The Point Park men’s basketball season came to a close on Saturday. The Pioneers traveled to Henderson, Tennessee to compete in the NAIA National Tournament last weekend, losing in the second round.
The team was named the No. 8 seed days before the tournament, therefore Point Park played the No. 9 Texas College Steers in the first round. The Pioneers captured their first NAIA tournament win since the 2000-2001 season.
Point Park and Texas College battled for the lead in the first twelve minutes. At the eight minute mark, the Pioneers held the Steers scoreless for three minutes, allowing Point Park to establish a 13 points lead.
The Pioneers maintained the lead through the end of the half at 46-34. The team had a 58.1 field goal percentage (FG%) in the half, and Jo Valrie contributed a dazzling 17 points.
Point Park preserved a double-digit lead for most of the second half. The teams had comparable shooting percentages, but the Steers were not able to hold the Pioneers down to recover from the deficit.
Point Park earned the win 84-71.
Despite the win, the Pioneers struggled to maintain possession throughout the game, as they combined for 14 turnovers. The Steers earned 17 points off of those turnovers.
Valrie ended as the top scorer and rebounder of the night with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Behind him, Jalen Stamps had 17 points and eight assists.
Jordan Stowe contributed 14 points off the bench with 100% shooting accuracy, going three-for-three from the field and two-for-two from the three-point line.
Guard Najee Jones was the top performer for the Steers with 20 points and two steals.
“[We] had to do whatever it takes, so I was just making sure that I could do what I could do on my end, my part,” Valrie said after the victory. “At the end of the day, I’m just happy that we got the win.”
Right after the win, Head Coach Kevin Reynolds reflected on the team’s seeding and performance.
“[We got a] tough seed, like we’ve said all along,” Head Coach Kevin Reynolds said. “[It was an] eight [seed versus] nine [seed] game. We felt we were better than that seed, so hopefully we proved it today.”
The Pioneers advanced to take on the No. 1 seed Freed-Hardeman Lions. The Lions had home court advantage as the hosts of rounds one and two.
The Lions maintained the lead for most of the first half, but the Pioneers did not allow a sizable deficit. Point Park tied up the game with five minutes, and the teams went back and forth for the remainder of the half.
The Pioneers entered halftime on top at 38-36. Valrie had 13 points in the half.
The teams continued to battle into the second, until the Lions made a 10-3 run midway through the half. This led to a double-digit lead for Freed-Hardeman with three minutes remaining.
The Lions increased their lead up to 18, and the Pioneers went 25.7% from the field and 17.6% for three in the half.
Freed-Hardeman beat Point Park 84-71, and the Lions advanced to the NAIA Sweet 16.
The Lions combined for a staggering 50 points in the key, as opposed to Point Park’s 10 points in the paint.
Top scorer Geraldo Lane contributed 26 points off the bench with three steals for the Lions. Hunter Spurlock added 17 points.
Valrie ended with 25 points, going 5-16 from the field. Van had 13 points, also going 5-16 from the field. Nazareth Fisher added 13 rebounds. Stamps contributed 11 points, struggling at 4-13 from the field with six turnovers.
The Pioneers combined to go 30.3% from the field, behind the Lions’ 49.2 FG%.
Once again, the Pioneers’ struggles could be traced to their turnover rate. Point Park had 15 turnovers, giving 20 points to the Lions off lost possession.
Point Park concluded their final season in the NAIA with a historic run, setting the school record for the most wins in a season. The team ended 30-3 in the 2023-24 season.
Point Park Athletics will move to NCAA Division II in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) next year.
