BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Point Park's second-half comeback fell short on Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play at West Virginia Wesleyan, as the Pioneers dropped an 82-79 final at the Rockefeller Center.
After trailing by as many as 23 points (72-49) at the 10:31 mark of the second half, Point Park would go on a 21-2 scoring run over an eight-minute stretch to pull within four points with 2:35 remaining in the game. The stretch was highlighted by 3-pointers from
Kaden Warner,
Aidan Anderson and
Aiden Miller.
Wesleyan once against held a double-digit lead (80-70) with 44 seconds remaining, but a Bobcat turnover and two front-end misses on one-and-ones allowed Point Park to pull within one point, 80-79, with 3.1 seconds remaining following a layup by
Brenden Williams. The stretch also included a dunk by
Nazareth Fisher, a layup by Miller, and a three from Warner on the offensive end.
After a pair of free throws by Wesleyan's Michael Batchelor to make it a three-point game, Warner was able to control a long inbounds pass but had to force up an off-balanced three as time expired - allowing the Bobcats to pick up the 82-79 home victory.
Warner finished with a game-high 24 points to go with six rebounds and seven assists to lead Point Park. Miller chipped in a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Williams came off the bench to chip in nine points.
Despite the loss, Point Park outshot Wesleyan by a slim margin (47.4%-to-45.3%). However, the Pioneers were plagued by 17 turnovers (13 in the first half).
Curtis Litton led Wesleyan with 20 points in the victory. Stephen Ovia chipped in 19. Alex Mirhosseini finished the afternoon with 13 points, nine assists and five steals.
Point Park will remain on the road next Wednesday against Glenville State. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Waco Center.
