BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Despite 20 points each from Kameron Shockley and newcomer Tony James, Point Park University men's basketball lost its season opener on Saturday, 81-78, at Bryant & Stratton-Buffalo.
Shockley and James had both reached double digits by halftime, but the Pioneers were down, 41-36, at the break. Bryant & Stratton (1-0) was able to briefly open up a 10-point lead of 50-40 the first three minutes of the second half, which ended up being costly.
Point Park (0-1) forged a tie three different times in the second half but was never able to take a lead the final 20 minutes. Orrington Hamilton made a layup with 44 seconds left to pull the Pioneers within 79-78. The Pioneers got a couple of stops after that, but a missed jumper and a turnover had them come up empty.
Shockley, from Uniontown, Ohio, scored his 20 points on 7 for 12 from the field and a team-best 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. James, a Harrisburg, Pa., native and a junior-college transfer, was very efficient shooting 10 for 12 from the field. He also made it a double-double with 10 boards, and Shockley had nine off the glass.
R.J. Fairrow adde 11 points on 4 for 5 shooting off the bench. Jagshaanbir Singh Jhawar contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
Bryant & Stratton had four starters in double figures led by Sam Dorissaint, who had 19 points and made 3 of 4 from the outside. He gave the Bobcats a 15-8 lead early on with a trey.
Point Park took its first and only lead of the game on a basket by Singh Jhawar, 35-34, with 4:25 before the half. The Pioneers then hit a cold spell missing their final four shots of the half to go down heading into the locker room.
The Pioneers erased the 10-point deficit when they pulled even 58-58 on James' jumper at the 10:54 mark of the second half. They also had ties of 61-61 on Jesse Calloway's bucket and later at 63-63 on Doug Alves' effort at the 8:05 mark.
Point Park's next game is Saturday, Nov. 14 versus Alice Lloyd (Ky.), the River States Conference opener.
