Hill College (Ala.) at 10:45 a.m. CST. In every one of its three NAIA Division I tournament appearances, Robert Morris has won its first-round game.

Junior guard Steve Strong came off the bench to lead a balanced attack for Robert Morris with 17 points. Junior guard Jerome Harper contributed 16 points, while junior forward Freeman Taylor had a double-double with 15 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds for the Eagles. Taylor also collected four blocked shots for Robert Morris.

After leading 38-31 at the half, Robert Morris pushed its advantage to as many as 14 points midway through the second half. Southern Wesleyan battled back and pulled to within 77-75 following a basket by senior guard Josh Walker with 2:34 to play. Junior center Reggie George helped Robert Morris answer just five seconds later when he sank his second three-point field goal of the season, extending the Eagles' lead back to 80-75. Harper then helped Robert Morris seal the victory by scoring the Eagles' final eight points, including six free throws in the final 52 seconds.

Senior guard Jerans Rapley scored 19 of his game-high 25 points for Southern Wesleyan in the second half. Walker added 19 points for the Warriors, while junior guard Darryl Edwards contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. Southern Wesleyan ends its season with a 19-14 record.