MEADVILLE, Pa. – T.J. Heatherington scored a career-high 32 points to lead four Point Park players in double figures and after withstanding a tremendous effort by their Division III counterparts, the NAIA Pioneers hung on for a thrilling, 91-89, victory in the championship game of the Allegheny Invitational on Saturday night at the David V. Wise Center.
Heatherington was named Tournament MVP after scoring 62 points in two games while teammate Jimmy Taylor earned All-Tournament honors. Allegheny senior forward James Ness was also selected to the All-Tournament team after authoring a pair of outstanding games.
Point Park entered Saturday's tilt having topped 100 points in four consecutive games, and looked to get out and run early on the Gators. Allegheny responded to the challenge by turning the tables on the Pioneers' high-octane offense and ripping off the first 11 points of the night. Sophomore D'Andre Corbin ignited the hot start with a pair of inside jumpers while Ness and second-year guard Ryan Stanko supplied buckets of their own to push Point Park on its heels.
Allegheny led by as many as 16 after a three by Stanko gave the Gators a 31-15 lead with nine minutes left in the opening half. The Pioneers' talented offense switched the momentum by piecing together a 27-8 run over the next seven minutes to take a 42-38 lead. Jimmy Taylor, who finished with 19 points, then drilled a three right before the end of the half to give Point Park a 45-39 lead at the break.
Point Park scored 19 of its first-half points off turnovers and had a 12-0 advantage in second-chance points. The team's relentless attack (the Pioneers had 14 more shots in the period) could have signaled trouble for the Blue and Gold in the second, but once again Allegheny responded.
The Gators chipped away at the Pioneers' modest lead and eventually moved in front on a triple by Stanko seven minutes into the frame. Taylor drained a pair of three's for Point Park to help the visitors re-take the lead while the advantage swelled to eight (80-72) with 6:40 to play.
Back-to-back three-point field goals by Stanko pulled the Gators within two, although a series of tough jumpers by Heatherington pushed the margin back to eight. After a lay-up by Corbin, Stanko sank three free throws to bring Allegheny within one point with just over a minute left in regulation, although the Gators would run out of time as the Pioneers success at the charity stripe kept the team's upset-bid at bay.
Once again, Ness was great. He scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 10-of-12 shooting from the foul line. He added a game and career-high 15 rebounds en route to his second double-double of the season.
While Ness delivered his third straight 20-point effort, Stanko manufactured the best effort of his career. The sophomore shooter scored a career-high 27 points while adding a career-high seven boards and two steals. Going 7-of-15 from beyond the arc, Stanko tied a school record for three's in a game that was shared by David Masciola (11/17/95) and Perry Junius (12/10/89).
Devone McLeod and Corbin also scored in double figures. McLeod scored a season-best 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting while Corbin earned his second career double-double. Allegheny's second-year point guard scored 14 points while dishing out 10 assists.
The Gators outscored Point Park, 50-46, in the second half and showed a tremendous amount of resiliency against a team that had won its last two games by an average of nearly 60 points.