PITTSBURGH -- Point Park University men's basketball is 2-0 on the young season after Friday night's 76-72 home win over NAIA foe Concordia (Mich.) University. The Pioneers and Cardinals were tied at 37-37 at the half, and the Pioneers got it done at the end to come away with the victory in their home opener.

The same two teams will play again on Saturday, Nov. 5 with a 3:00 p.m. tipoff at CCAC-Allegheny, which is back to being the regular home court of the Pioneers. The Pioneers will look to sweep the weekend series from the Cardinals (0-2), who are from the Wolverrine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.

Sherron Schifino led all scorers with 23 points for Point Park. He connected on 4 of 9 from long range to highlight his night. He has 40 points through the first two games.

Jo Valrie was a key part of the second half for the Pioneers as he had all 18 of his points in the final 20 minutes. He also grabbed five rebounds and hit some clutch free throws down the straight as he went 5 of 6 from the line overall.

Cyrie Coates made it three players in double digits for Point Park with 13 points. Jalen Stamps added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

For Concordia, Jayden Priddy came off the bench for 19 points and 8 for 11 shooting. Kip French led the starters with 17 and seven assists. Devyn Jones had 11 points, but it wasn't enough.

Neither team led by more than two possessions in the first half. Jags Jhawar had a basket late in the first half to tie things up at 37-37 at the break.

Point Park got a great start to the second half scoring the first six points. That came on a trey by Valrie and an old-fashioned 3-point play from Coates.

The Pioneers later worked a 55-43 lead -- their biggest of the day -- with 14:08 to go. Concordia made it close down the stretch at 68-63 with under three remaining. The Cardinals also got a trey from Matt Lockhart to pull within 72-69 with 27 seconds left.

Schifino made a pair of free throws for some breathing room. But Priddy followed with a trey for the Cardinals to make the score 74-72 late. But Valrie made a couple of free throws to make it a four-point game and put the contest out of reach.

Follow Saturday's games with live video and live stats with links to coverage PointParkSports.com/Live