PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 seed Point Park University dispatched No. 4 WVU Tech, 87-63, in the River States Conference Men's Basketball Championship Semifinals on Saturday from CCAC-Allegheny. 

Jalen Stamps registered career highs of 39 points and nine made 3-pointers while Jo Valrie added a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards to lead the Pioneers (28-2) into the RSC Championship finals on Tuesday, March 5 at home.

Point Park, ranked No. 15 in the NAIA Top 25 Poll, will host No. 2 seed St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College (25-5) for the title. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. from the Pioneers' home court of CCAC-Allegheny.

The Pioneers made their case early as RSC finalists putting up 58 points in the first half versus WVU Tech (18-10). The Pioneers were ahead, 58-30, at the break with Stamps in with 26 points and 8 for 12 from the arc at that point.

Valrie had 13 at the half in what was an impressive-shooting first 20 mintues for the Pioneers. Point Park shot 58 percent overall (19 for 33) and 13 for 22 (59 percent) from long range the opening frame.

The 3-pointers came early and kept coming for the Pioneers. Stamps and Nathaniel Van had each hit twice, and Point Park was up 16-6 after a few minutes. 

Stamps piled two more in a row on top of that for a 22-6 lead with just under 15:00 left in the first half. The senior point guard from Indianapolis, Ind., made five of his first seven trey attempts, including one to make the score 27-8. A big dunk by Nazareth Fisher had the Pioneers leading 31-8 at the 10:04 mark.

Fisher finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Van added eight points and made both of his attempts from the arc.

Before the half was through, Jamisen Smith got in on the long-range party hitting twice in a row for a 47-25 lead late in the half. Smth finished with 12 points and three treys. Stamps added two more on top of that, the second of which gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the night of 29 points, 56-27, just before the break.

The Pioneers punctuated the 58-point first half with Jordan Stowe throwing a football-type inbound pass to Jo Valrie inside the arc at other end, and Valrie laid it in for the bucket. 

Point Park brought the defense in the first half as well holding the Golden Bears to 37-percent shooting. WVU Tech didn't get out of single digits for the first 10 minutes and were shooting 21 percent at that time. The Golden Bears recovered a bit in the second half to shoot 39 percent for the game, but the 10 for 27 the first 20 minutes and 3 for 15 from the arc on the day did not keep up with Point Park.

WVU Tech tried to make a comeback in the second half, but it didn't get closer than 17 points. That was on an emphatic dunk by Ashton Parker and then a layup by Braden Chapman to make the score 71-54 at the 8:50 mark. 

But Point Park responded with Smith and Stamps both hitting a trey and then Stamps driving in for two more, and all of a sudden it was a 10-2 run and an 81-56 lead with just 5:12 to go. 

Chapman and Parker had big games for WVU Tech with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Andrew Work added 10 points.

Point Park dominated the rebounds, 42-27. In addition to Valrie and Fisher with with 10 each, Stamps and Jags Jhawar grabbed five apiece. Jhawar was a presence down low as the 7-2 center blocked four shots and changed many others. 

Stamps' final stat line was tremendous with his 39 points coming on 13 for 24 from the field and 9 for 14 from long range. He also dished six assists and added the five boards. He was just two 3-pointers away from tying the school record of 11 in a single game. Stamps was six shy of the school record for points (45). 

Point Park versus St. Mary-of-the-Woods in the RSC finals pits the top two teams in the conference all year. Point Park won the RSC East Division, and SMWC won the RSC West. The Pioneers won the only meeting between the teams this year, 77-70, at home Jan. 25. Both teams are already in the NAIA National Championship with Point Park in as the RSC regular-season champ. Since Point Park made the finals, SMWC is guaranteed one of the RSC's two automatic bids. 

The RSC Game Central will broadcast live the championship game. Live stats will also be available. Log on to PointParkSports.com for links to available live coverage.