Abington, PA - Cairn University's men's basketball team earned their first win of the season on the road Wednesday against Penn St.-Abington.

Box Score

It was a very close, hard-fought game all night with back-and-forth play throughout, but it took 6 minutes into the game before the visiting Highlanders held their first lead at 13-12. Cairn would build a 7-point lead, 26-19, by the 9:11 mark before the Lions began to chip away at the visitors lead. Eventually, Abington regained the lead with just over three minutes to play in the first half. A pair of Seth Heinicke free-throws briefly knotted the game at 38-38, but Penn St. quickly scored on its next possession with a 3-pointer. Heincke would pull the Highlanders back to within one point before the teams went into the break with the score 40-41, in favor of Abington.

The second half would seem to be an exact mirror image of the first, with a small twist at the end.

Once again, the Lions held the advantage early on but failed to breakaway from the Highlanders. With just over 5 minutes played in the second half, Seth Heinicke drained a 3-pointer giving Cairn a 53-50 lead. Up to that point, Heinicke was having a solid game with 14 points in 23 minutes of action. For the remaining 15 minutes though, to say Heinicke would catch fire would be an understatement. The dynamic sophomore would score 26 of Cairn's final 32 points!

From the 14:47 mark, leading 53-50, the Highlanders would see their lead build to 8 points at the 12:20 mark, but in similar fashion to the first half, the Lions clawed back and regained the lead at 8:44, 65-67. Penn St. created a 6-point gap twice over the next two minutes, but Heinicke and company battled back from both deficits. Where in the first half the home team held on to the lead, this half the Highlanders were determined to get the better of their opponent.

Down 75-79 with 3:33 remaining, junior guard Aaron Stovall converted a layup to pull Cairn within two points, 77-79. Cairn then forced a turnover and Heinicke would tie the game, for the 7th time, 79-79 at 2:43. Yet another two-point jumper from none other than Heinicke put the Highlanders up 81-79 just as the clock passed the two minute marker.

Cairn's lead wouldn't last though. Darien Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left, giving the home team an 81-82 lead. Cairn's coach, Jason Penley, called a timeout to get his players set for a final play. With Penn St.-Abington unable to stop Heinicke, the Highlanders once again went to their hot-shooter. With 23 ticks left on the clock, the sophomore drained an 18-foot jumper and giving Cairn the lead, 83-82.

Abington wasn't without their chance to steal the game though. With 4 seconds remaining, the Lions had a 14-foot jumper bounce off the front of the rim and into the arms of a grateful Charles Hopkins. Hopkins would make both free-throws at the other end to seal the deal for the Highlanders, 85-82.

Heinicke finished with a career-high 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting, including 5-for-8 from 3-point land. His 40 points are the 6th best single-game performance in Cairn history. He made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. Aaron Stovall and Charles Hopkins both also finished in double digits. Stovall tallied 14 points with Hopkins contributing 10 points to the Cairn cause. Barron Lacy continues to improve his game with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Abington had four players in double figures; Mike Marvin (20), Darien Mitchell (19), Avery Barnes (16), and Max Alton (10).

The win improves Cairn to 1-2 on the season. This Saturday, the Highlanders will get their conference schedule underway with a match-up with Centenary College. The game will be held in Langhorne, Pa and will start at 2pm. Cairn and Centenary split their season series last season with the home team winning both games.   

Note: Jeremy Coleman holds the single-game points record with 48 points against Valley Forge Christian College back on January 22, 2004. He also recorded scores of 45 (in 2004) and 43 (in 2005). Rob Furman, Cairn's all-time point scorer, tallied 44 points in a game in 1968, matching Bill Park's output from a game in 1964. G. Komarnicki racked up 43 agaisnt Eastern Baptist College (now Eastern University) in 1958.