Senior forward Othyus Jeffers (Chicago, IL) tallied recorded 31 points--the highest single-game total of the tournament and his second 30-point game in as many starts--as the Eagles reached the NAIA Tournament Elite Eight for the fourth straight year.  The All-American candidate was 17-of-18 from the free throw line and added 11 rebounds for yet another double-double as Robert Morris moved to 28-3 on the year. The Eagles will square off in the national quarterfinals with top-seeded and undefeated Georgetown College (KY) on Saturday, March 22, 2008, at 6:00 PM CDT. These two teams last met at the NAIA Tournament in the 2005 quarterfinals, when the Eagles upset the #1-seeded Tigers, 99-87, and advanced to the first of their three straight Fab Four appearances.
Robert Morris took control in the first five minutes of play with its 14-1 outburst. Junior guard Andre White (Zion, IL) hit a pair of three-pointers during the run, and the Eagles held the Sea Lions without a field goal for nearly five minutes. Point Loma Nazarene--an at-large bid recipient from the Golden State Athletic Conference--rallied near the end of the first half and pulled within 39-37 on a free throw with just seventeen seconds remaining in the opening stanza. Jeffers closed out the half with a bucket in the paint to give the Eagles a 41-37 lead at intermission.
RMC opened the second period as they did the first, posting a 12-2 run that extended the Eagles' lead to 53-39. PLNU managed to battle back within four points, but the Eagles scored sixteen unanswered points to grab an 80-62 lead and put the game out of reach with less than two minutes remaining.  That run was highlighted by three-pointers from Marcus Hall (Junior, Buffalo, NY) and Jason Bowden (Junior, Chicago, IL).  Terry Dunlap (Junior, Chicago, IL) tallied on an impressive second-chance tip-in while Jeffers was flawless down the stretch from the charity stripe.
Andre White hit five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, while Terry Dunlap connected for 14 points and dished out a game-high eight assists for the Eagles. As a team, RMC was 22-of-26 from the free throw line. The Eagles also forced 22 turnovers by the Sea Lions and held PLNU to just 37.3 percent shooting from the field.

Mario Brandon (Junior, Chicago, IL) grabbed nine rebounds and joined Jeffers in wearing down the Sea Lions' tough front line.  "Mario was a warrior tonight," said RMC Head Coach Al Bruehl, who improved to 12-4 lifetime in the NAIA Division I National Tournament. "He took on their guys inside and really got the job done."

Jeffers backed up the 30 points he tallied in the Eagles' opening-round 82-73 win over Carroll College (MT) with another 30-point night.  He leads the tournament in scoring after the first two rounds as the only player to score thirty in a game.
Craig Austin notched a double-double for Point Loma Nazarene with 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Sea Lions ended their season with an overall record of 24-10.