PITTSBURGH Point Park University is the 2023-24 River States Conference champions.
The Pioneers (29-2) made a final defensive stand to outlast St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.), 76-75, in front of a packed crowd on Tuesday night at CCAC-Allegheny. It was the RSC Championship final hosted by No. 1 Point Park with the No. 2 Pomeroys having the final shot to win.
But the Pioneers hung on with a miss by the St. Mary-of-the-Woods (25-6) just before the buzzer. Point Park celebrated with its first conference postseason title in 17 years and the first one since joining the RSC in 2011-12.
Joquarius Valrie (6'5''-F) scored 21 points, and Jalen Stamps (5'10''-PG) added 14 points and four assists to pace four Pioneers starters in double digits.
Nazareth Fisher had another big performance off the bench with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Nathaniel Van and Jamisen Smith added 12 points apiece combining to make five treys.
Cobie Barnes (6'7''-F) and Greg Jenkins (6'2''-PG) each had 19 points for the Pomeroys. Shon Tupuola (6'9''-F) grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots.
The first half and several minutes of the second half had St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) in control. The Pomeroys got out to their biggest lead of 29-17 with 8:53 before the half.
Point Park did pull within 43-37 at the break with Van a big factor in cutting the lead. He had all 12 of his points the first 20 minutes. Fisher and Jordan Stowe (6'5''-F) also gave a lift of the bench to gain some positive traction for the Pioneers.
But the start of the second half was another notch for the Pomeroys. They got the first two buckets of the half to quickly assert a double-digit lead once again at 47-37. SMWC was still up 53-42 approaching the 15:00 mark.
That's when the Pioneers started to turn the tide in their favor with some consistent scoring and stops of defense. Valrie had a fast-break layup right before the under-15:00 media timeout to get it going.
The momentum continue with another basket by Valrie and Smith connecting from downtown. A steal by Stowe and a nice pass to Valrie on the break cut things to 56-53 sending the crowd into a frenzy at 13:02. Stowe was integral in the win with several big plays and energy. He finished with five points, seven rebounds and six assists doing a little bit of everything.
Stamps, who had to sit 10 minutes of the first half with two fouls, came alive for 10 points and some big assists in the second half. He drove in for two and banged a 3 to push the Pioneers in front, 58-57. Stamps then had a huge 3-pointer to break a 65-65 tie.
Point Park continued to separate thanks to Valrie scoring in the paint followed by Fisher getting two inside buckets, and it was 74-67 with just 4:48 to go. Point Park even had its biggest lead of the night, 76-68, when Stamps found Valrie for a jumper at the end of the shot clock.
SMWC did not go away with Barnes and Jenkins pulling them back. Jenkins produced a basket and a foul to get within 76-73. With Point Park trying to kill some clock under a minute to go, a turnover gave Jenkins a fast break layup, and the score was 76-75.
Another turnover with eight seconds gave the Pomeroys a chance to the final shot and the win. But it wasn't in the cards as the shot was no go, and the rebound was batted away as time expired.

Courtesy of riverstatesconference.com

RSC Final: Point Park - St. Mary-of-the-Woods 76-75

RSC Semifinals:
Point Park - WVU Tech 87-63
St. Mary-of-the-Woods - Shawnee State 74-64

RSC Quarterfinals:
Point Park - IU East 86-85
St. Mary-of-the-Woods - IU Southeast 87-60
Shawnee State - Ohio Christian 89-76
WVU Tech - IU Kokomo 83-66

RSC 1/8 Finals:
IU Southeast - Midway 80-70
Rio Grande - IU East 76-78

Player of the Year: Cobie Barnes (6'7''-F) of St.Mary of the Woods
Newcomer of the Year: Cobie Barnes (6'7''-F) of St.Mary of the Woods
Coach of the Year: Jesse McClung of St.Mary of the Woods

All-RSC 1st Team 2024

Barnes

Valrie

Stamps

Hendricks

Harris

First Team
Cobie Barnes (6'7''-F) of St.Mary of the Woods
Joquarius Valrie (6'5''-F) of Point Park
Jalen Stamps (5'10''-PG) of Point Park
Jocobi Hendricks (6'0''-PG) of IU Southeast
Chaze Harris (6'5''-G) of Shawnee St.
Levi Seiler (6'4''-F) of Ohio Christian
Max Newman (6'8''-F) of IU Kokomo
Colt Meyer (6'1''-G) of IU East
Keith Germain (6'5''-F) of Shawnee St.
Braden Chapman (6'2''-G) of WVU Tech

All-RSC Second Team 2024

Robertson

Work

Parker

Hundley

Lauderbaugh

Second Team
Trey Robertson (5'10''-PG) of Rio Grande
Shon Tupuola (6'9''-F) of St.Mary of the Woods
Andrew Work (6'3''-G/F) of WVU Tech
Ashton Parker (6'6''-F) of WVU Tech
Trent Hundley (6'6''-F) of Rio Grande
Lane Lauderbaugh (6'6''-F) of IU Southeast
Taeron Hogg (6'7''-F) of Brescia, KY
Jalen Cincore (6'6''-F) of Midway
Ibrahima Athie (6'6''-F) of IU East
Jared Strickland (6'4''-G) of Alice Lloyd

All-RSC Third Team 2024

Johnson

Muller

Hailey

Jenkins

Beard

Third Team
Tyreke Johnson (6'6''-F) of Shawnee St.
Sam Muller (6'4''-G) of Oakland City
Cory Gardner (6'0''-PG) of Brescia, KY
Thomas Hailey (6'7''-G) of WVU Tech
Greg Jenkins (6'2''-PG) of St.Mary of the Woods
Tre Beard (5'10''-PG) of Shawnee St.
Donnie Miller (6'3''-G) of Midway
Noah Harris (6'6''-F) of IU Kokomo
Jimmy Salamone (5'9''-PG) of Ohio Christian
Titus Burns (6'3''-G) of Ohio Christian