The Pioneers dropped two conference games this past week ending the season with an overall record of 9-17, and a conference play record of 5-12.

It was senior night last Tuesday, and action began last week for Point Park after honoring the six graduating seniors of Daniel King, Cam Harbaugh, T.J. Bates, Asim Pleas, Cortez Allen and Tramell Perry. 

Taking on Indiana University (IU) East, the Pioneers fell in their final home game of the season to a score of 87-67.

“Their size gave us trouble, but we always tell guys we have to find a way,” head coach Joe Lewandowski said. “I felt we competed and that it was about our seniors and they lead the way.”

Point Park found themselves down early in the contest after an 8-2 run by IU East. With the help of Pleas draining two threes and King making one of his own, the Pioneers were in the lead 13-10 at the 14:08 mark.

IU East however answered back with another run of their own and led Point Park 31-17 with 6:49 left in the first half. Point Park finished the half on a hot streak with junior Chance Wright completing a trey and Perry making a few field goals. Heading into the the second half, Point Park was trailing 42-29.

The second half saw IU East going on more runs against Point Park, and the Pioneers continued to chip away.

The closest the Pioneers made it to making a comeback was with the help of Perry, sophomore Tudor Shelton and freshman B.J. Williams. Starting with a few baskets made by Perry, Shelton and Williams all made treys and field goals of their own bringing the score to a 15-point deficit.

The spark from the underclassman however was the last fight the team gave and IU East was able to run away with the game.

The week continued for the men as they traveled to Circleville, Ohio taking on Ohio Christian University (OCU). In the final regular season game for Point Park, OCU was able to dominate most of the contest securing a victory of 90-68.

The first half was the most deadly for Point Park, as OCU took a 10-0 lead from the get-go. As Point Park struggled to create offensive chances, they found themselves down 31-6 at the 10:43 mark of the first half. With some late-half life by the Pioneers, Wright drained two 3-pointers back to back followed by two field goals from sophomore guard Mark Sheady. Heading into the second half, Point Park trailed 48-23.

Offensively the Pioneers stepped it up in the second half as sophomore guard Kyle Carrington came out strong scoring six points in the first five minutes of the half. By the end of the game he put up 16 points overall to lead the team.

The second highest point scorer for the Pioneers was Perry with 14, while securing six rebounds.

By the end of the second half, Point Park outscored OCU 45-42, but due to the 48-23 first half, OCU secured the victory.

“We’ve gotten so much better defensively from the start of the year to the end of the year,” Lewandowski said. “I’m just impressed with the way they play.”

Heading into these past two games, the Pioneers were guaranteed a playoff spot as the fourth seed in the River States Conference (RSC). Playoff basketball will begin Wednesday night as Point Park takes on the 24th ranked NAIA team Indiana University Kokomo on the road. The playoffs are single elimination.

“It’s time to get ready for the one game playoff,” Lewandowski said. “Loser goes home, winner moves on.”