The men’s basketball team fell in their first game of the 2021-2022 season with a loss to NAIA school Lawrence Technology University (LTU) on Saturday, Oct. 23, 75-61. The loss comes after Point Park was ranked seventh out of 14 teams in the River State Conference (RSC) conference this year and were ranked fourth in the RSC East standings. Point Park is looking to bounce back after going 8-9 last season, with a record of 8-5 against non division-one schools, after only going 1-1 in the playoffs last season.

The Saturday match up against the Blue Devils started off fairly close, with the Pioneers knocking down two quick three-pointers to put them ahead early before LTU was able to respond. The two teams were back and forth throughout the first 10 minutes of the first half, before the Blue Devils were able to hold the lead all the way into half time, where Point Park kept it close at 37-36. Point Park would again try to keep pace with the home squad but weren’t able to keep LTU from getting out to a 10 point lead with 10 minutes left in the game. From there, the Blue Devils were able to extend their lead to 17 and held on to their lead till the final buzzer sounded at 75-61.

Both teams were fairly efficient with their shooting, with Point Park hitting on 41% of their shots, and making 33% of their shots from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils stayed on pace, knocking down 43% of their shots, and making 32%of their shots from downtown. The difference between the two teams was at the free-throw line, with the Pioneers only being able to muster a measly 53% from the charity stripe, in comparison to the Blue Devils’ 75%. LTU was also able to dominate the boards, coming down with 43 rebounds and doubling Point Park’s offensive rebounds with 12. The Pioneers were able to snatch up 29 boards but could only grab 6 offensive rebounds. Both teams kept at a similar pace defensively as well, with Point Park only giving away 21 turnovers compared to the Blue Devil’s 23.

Junior forward Jordan Stowe led the Pioneers in points in the game, putting up 16 points 50%shooting, while also picking up five rebounds and three assists to go with a team high five steals. Junior guard Eddie Flohr and senior guard Sherron Schifino were right behind Stowe in points with 14 and 11, with Flohr leading the team in assists with four. Seven foot sophomore center Jagshaanbir Singh Jhawar led the team in rebounds in his first start for the Point Park in his career, bringing down eight.

The Pioneers will look to shake off the loss with another road game this Tuesday, Oct. 26, against Penn State-Shenango; a extended campus of Penn State University. Point Park’s very first home game will be against the same Penn State-Shenango on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. Home games for Point Park’s basketball teams are played at CCAC-Allegheny, and all home games are streamable through the Point Park Athletics website online.