photos by Madison Turiczek
Junior guard Jerah’me Williams shoots a foul shot during the first half last Tuesday. Williams finished with 20 points and 5 assists at the end of the game against Cincinnati Christian.
Alan Heter prepares to make a post move against a Cincinnati Christian player in the first half of the game last Tuesday.
The Point Park men’s basketball team had its Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) winning streak stopped this past week in a road game against Brescia University.
Point Park started off last week with a home game against Cincinnati Christian on Tuesday, gaining its first win over a ranked opponent in four years in a KIAC game.
Junior Jerah’me Williams is happy with the winning streak so far.
“[It] feels good to always get a win no matter who the team is,” said Williams. “But it feels good to have won three straight. We are excited and feeling very good about the rest of the season.”
The last time the Pioneers won a game against a Top National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division team was on Feb. 12, 2011 against No. 22 Malone (Ohio).
Cincinnati Christian also had a nine game winning streak until stopped by Point Park.
“It’s a good feeling to know the school’s basketball team is back on a come up,” said junior forward Yandell Davis. “We knew coming in Cincinnati Christian was a good team, and the fact that we ended a winning streak was a good feeling.”
The game against CCU was tight until the last few minutes in the game. Williams made a trey for three points to tie the score 68-68 with less than four minutes remaining.
Williams also had his team high of 20 points in the game. T.J. Lanier helped bump up the score with a total of 15 points in the game and a pair of free throws to put Point Park at 72-70. Senior forward Alan Heter totaled 17 points and nine rebounds in the game.
The Pioneers then hit the road for their game against Brescia, in Kentucky.The road game was a bit of a struggle for the team, losing 79-60.
Brescia stopped Point Park’s KIAC three game winning streak, and also had a season low of 60 points in the game.
Point Park has a better home court advantage, with a record of 8-2, but struggle when on the road going 3-6.
Sophomore Art Christian feels more comfortable in home games.
“I feel we play better at home because the crowd is behind us, and it is our home court; we have to defend it,” said Christian. “And shots seem to fall more for us at home.”
Williams had the team high of 17 points for Point Park, and Lanier added 12. Denis and Christian each had 10 points in the game.
Point Park had only seven turnovers in the game, and the team’s shooting came up a little cold.
It was the second big win for Brescia, who knocked down KIAC North Division leader Indiana University East in a 66-60 win on Tuesday.
“In the game against Brescia, we could have converted more on the offensive side of the ball and knocked down shots,” Christian said. “Also, defensively was a big problem for us. We didn’t get enough stops on the ball, and we did not contest shots well.”
Point Park is second in the KIAC Division, and now has a record of 11-8 overall and 3-3 KIAC.
The Pioneers play their next game on Friday at home against IU Southeast at 7:30 p.m.
Barry Smith shoots a foul shot to break the tie with 3:06 left in the game against Cincinnati Christian University on Jan. 20 at CCAC South.
After getting a fast break and having a 3 on 2 situation to end the play, senior forward Barry Smith finishes a lay up late in the second half last Tuesday.
