MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Point Park University men's basketball led for 18 minutes and 2 seconds and was up by 10 in the second half at Robert Morris University, but the Pioneers could not finish off the exhibition victory over the NCAA Division I Colonials. Instead, Robert Morris got Point Park at the end, 66-56, on Thursday night at the UPMC Events Center. 

Jamisen Smith scored 19 points, and Nathaniel Van added 14 for Point Park, which remains at 5-0 on the season despite the defeat in what was an exhibition contest for the Pioneers. Robert Morris, coming off a loss at Xavier earlier in the week, evened its record at 1-1 in its home opener with a 40-25 advantage in the second half. 

Point Park was ahead, 31-26, at halftime. The Pioneers continued to be on top and pushed the lead to 41-31 on a 3-pointer by Van with 15:36 remaining in the game. Van was 4 for 6 from long range and teamed up with Smith as Point Park's top offensive threats on the night. 

After going down by 10 points, Robert Morris slowly turned the tables over the next 10 minutes. It was until nine minutes remaining when the Colonials took their first lead of the second half on a second-chance 3-pointer by Jackson Last. When Stephaun Walker scored inside with 5:16 to go, the Colonials were on a 26-8 run at that point. 

Although their 10-point lead had turned into an eight-point deficit, the Pioneers did not go away. Van drove the lane to pull Point Park within two possessions 57-51 with 4:23 left. A minute, later Nazareth Fisher grabbed one of his 10 rebounds and put in the offensive board to trim the deficit to 57-54 with 3:23 to go. 

Point Park proceeded to give up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw, miss a couple of shots and turn the ball over. RMU took advantage to gain control at 63-54 with 1:23 left. That and a 3-pointer by Markeese Hastings ended Point Park's upset bid in the final minute.

Point Park was playing without returning NAIA All-American Jo Valrie, who averaged 17.5 ppg before missing the last two contests. Robert Morris was also without two players who started the first game at Xavier. 

Point Park had the first two points of the game on a layup by Jamisen Smith. Robert Morris responded with a 9-2 lead after four minutes. The Pioneers steadily got back into it and took an 18-17 lead on a jumper by Jags Jhawar at the under-8 media timeout of the first half. 

Ensuing 3-pointers by Smith and Van had the Pioneers enjoying their biggest lead of the first half, 26-19. RMU forged a 26-26 tie, but Point Park got the final two buckets of the opening half -- a jumper by Jhawar and another 3-pointer from Van to push ahead by five at the break. 

Point Park shot only 34 percent the first half but was holding RMU to 32 percent. The Colonials picked up the shooting to 42 percent the final 20 minutes whereas Point Park dipped to 27 percent. 

A big difference was the rebounding by half. RMU was holding 23-21 edge in the first half but ended the night leading 52-36 on the glass overall. Point Park had Fisher lead the way with 10 boards along with his nine points while Jhawar had eight points and nine rebounds. 

RMU countered on the glass with three players over double-digit rebounds. Stephaun Walker had 14 points and 16 rebounds, Markeese Hastings tallied 20 points and 14 boards, and Jackson Last chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds. T.J. Wainright scored 17 points to put for Colonials starters scoring double figures. 

Point Park returns to NAIA regular-season action on Monday, Nov. 13 at Washington Adventist (Md.). The game at Robert Morris was the first of two exhibitions on the Point Park schedule with the other being at IUP on Dec. 10.