March 17, 2007

Kansas City, Mo. - Top-seeded Robert Morris (Ill.) ran its undefeated record on the season to 32-0, opening today's NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Quarterfinals at Municipal Auditorium with a 116-96 win over No. 9 Crichton (Tenn.) to move onto a third consecutive Fab Four. No. 4 Concordia (Calif.) ended No. 12 Union's (Tenn.) season with an 88-68 victory in the second game of the day before No. 2 Oklahoma City downed No. 10 Azuza Pacific 84-68 and unseeded Faulkner (Ala.) beat Northwestern Oklahoma State 76-59.

Following tomorrow's (Sunday) competition day-off, No. 1 Robert Morris will face No. 4 Concordia and No. 2 Oklahoma City will meet up with Faulkner in the semifinals on Monday, March 19th at Municipal Auditorium. Game times are 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., respectively.

#1 Robert Morris (Ill.) def. #9 Crichton (Tenn.), 116-96
Top-seeded Robert Morris earned its third consecutive trip to the semifinals with a wild 116-96 victory over tourney newcomer Crichton. The Eagles were outscored 12-0 in the first two minutes of the game and trailed by as many as 14 points in the opening half before going on a 20-4 run to take their first lead of the contest, 29-27, with 9:24 mark. There were seven more lead changes and nine more ties in the period before Crichton tallied a bucket with 46 seconds remaining to take a 55-53 lead at halftime. The two teams traded baskets to start the second half, then RMC gradually built a nine-point advantage, only to have the Comets knot the score at 86-all with 8:12 to play. The Eagles responded with a game-ending 30-10 spurt to become the first team in more than 20 years to make three straight appearances in the Fab Four (the last was Fort Hays State of Kansas from 1983-85). RMC is now 32-0 on the season, while Crichton finishes at 28-8.

#4 Concordia (Calif.) def. #12 Union (Tenn.), 88-68
Concordia nailed a tournament-high 13 three pointers, including nine in the first half, to hand Union an 88-68 setback and advance to the Fab Four for the third time in the last five years. The Eagles overcame an early four-point deficit to knot the score at 9-9 at the 15:41 mark of the first half, then got hot from long range as they hit six treys to take a 50-30 lead at intermission. Union trimmed its deficit to 11 points twice in the second period, the last time being 58-47 with 11:19 to play, but Concordia reeled off seven straight points to regain control. The Eagles, who owned an amazing 53-5 advantage in bench scoring, improved their overall record to 30-6, while Union ended its season with a 25-10 mark. Concordia was national runner-up in 2004 after winning the tournament championship in 2003.

#2 Oklahoma City def. #10 Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 84-68
Oklahoma City reached the semifinals for the second year in a row and the sixth time overall by beating Azusa Pacific 84-68. The Stars shot only 29.4% from the field in the first period, compared to 54.2% for APU, and trailed 39-26 at halftime, but turned the tables in the second half as OCU connected on 57.6% of its field-goal attempts, while holding the Cougars to just 26.5% shooting from the field. The Stars were behind 50-34 with 16:39 to play in the game, but used a 28-6 run over the next 9:11 to take a 62-56 lead with 7:28 remaining. APU pulled within two points twice, but could pull no closer. OCU is now 33-2 overall, while the Cougars finish with a 29-7 record. The Stars, who were runner-up at last year's tourney, have claimed a record four national titles (1991, 1992, 1994 and 1996).

Faulkner (Ala.) def. Northwestern Oklahoma State, 76-59
In a showdown of unseeded teams, Faulkner rounded out the Fab Four field with a 76-59 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State. The game was tied at 14-all with 11:46 to play in the first half, but the Eagles outscored NWOSU 32-16 the rest of the period to take a 46-30 lead at intermission. Faulkner extended its margin to 25 points in the second half as the Rangers could get no closer than the final margin of 17 points after shooting just 29.2% from the field in the stanza. The Eagles improved their overall record to 24-10, while NWOSU, which committed only nine turnovers in the game, ended the season at 22-12. With the victory, Faulkner earned its second trip to the semifinals. The Eagles captured the national crown in their only other Fab Four appearance in 2001.