BECKLEY, W.Va. -- No. 9-ranked WVU Tech came back from a 16-point, first-half deficit to defeat visiting Point Park University, 87-73, in a River States Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Beckley-Raleigh Convention Center.
Point Park (8-15, 5-10 RSC) used its hot shooting to build a 31-15 lead midway through the first half. WVU Tech (23-4, 14-2 RSC) forged a 39-39 tie at halftime, and as hot as the Pioneers were in the first half, WVU Tech was just as hot the second half.
The Golden Bears came alive for 63-percent shooting (17 for 27) the final 20 minutes to win the second half, 48-34, and win the game by 14 points. WVU Tech hit 7 of 15 from beyond the arc the second half and connected on many big shots to both build the lead and put the game away after Point Park clawed back.
Daniel King had a big game for Point Park with 22 points and a 6-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. He had three treys by the time Point Park was ahead by 16. Also at that juncture, Asim Pleas and Chance Wright had connected twice each. Wright finished with 13 points on 4 for 7 from deep, and Pleas had 12. They both had 10 points the first half.
Kyle Carrington totaled 10 points for the Pioneers. He did all of his work from inside the arc with 3 for 4 from the floor and 4 for 5 from the foul line. Mark Shehady amassed five assists. His basket with 3:48 remaining cut the Point Park deficit to eight points at 75-67, but WVU Tech hit a couple of outside shots to put the game out of reach.
The Pioneers were ahead, 44-42, on King's long bomb with 17:40 remaining. Then WVU Tech reeled off a quick run scoring 17 straight points over a four-minute span. After shooting 48 percent overall and 8 for 16 from 3-point land the first half, Point Park cooled off a bit to shoot 41 percent and 4 for 12 from long range the rest of the way.
WVU Tech ended up shooting 59 percent for the day, including 52 percent from the outside (12 for 23). Point Park won the turnover battle with 10 turnovers compared to 16 for the Golden Bears. WVU Tech did the job on the glass with a 38-21 edge keeping the Pioneers to one shot at a time.
WVU Tech's Elisha Boone continued his NAIA All-American caliber season with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Point guard Brandon Shingles tallied 17 points and was 5 for 8 from long range. Junior Arrey added 11 points. The bench got a boost with Dominik King tossing in 13 points on 3 for 4 from the outside and Isaiah Morgan making 2 for 3 on his way to eight points.
Despite the loss, Point Park is now assured of an RSC playoff spot given Saturday's results. The Pioneers are currently in the fourth-and-final playoff spot in the RSC East Division and have a 3.0 game lead over fifth-place Ohio Christian with two games left.
NEXT GAME
The Pioneers play a makeup game at Wilberforce (Ohio) on Sunday with a 2 p.m. tipoff in Wilberforce, Ohio. The game was postponed due to weather on Feb. 1. The Pioneers return home for Senior Night on Tuesday, Feb. 12 vs. No. 13 IU East. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. at CCAC-Allegheny.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Follow the Pioneers online at PointParkSports.com and on social media @PointParkSports and @PointParkMBB hashtags #PPUMBB and #PPUHOOPS
