MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. –  Four Colonials scored in double-figures with three recording double-doubles as RMU (1-1) used a 40-point 2^nd half in its 66-56 victory over Point Park Thursday night at the UPMC Events Center.
 
Markeese Hastings led all players with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Stephaun Walker scored 14 and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds. Jackson Last recorded 10 points and a career-best 10 rebounds and TJ Wainwright added a career-high 17 points in the win.
 
Point Park's Jamisen Smith (19) and Nathaniel Van (14) combined for 33 points for the Pioneers (5-1).
 
After PPU got on the board first, RMU scored the next 11 points, securing its biggest lead of the 1st half at the 14:02 mark.  The Pioneers chipped away at the score and would tie the contest at 16-16 at 8:38 and take their first lead 18-17 after a Jags Jhawer floater capped a 14-4 run at 7:50.
 
The half would see a pair of lead changes and a tie before Van's 3-pointer sent Point Park into halftime with a 31-26 lead.
 
PPU's lead would get as large as 10 points at 18:48 of the 2^nd half and again at 15:31. Last's 3-pointer at 9:03 ended a 16-4 run, regaining the RMU lead at 9:13. The teams would exchange buckets before Alfredo Boglio's jumper at 8:15 put the Colonials ahead for good, as their lead would get as high as 12 points in the game's final minute.
 
"We are tipping our cap to Point Park, Kevin Reynolds does a great job with his team and we credit them with the way they played and the effort they showed," said RMU head coach Andrew Toole. "We picked up our level of intensity in the 2^nd half. Our rebounding was really impactful for us."
 
RMU was a +16 on the glass, out-rebounding PPU 52-36 and outscored the Pioneers 30-16 in the paint.
 
Up next, RMU hits the road for the next two games beginning November 12 at Towson and then at Wisconsin November 17. The Colonials return to the UPMC Events Center November 24 against Jacksonville in the first game of the Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic.

Season tickets for RMU basketball for the 2023-24 season can be purchased by calling the RMU Ticket Office at (412) 397-4949. In addition to a full slate of Horizon League games, the Colonials will also host an MTE Tournament at the UPMC Events Center as part of their 2023-24 non-conference home schedule.
 
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