The men’s basketball team won back-to-back conference games on the road to finish their long road trip. Their first win to start the week was a Thursday, Jan. 11 victory on the road against Oakland City.
The Pioneers would not stop scoring in the first half of this game, scoring 51 points. Oakland City scored 37, leading to a 14-point lead going into the second half. Oakland City would come out firing, outscoring the Pioneers by 10 in the second half. The Pioneers would just barely edge this game out with a final victory score of 87-83.
Jamisen Smith was the biggest contributor of the night, with a season-high 27 points with an efficient 11-16 shooting from the field paired with five shots from behind the arc. Jo Valrie was the leading scorer of this game with his 30 points and 12 rebounds. Valrie continues to make a name for himself as a top player nationally in the NAIA. Jalen Stamps also filled up the stat sheet as always, with 19 points next to his name. This would keep the Pioneers at the top of the RSC after this tough victory.
The Pioneers would finish this conference road trip with their matchup against Brescia. Brescia did not have many wins going into this matchup, resulting in a confident Pioneers squad. The Pioneers stepped on the gas early, going up big and never looking back. Point Park would end the first half with a lead of 43-29. The second half was not different, as the team was hot right out the gate.
The Pioneers would win the second half of this match at 51-39, leading to an eventual 94-68 conference victory. Jalen Stamps had a double-double: 20 points and 10 assists. Jo Valrie was the leading scorer with 25 points. Jags Jhawar filled the rebound category with nine boards. Jamisen Smith again had an efficient scoring outburst with 22 points of his own.
Wins like these two are extremely meaningful, both being conference victories and both coming after the Pioneers’ first loss. The Pioneers were looking to continue their season on MLK day, but the game was canceled due to poor traveling weather for the opponents who are home in Rochester. They instead will wait until Saturday for their game against Indiana East at home at 3 p.m.
