photo by Christopher Squier
Senior Forward Alan Heter went up for a lay-up in Point Park’s first game against Penn State Fayette on Nov. 12, 2014. Point Park defeated Penn State-Fayette 88-85.

The Pioneers opened last week with a win, but came out flat in their second game, which started the semester.

Point Park first faced IU Kokomo last Saturday in a Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) home game. The team entered the game ranked fifth in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II, scoring 90.0 points per game.

The Pioneers had not reached their 90 points per game total in the last few games, until they went against Rio Grande, who they defeated 98 to 96. Point Park carried that momentum into the game with IU Kokomo.

The first half belonged to the Pioneers with a 21-point halftime lead, with their starters being pulled with five minutes remaining.

Point Guard Jerah’me Williams had 23 points and nine assists, forward Barry Smith finished with 22 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and senior forward Alan Heter contributed with 19 points.

A total of six players scored in double figures for Point Park, who shot 59 percent for the game and 63 percent in the second half.

“My mindset going into a game is first to win,” said Williams. “Then get my team involved during the game and focus on taking [them] to the next level.”
The Pioneers had a final score of 107-93.

The 107-point output marks the fifth time this year the Pioneers have gone over 100 points in a game.

Smith hoped the second time going against Penn State-Fayette would turn out like the first win. But, PSU-Fayette came out stronger this time with the win.

“I think they came out with something to prove, because we beat them last time,” Smith said. “They play with intensity from the jumpball. We, as a team, came out really slow and got ourselves into a hole and were playing catch up the whole time. We need to come out with intensity and a desire to win from now on.”

The game ended in a shootout at 111-97. PSU-Fayette is ranked No. 4 in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA)and led in the first half at 56-50.

Williams led the team with 26 points and four 3-pointers, Heter followed with 22 points and 17 rebounds and Smith added 10 points as well. The Pioneers are currently 10-7 overall and 2-2 in the KIAC.

Williams believes the team is ready for the rest of the season.

“The rest of the season will be great,” he said. “We have been practicing very hard and have been learning new things every day!”