Point Park Athletics
Kevin Taylor
PITTSBURGH – No. 21-ranked Point Park University men’s basketball is 18-1 on the season after hanging on to beat Indiana University East on Saturday, 86-83, at home. The Pioneers extended their home win streak to 24 straight games.
Jalen Stamps tied a career high with 32 points with Jags Jhawar adding a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jo Valrie added 16 points and seven boards, and Jamisen Smith tallied 10 points.
Point Park (18-1, 7-1 RSC) was leading the River States Conference matchup by 11 points with just under 15 minutes to play, 55-44. The Pioneers were still ahead, 63-53, midway through the second half.
But a battle-tested IU East team did not go away and pulled even at 73-73 with 4:29 left. Five players in double figures led by Colt Meyer (24) and Jake Johnson (15) clawed the Red Wolves back into it.
Nate Van scored seven points for the Pioneers and came up with some big shots late. Van hit a 3-pointer to break the 73-73 tie. Later, he connected on a clutch jumper for an 82-78 lead at the 2:20 mark.
Valrie followed with a 3-pointer on Point Park’s next possession, and the Pioneers were ahead, 85-81, with 1:29 to go. A basket by Seikou Maiga pulled IU East with 85-83 on the Red Wolves’ next trip.
From there, Point Park had its struggles trying to put the game away at the foul line. They made just 1 of 5 free throws. Fortunately, the defense forced IU East to miss its last five field goal attempts to secure the victory. The Pioneers had just enough defensive rebounds in the final minutes to win.
Stamps tied his career high of 32 from the RSC semifinals last year. He made 13 of 24 field goals on the day. Stamps made 1 of 2 free throws with two seconds left to help the win. He scored 18 points at the half as the Pioneers were up 39-35.
Jhawar made 8 of 10 field goals in a very efficient game. He had 13 points the first half making 6 of 7 from the field. That included a pair of inside baskets in a row for a 31-21 lead late in the half.
Despite double-digit leads in both halves, it was not an easy game for the Pioneers. They faced a 7-2 deficit in the early minutes before Jhawar put back a missed shot to tie things up at 11-11.
The score was still tied at 17-17 at the under-10:00 media timeout of the first half. A basket by Jhawar, a tipin from Stamps and a 3-pointer from Stamps had the Pioneers get their first separation at 27-19.
Point Park was playing for the first time this season as an NAIA Top 25 team. The Pioneers moved into the rankings at No. 21 earlier in the week. Also during the week, the NAIA granted Point Park a forfeit victory for their home game that was cancelled Jan. 15 versus Bryant & Stratton-Rochester. That game was earlier postponed as well on Nov. 22.
Point Park will be in action again Jan. 25 and Jan. 27 at home versus St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) (14-4, 8-0 RSC) and Indiana Kokomo (14-4, 4-4 RSC). Those are the top two teams in the RSC West Divsion Standings. Point Park (18-1, 7-1 RSC) leads the RSC East along with Shawnee State (Ohio) (12-5, 7-1 RSC).