Rocky Mountain coach Bill Dreikosen celebrating NAIA Championship (Photo: NAIA)

Union University (Tenn.) 2008-09

Dreikosen Sukut Richardson Bulluck Uskoski Allen 2 Sukut Chase 6'1'' (185) G 1 Richardson Nate 5'6'' (168) G 23 Bulluck James 6'5'' (196) F 32 Uskoski Devin 6'6'' (198) C 42 Allen Anthony 6'8'' (203) F 44 Johnson Chawn 6'9'' (206) C 33 Hopkins Evan 6'5'' (196) F 24 Neumann Ryan 6'1'' (185) G 3 Jackson Theo 6'6'' (198) F 5 Holmes Deanthony 6'1'' (185) G 20 Barndt Philip 6'6'' (198) F 22 Johnson Dwayne 6'1'' (185) G

2008-09 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball All-America Team

All-America 1st Team 2008-09
Berry	Fitzgerald	Hawkins	Jones	Lee

1st Team
Chris Berry (6'4''-F-86) of Texas Wesleyan
Luke Fitzgerald (6'7''-F) of Cumberlands (Ky.)
Danny Hawkins (6'7''-F) of MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Brent Jones (6'0''-G) of Oklahoma Baptist
Andrew Lee (6'5''-F) of Mountain State (W. Va.)
James Lewis (6'4''-G) of Fresno Pacific (Calif.)
Matt Neaville (6'0''-G) of Union (Tenn.)
Eric Palm (6'2''-G) of McKendree (Ill.)
Geoff Payne (6'5''-F) of Westminster (Utah)
Jason Taylor (6'7''-C) of Oklahoma Christian

2nd Team
Nate Brumfield (6'5''-F) of Oklahoma Baptist
Zack Frey (6'8''-C) of Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Demetrius Guions (6'5''-G) of Georgetown (Ky.)
Jermaine Hodges (6'3''-G) of Tougaloo (Miss.)
Elmar Kuli-Zade (5'9''-G) of Lee (Tenn.)
Tyler Leighton of Indiana-South Bend
Jon Meriweather (6'7''-F) of Park (Mo.)
Kenny Page (5'9''-G-85) of Robert Morris (Ill.)
Joshua Samarco (6'1''-G-86) of Pikeville (Ky.)
Eric Young (6'4''-G-88) of Rogers State (Okla.)

3rd Team
Ronnie Battle of Bacone (Okla.)
Todd Brown (6'6''-F) of Fresno Pacific (Calif.)
Jeremy Cable of Tougaloo (Miss.)
Jackson Capel (6'3''-G) of Evangel (Mo.)
Shaun Dumas (5'11''-G-85) of Xavier (La.)
Chris Johnson (6'1''-G) of Montana State-Northern
Dominique Johnson (6'2''-G) of Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
Christian Lewis (6'6''-F) of Columbia (Mo.)
Greg Truvillion (6'8''-G/F) of Union (Tenn.)
Devin Uskoski (6'6''-C) of Rocky Mountain (Mont.)

Honorable Mention
Robert Johnson (6'7''-F) of Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)
Daniel Ferguson of Berry (Ga.)
Rocky Hampton of Biola (Calif.)
Anthony Ingram of Brescia (Ky.)
Andrew Howard of Brescia (Ky.)
Mark Roussin (6'7''-F) of California Baptist
Zach Allender (6'7''-F) of Campbellsville (Ky.)
Andy Garland (6'5''-F) of Carroll (Mont.)
Chad Vaculin (6'0''-G) of Carroll (Mont.)
Matt Sherman (6'0''-G) of Central Methodist (Mo.)
Jeff Blauvelt (6'4''-G/F) of Central Methodist (Mo.)
Phil Friesen (6'5''-F-87) of Concordia (Calif.)
Terrance Worthy (5'9''-G-88) of Concordia (Calif.)
Brandon Springer (6'5''-F) of Cumberland (Tenn.)
David Manning (6'2''-G) of Dillard (La.)
Tedrick Hudson of Emmanuel (Ga.)
Marcus West (6'6''-G/F-83) of Fresno Pacific (Calif.)
Vic Moses (6'6''-F) of Georgetown (Ky.)
Rayshaun Ames of Great Falls (Mont.)
Brian Gilbert (6'7''-F/C) of Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.)
Nick Livas (6'6''-G-88) of Illinois-Springfield
Deveon Jenkins (6'4''-F) of Jarvis Christian (Tex.)
Davaughn Jackson of John Brown (Ark.)
Antawn Coby (5'8''-G) of Lambuth (Tenn.)
Lance Sullivan (5'11''-G) of Langston (Okla.)
Tay Barber of Life (Ga.)
Toriano Adams of Lindenwood (Mo.)
Chris Gatlin of Louisiana State-Shreveport
Ryan Brock (6'3''-G) of Loyola (La.)
Kenny Hewitt of Lubbock Christian (Texas)
Will Shackleford (6'5''-F) of Martin Methodist (Tenn.)
Eric Hobbie (6'6''-F) of McKendree (Ill.)
Cal Kiburz (6'9''-F) of MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Dane Rawlins of Missouri Baptist
Christopher Owens of Morris (S.C.)
Nick Aldridge (6'7''-F) of Mountain State (W. Va.)
Termaine Snyder of Northwestern Oklahoma State
Brandon Brown (5'10''-G) of Northwestern Oklahoma State
Tyler Wallenfang (6'7''-F) of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Jeff Wilson (6'9''-C) of Robert Morris (Ill.)
Sylvester Spicer (6'6''-F) of Rogers State (Okla.)
Brandon Durham (5'11''-G) of Southern Nazarene (Okla.)
Joe Posey (6'5''-G) of Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.)
Marcus Coleman (5'11''-G) of Spring Hill (Ala.)
Czyz Bennett of Texas College
Ryan Zamroz (6'3''-G) of The Masters (Calif.)
Brian Oduor (6'4''-G) of Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.)
Brian Lake (6'6''-F-85) of Union (Tenn.)
Dan Rasp of Westmont (Calif.)
Darnell Adams of Wiley College (Texas)
Larry Mandacina of William Jewell (Mo.)

Rocky Mountain (Mont.) Rolls to First NAIA National Championship 77-61
Battlin' Bears Defeat Columbia (Mo.) in First-Ever Title Game Featuring Two Unseeded Teams
Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) jumped out to a 21-point halftime lead and never looked back on its way to a 77-61 victory over Columbia College (Mo.) in the championship game of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Mens Basketball National Championship Tuesday at Municipal Auditorium.
Devin Uskoski (6'6''-C) posted 14 of his team-high 24 points in the first half in leading the Battlin Bears to the first NAIA national championship in any sport in school history. Uskoski also added a tournament-high 20 rebounds as he earned the Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award for the tournament. Uskoski registered a double-double in all five Battlin Bears victories this past week. Rocky Mountain, which had never won an NAIA Tournament game in five appearances prior to this season, ends its year with an overall record of 28-9. The Battlin Bears won 10 of their final 11 games of 2008-09.
Tuesdays championship contest in front of a crowd of 3,377 marked the first time since tournament seeding began in 1957 that two unseeded teams played for the NAIA title. This marks the fourth time since the NAIA Division I Tournament moved back to Kansas City in 2002 that an unseeded team took home the championship, and the first since Texas Wesleyan University in 2006.
Its been quite an adventure for our program, said Rocky Mountain head coach Bill Dreikosen . I couldnt be more proud of this group of (players). One thing I would say is having (Devin Uskoski) sitting beside me, this is a very special young man. I knew it would be a special year when he was a senior but I didnt know it would be this special. Its something Ill remember for a lifetime.
All five Rocky Mountain starters reached double figures in the scoring column in the effort. Nate Richardson (5'6''-G), who received the Charles Stevenson Hustle Award following the game, posted 14 points, while Chase Sukut (6'1''-G) and James Bulluck (6'5''-F) each collected 11 points. Anthony Allen (6'8''-F) scored nine of his 10 points after halftime for the Battlin Bears. Richardson and Sukut both earned All-Tournament honors.
Rocky Mountain led for all but 14 seconds of the first half, when Columbias Brett Hoskins (6'2''-G) drilled a three-pointer at the 18:15 mark to give the Cougars a 3-2 lead. Richardson scored on the ensuing possession to spark a 9-0 run to put Rocky Mountain in front, 11-3. Later in the period, the Battlin Bears reeled off 13 straight points to boost its lead to 42-21 with just over two minutes left in the half. Richardson and Uskoski each scored five points during the spurt for Rocky Mountain.
The Battlin Bears built a 45-24 halftime lead thanks in part to shooting 59.3 percent from the field (16-of-27) in the period. Rocky Mountain also held a 22-11 edge on the boards in the first 20 minutes of play.
In the second half, Rocky Mountain added to its lead, and a 7-0 run helped the Battlin Bears grab their largest lead of the night, 62-33, with 12:49 remaining. Rocky Mountain cooled down in the final 20 minutes, shooting 41.1 percent from the field (12-of-29), but still finished the contest making 50 percent of its attempts from the floor (28-of-56). Both teams took care of the basketball as each committed just seven turnovers.
It was an amazing ride, the ride of a lifetime and it just crashed, said Columbia head coach Bob Burchard. We will never be judged by one event. Our real success was becoming an amazing team and it took us to a place where Columbia College had never been before.
Columbia ends its season with an overall record of 30-8. The Cougars won 17 of their final 19 games, and were making their first national championship appearance in school history. Christian Lewis netted a season-high 24 points to lead the way for Columbia. Brett Hoskins chipped in with 13 points as Greg Stegeman (6'6''-F) pulled down a team-best five rebounds. Terrell Turner dished out a game-high seven assists for the Cougars.

Courtesy of NAIA