Point Park men’s basketball did not play over Thanksgiving break, with their Wednesday, November 22 matchup getting canceled and rescheduled. However, this is deserved rest, as the men’s basketball team is sitting at 7-0 so far on the season.
The men’s team got to play an exhibition game against Division 1 Robert Morris University (RMU). This game was live-streamed on ESPN+, and competing against D1 talent was an amazing opportunity for the Pioneers. With the Pioneers being NAIA, they entered this matchup as underdogs, especially with their star player, Joe Valrie, being inactive.
However, the Pioneers did not see themselves as underdogs, as they would be neck and neck all game with RMU. The Pioneers managed to take advantage of their red-hot shooting and their strong defense. They eventually took a 10-point lead, with just around 15 minutes left in the matchup. Unfortunately, RMU stayed strong and fought to rally a comeback. This led to a final score of 66-56 in favor of RMU. The Pioneers put up an incredible fight, especially against a school of RMU’s talent. With this being an exhibition match, the men’s record remained untouched and stayed 5-0.
After this tough loss, The men’s team went on to win two more games, with the first one being a win over Washington Adventist 79-67. Then there was another away victory, this one being against Bryant & Stratton-Rochester. This ended with a final score of 87-64. This puts the Pioneers at 7-0, meaning they start off the year looking great.
Shifting gears to the now no longer undefeated women’s team. The women’s basketball season started out hot with a 4-0 start. One of those wins was a historic 121-19 victory over Fisher on November 3. Point Park took their first loss of the season when they traveled to play against Washington Adventist. This game was a heartbreaking defeat, as the Pioneers only lost by two points.
After losing their first game of the season, the women’s team traveled to play a D1 exhibition match against Marshall University. This game, being on ESPN+, provided an incredible opportunity for the women’s team, as they previously played an exhibition game against Pitt earlier this season. This game was similar to the Pitt game, as the Pioneers simply looked outclassed. The Pioneers were outrebounded by 30 and lost 121-55. This game was not a downpour, however, as Marshall has a distinguished, elite women’s basketball team. This being an exhibition, the Pioneers still sat at one loss on their record.
The Pioneers went on to face a D2 school, Malone University. The Pioneers lost this one 75-63. With the team starting out 4-0 and now being 4-2, they look to figure things out as they continue their season, as they are clearly a strong team that can make some minor improvements.
The men are set to play Geneva away on Thursday in a developmental match. The women’s team also squared off in a developmental game against Bethany from West Virginia. The match will be Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Student Center gymnasium. Both teams will play Shawnee State on Saturday. The location is not set yet as of Monday. The women will play at 1 p.m., and the men will play at 3 p.m.
