Point Park men’s basketball kicked off its regular season on Oct. 9 and 10 at the Ron Wilson Classic in Millersville. The team ended the weekend 1-1 after games against Division II opponents Mansfield and host Millersville. 

Point Park faced the Mansfield Mountaineers on Saturday evening for its first official game of the season. The Pioneers earned a 90-73 win for their first NCAA Division II victory in program history.

The Pioneers’ starting five consisted of Kaden Warner, Aidan Anderson, Nazareth Fisher, Nathaniel Van and Jag Jhawar. Reynolds subbed in only two players off the bench: first-year student Aiden Miller and senior Lance Signh.

Mansfield and Point Park combined to force 10 lead changes and six tied scores in the first half. With three and a half minutes remaining in the first half, the Pioneers went on a 10-4 run to conclude the half with a 42-36 score.

The Mountaineers quickly tied things up two minutes into the second half at 42-42. The Pioneers went on an offensive streak with about four minutes remaining, increasing the lead through the end of the game.

Warner became the first men’s basketball college athlete in Pittsburgh to record a 30-point game this year. He went eight for 14 from the three-point line and recorded five assists. 

Signh inched toward a double-double, recording 15 points and eight rebounds. Anderson contributed 14 points and Fisher added 12. 

Searching for its second consecutive win, Point Park went on to play Millersville Marauders on Sunday afternoon, where the Pioneers suffered a 95-72 loss. 

The Marauders came off a successful season, finishing with an 18-4 record in the PSAC East last season and competing in the NCAA Division II tournament. 

Millersville quickly asserted dominance in the game, establishing an early 9-0 lead that increased to a 16-3 score minutes later.

Coach Kevin Reynolds shared how a lack of rest and preparation allowed the Marauders to capitalize early on in the game.

“[They] got us on our heels to start the game, and we could never get back and play our style of ball, and so we just didn’t,” Reynolds said. “We didn’t do a real good job coaching or playing on Sunday, it was a combination of both our poor coaching and poor playing.”

The Marauders continued to take advantage of the Pioneers’ scoring troubles, forcing numerous turnovers and offensive mistakes.

The first half ended 52-25. The Pioneers went 30% from the field in the half, falling to Millersville’s 62.16% field goal success. 

Point Park led the scoring column in the second half, scoring 47 points. The Pioneers held the Marauders to a 1-8 three-point margin and a 45.45 field-goal percentage.

Despite the strong showing both defensively and offensively in the second half, it wasn’t enough for the Pioneers to chip away at the striking 23-point deficit. This resulted in Point Park’s first loss of the season.

“The guys didn’t have the energy and enthusiasm that they normally have,” Reynolds said. “From a coaching standpoint, we didn’t do a good enough job of getting the guys energized and ready to play a team like Millersville.” 

Reynolds took a different approach in this matchup, testing rotations and awarding minutes to 11 players. 

“We’re trying to find guys that are going to compete and give us the best chance to win,” Reynolds said. “We have confidence in everybody on the roster, so we put in a bunch of different guys. Some didn’t play that much on Saturday but played significant minutes [on Sunday].”

Transfer Brenden Williams played 26 minutes off the bench and led the scoring column for the Pioneers, scoring 14 points and going five for 11 from the field. 

Miller earned his first collegiate start, dropping 10 points and five rebounds. Transfer Rob Keys contributed 10 points as well, and Singh recorded nine points.

“We didn’t have the team ready to go,” Reynolds said. “So that’s on us. We have to own that. But hopefully we don’t experience that again, and hopefully we learn from our mistakes.”

The Pioneers open MEC play on Thursday, Nov. 14, versus Glenville State at home in CCAC-Allegheny Gym. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.