Rocky Mountain College won it's second game at the NAIA Division 1 tournament this afternoon, advancing to the Elite 8. Congratulation Battlin' Bears!
Rocky advances to Elite 8 of national tournament
By BILL BIGHAUS
Of The Gazette Staff
UPDATE 3:25 p.m. :
Chase Sukut knocked down six 3-pointers en route to 23 points Friday afternoon and the Battlin' Bears downed Missouri's Central Methodist University 71-62 in the Sweet 16 round of the NAIA men's basketball championships in Kansas City, Mo.
Unseeded Rocky (25-9) will face 12th-seeded Concordia University (28-6) of California in a quarterfinal game Saturday at 2 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium.
Concordia held off fifth-seeded Mountain State University of West Virginia 85-79 in its second-round game. The Eagles, from Irvine, Calif., won the 2003 NAIA championships.
Eleven of Rocky's 22 baskets against unseeded and unranked CMU were 3-pointers. Sukut shot six of 12 from beyond the arc. Rocky, ranked 21st nationally, is making its sixth appearance at the 72nd annual tournament. The 800-student college made school history on Wednesday by beating Tennessee's Freed-Hardeman University 78-77 in overtime for its first-ever victory in the 32-team national tourney.
The Bears, who were in control most of the way against CMU, also received 14 points from James Bulluck and 11 apiece from Devin Uskoski and Anthony Allen. Uskoski also grabbed 11 rebounds for his 67th career double-double and NAIA-leading 26th of the season.
Uskoski is also just eight points shy of scoring 2,000 during his Rocky career.
The Bears were clinging to a 50-47 advantage in the second half when point guard Nate Richardson nailed a 3-pointer with 11:04 to go. Theo Jackson and Bulluck also connected for baskets as Rocky began to pull away at 57-50.
The Bears' final eight points of the game came from the free-throw line
CMU was led by the 18 points of Jeff Blauvelt and the 13 of Brock Edris.
Rocky shot ahead by nine points on a couple of occasions (30-21 and 32-23) in the first half and led 32-28 at halftime.
Sukut drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 30-21 with 4:39 left in the first half. At that point, the Bears were shooting 11 of 20 from the floor, including six 3-pointers.
Rocky hit one of five shots after that, allowing the Runnin' Eagles to close the gap.
Sukut had nine first-half points, followed by Uskoski and Allen with seven apiece.
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Final:
Rocky 71, Central Methodist 62
Rocky advances to Elite 8 of national tournament
By BILL BIGHAUS
Of The Gazette Staff
UPDATE 3:25 p.m. :
Chase Sukut knocked down six 3-pointers en route to 23 points Friday afternoon and the Battlin' Bears downed Missouri's Central Methodist University 71-62 in the Sweet 16 round of the NAIA men's basketball championships in Kansas City, Mo.
Unseeded Rocky (25-9) will face 12th-seeded Concordia University (28-6) of California in a quarterfinal game Saturday at 2 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium.
Concordia held off fifth-seeded Mountain State University of West Virginia 85-79 in its second-round game. The Eagles, from Irvine, Calif., won the 2003 NAIA championships.
Eleven of Rocky's 22 baskets against unseeded and unranked CMU were 3-pointers. Sukut shot six of 12 from beyond the arc. Rocky, ranked 21st nationally, is making its sixth appearance at the 72nd annual tournament. The 800-student college made school history on Wednesday by beating Tennessee's Freed-Hardeman University 78-77 in overtime for its first-ever victory in the 32-team national tourney.
The Bears, who were in control most of the way against CMU, also received 14 points from James Bulluck and 11 apiece from Devin Uskoski and Anthony Allen. Uskoski also grabbed 11 rebounds for his 67th career double-double and NAIA-leading 26th of the season.
Uskoski is also just eight points shy of scoring 2,000 during his Rocky career.
The Bears were clinging to a 50-47 advantage in the second half when point guard Nate Richardson nailed a 3-pointer with 11:04 to go. Theo Jackson and Bulluck also connected for baskets as Rocky began to pull away at 57-50.
The Bears' final eight points of the game came from the free-throw line
CMU was led by the 18 points of Jeff Blauvelt and the 13 of Brock Edris.
Rocky shot ahead by nine points on a couple of occasions (30-21 and 32-23) in the first half and led 32-28 at halftime.
Sukut drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 30-21 with 4:39 left in the first half. At that point, the Bears were shooting 11 of 20 from the floor, including six 3-pointers.
Rocky hit one of five shots after that, allowing the Runnin' Eagles to close the gap.
Sukut had nine first-half points, followed by Uskoski and Allen with seven apiece.
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Final:
Rocky 71, Central Methodist 62
