Box Score
PITTSBURGH -- Point Park University men's basketball had some key baskets and free throws late in the game and put up a late defensive stand to come away with a 78-76 victory over Midway (Ky.) University in the River States Conference Championship quaterfinals on Wednesday night from CCAC-Allegheny.
The Pioneers (23-6, 13-4 RSC), the No. 2 seed from the RSC East Division, outlasted the Eagles (16-11, 11-7 RSC), the No. 3 seed from the RSC West. Point Park moves on to the RSC Championship semifinals Feb. 25 at IU Kokomo (22-7), the No. 1 seed from the RSC West. Tipoff is 3:00 p.m. in Kokomo, Ind., for the right to move on to the finals Feb. 28 at the highest remaining seed.
Point Park and Midway battled it out in a tight-knit affair. Except for the Pioneers getting a 10-point lead late in the first half and building an 11-point lead early in the second half, the game was within two possessions for much of the 40 minutes. Neither team budged much with both sides having all five starters play at least 34 minutes.
Jo Valrie had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead four Point Park starters in double figures. He had 19 by halftime making 8 of 11 fields the first half. Jalen Stamps had 20 points and five assists and was 4 for 8 from long range
Cyrie Coates and Jags Jhawar had 12 and 11 points, respectively, and they combined to score Point Park's last 11 points after Midway tied things up at 67-67 with six minutes to go.
Donnie Miller from Midway surpassed his average of 21.6 ppg with 26 on the night. He was 11 for 30 shooting but had enough big baskets to have the Eagles in it until the end. He had support from Rico Tate with 18 points and Nick Keaton getting 14 points and 10 rebounds with many big plays.
Point Park made nine 3-pointers on the night with seven of them coming in the first half. The 3-pointers were dropping as Point Park took a 45-37 lead into the break. Sherron Schifino hit one of those bombs for a 23-17 lead at the 11:09 mark.
Another big 3-pointer came from Stamps in the last two minutes of the half. And when Jordan Stowe followed moments later with a 3-point play on a tip-in and free throw, the Pioneers were ahead 45-35. Tate came up with the last bucket of the half to pull Midway within eight.
Stamps had a 3-pointer for a 59-48 lead with 15:59 remaining. From there, Midway steadily chipped away before drawing even at 67-67 on Will Van Hook's 3-pointer with 6:42 left. Then T.J. O'Connor hit a jumper for a 69-67 Midway lead, their first since early on in the game.
That's when Coates and Jhawar brought things home offensively for the Pioneers. Coates came up with a big basket for a 69-69 tie. Jhawar, who made 4 of 5 free throws down the stretch, made three on Point Park's next couple of possessions for a 72-71 lead.
Coates followed with a transition basket and was fouled. He made the 3-point play for a 75-71 lead at 3:20.
A 3-pointer by T.J. O'Connor and a big basket by Miller -- with a miss by Point Park in between -- and Midway was ahead, 76-75, with 2:30 to go.
From there, it was three big stops by the Point Park defense and a 3-point play by Jhawar that won the game for the Pioneers. After a miss by Miller, Jordan Stowe found Jhawar at the other end for an inside basket and a foul. He converted the free throw for a 78-76 advantage.
The Point Park defense stymied the Eagles on the next possession and needed to do it again when the Eagles took over with five seconds left still trailing 78-76. Miller drove, but his shot was blocked by Coates -- his third block of the night -- and Stowed chased down the rebound for the victory. Jhawar also had three blocks on the night to join Coates.
