Kansas City, MO - The #8-seeded Robert Morris Men's Basketball blew open the game in the first half, then held on for an 87-76 victory over the Senators of Auburn University-Montgomery (AL) to became the first team to punch a ticket to the Fab Four in the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship on Saturday, March 21, 2009, at historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO.

This is the fourth trip to the national tournament semifinals in five years for Coach Al Bruehl, who also reached the national championship game in the NAIA Division II tournament in 2002 before moving to Division I the following season.

The Eagles will face Rocky Mountain College (MT) in the first semifinal on Monday, March 23, 2009, at 6:50 PM CDT. The Battlin' Bears defeated #12-seeded Concordia University-Irvine (CA) in come-from-behind fashion in Saturday to earn their first-ever berth in the Fab Four. It was the second time they had upset a seeded team in the tournament.

The other semi-final will feature Columbia College (MO) and Mid-America Nazarene University (KS). Columbia beat #6 Westminister College of Salt Lake City (Utah), while the Pioneers defeated #7 McKendree University (IL). Those upsets left the Eagles as the only seeded team still standing after four days of "Basketball's Toughest Tournament."

"This tournament is about winning and advancing," said Coach Bruehl. "I'm not sure if people realize how many good teams and how many great coaches there are across the country. You put them all in one pace and tell them to go at it for a week and you are bound to see what some people would say are upsets. I'm sure glad we're still here."

The Eagles grabbed the lead they would never relinquish about six minutes into the game on a three-pointer from Jason Bowden (Chicago, IL). They led by as many as twenty points in the first period as they dominated the boards, out rebounding the Senators 57-35 for the game.

AUM could manage just 34.5 percent from the floor in the opening stanza as the Eagles stepped up the defensive pressure. The Senators hit just two treys for the game.

They didn't go quietly, however. With RMC point guard Kenny Page (Indianapolis, IN) on the bench with four fouls for a long stretch of the second half, AUM made a late charge. An 11-4 run got the Senators within five points with just under two minutes to play, but their strategy of fouling to stop the clock couldn't pay off as the Eagles hit all but one of their free throws in the final minute. Senior Andre White (Zion, IL) hit six of those on his way to a perfect 10-for-10 day at the charity stripe.

"I was really proud of the way Andre played," said Coach Bruehl. He showed real leadership and you could see in his eyes that he didn't want to have his career end tonight."

White topped four players in double figures for the Eagles, scoring 18. He also dished out five assists and had two steals. Kenny Page continued his outstanding play in the tournament with 17 points, four assists, and five rebounds.

"Kenny is a complete basketball player," says Coach Bruehl. "He plays hard at both ends of the court every minute he is on the floor."

Senior swingman Marcus Hall (Buffalo, NY) played the solid all-around game he has put up day after day during the tournament. He scored 10 pints--the most spectacular coming on a tip-dunk that brought the Municipal Auditorium crowd to its feet--while grabbing five rebounds and doling out three assists. He also blocked four shots, including two three-point attempts in the final minute.

Perhaps the most impressive stat line belonged to junior forward Reggie Bunch (Racine, WI). His sixteen rebounds are the top single-game high for the tournament thus far, and he backed up his 27-point performance in the Round of 16 with 16 points against AUM. It was his twelfth double-double of the season. Fans in Municipal Auditorium have begun to murmur in anticipation when Bunch gets the ball in the post as most of his points have been tallied at the end of acrobatic moves.

"Reggie knows what to do with the ball when we find in the right spot," says Coach Bruehl.

The win improved the Eagles' overall record to 27-3 and extended their winning streak--now the longest active streak in the country--to 21.

Monday's semifinal will be webcast through this site. Tom Wuestenfeld will have a special pregame edition of Eagles Overtime at 6:00 PM CDT. The game will follow at 6:50 PM CDT.