Men’s and Women’s Basketball traveled to Kentucky last Saturday to take on River State Conference (RSC) opponents Alice Lloyd. The teams head home for their final regular season games this week.
The women’s team kicked off the evening with an early 6-0 lead. The Pioneers then went scoreless for almost three minutes, causing the score to be neck-and-neck.
Point Park took a more prominent lead in the final minutes of the first quarter, and the team entered the second quarter at 26-21.
The Pioneers did not score in the second quarter until six minutes were remaining. The Eagles only put up two points during this time, so Point Park briefly maintained the lead.
Gillian Piccolino put up eight points in the second quarter, followed by seven points from Emma Pavalek.
The Eagles had a quick rally in the final minutes of the second, taking the lead for the first time in the quarter. A final second three-pointer from the Eagles resulted in their 41-37 lead to close the half.
Point Park only put up 10 points in the third quarter, nine of which were from Piccolino. Alice Lloyd kept their lead at 56-47, as the Pioneers recorded a combined 24% field-goal percentage.
The Pioneers chipped away at the Eagles’ lead in the fourth quarter, but Point Park was unable to take the lead.
Point Park was down three points with seconds to go when Piccolino drained a buzzer-beater three to force overtime.
The Pioneers had scoring troubles in overtime but managed to trail only points behind the Eagles. Point Park only scored one point in the final 1:40 of play, resulting in a 77-73 loss for the Pioneers.
Overtime did not work in Piccolino’s favor, as she went 1-7 from the field. Eagles leading scorer Hannah Cash put up eight points in overtime and finished with 32 points.
Piccolino led the Pioneers with 32 points. Ari Bleda recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds; and Pavalek contributed 12 points, three steals, and two blocks. Key defensive player Aichata Ballo had 10 points, three blocks, and a steal.
The loss bumped the team to third place in the RSC East at 9-6, under undefeated Rio Grande and 10-5 Ohio Christian.
The women’s postseason chances will be determined by the result of Tuesday’s game versus Ohio Christian. The outcome of the game can be found on pointparksports.com or under Point Park Sports on Instagram and Twitter.
The men’s game began shortly after the women’s, and the Point Park men quickly got on the board. Within the first eight minutes, the Pioneers established a 12-point lead. The Eagles made up for this deficit in the final minutes of the half, taking the lead with seconds to go.
A tip-in at the buzzer from Jordan Stowe forced a tie game at halftime with a 42-42 score. Center Jags Jhawar went 63% from the field and was the leading scorer of the half with 10 points.
Point Park opened the second half with a bit of a slow start. The Eagles took the lead within minutes and increased it to up to 11 points with 13:33 left on the clock.
The Pioneers gained momentum at that point, forcing Alice Lloyd to go scoreless for over five and a half minutes. Point Park scored 15 points during this time period to establish a four point lead.
Point Park maintained a single-digit lead for the remainder of the half, concluding the night with a 82-74 final score.
“It wasn’t an easy game,” Head Coach Kevin Reynolds said. “They hung in there and we grinded and grinded it out. We found a way to win the game.”
Backup center Nazareth Fisher showed out with nine points and 13 rebounds in the half, going 100% from the field. Jo Valrie put up nine points as well.
Point Park’s top scorers were Valrie and Jalen Stamps, who both dropped 17 points. Valrie led the team in rebounds with 14 and Stamps led the team in assists with six.
Fisher concluded with a double-double, recording 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Other top contributors included Jordan Stowe with 12 points, eight rebounds and two steals; Jhawar with 15 points and two blocks; and Nathaniel Van with seven points, 11 rebounds and two steals.
The win further solidified the men’s first place spot in the RSC East with a 13-2 conference record.
“We’re at that time of the year where we need to be playing our best basketball,” Reynolds said. “Since [its] February, everybody’s fighting for postseason play and conference tournament seedings.”
Coach Reynolds reflected on his goals moving forward into the final games of the regular season.
“We need to focus and keep our focus because when we do that, we’re very good,” Reynolds said. “But we’ve shown that [we’ve] become really susceptible to other teams’ runs because we let up.”
The Pioneers close out the regular season on Friday in a home matchup against WVU Tech. The game is also Senior Night, which will honor the players who are in their final year as Pioneers.
Postseason play is set to begin the following week.
Point Park students get into all home games for free and can utilize the university’s shuttle system for transportation to the CCAC gymnasium.
More information is available on Point Park Sports’ social media and website.
