Langhorne, PA - Cairn University took Baptist Bible College to the very end and, for the second game in a row, could not get a good look in the final seconds to lose 58-56. The Highlanders were in nearly identical situation against Neumann University on Monday, and a very similar result ended tonight's game.
 
The Highlanders found the momentum in the first half when they pulled ahead by seven with 2:09 to play. On two possessions in a row, Jordan Sharpe was fed by Darnell Clowney for a couple huge dunks to ignite the crowd in the Mason Activity Center.
 
Baptist Bible cut the lead to five before the half ended and the two CSAC opponents went into the locker rooms with the score at 25-20. Cairn shot 35% from the field in the first half and held Baptist Bible to 24%. Omar Askia was 4-8 in the first 20 minutes, successfully driving through the lane past the Defenders.
 
Cairn kept a steady lead throughout the first ten minutes, jumping out to a five-point lead and six-point lead thanks to a layup and a three-pointer by Kyle Bonner. Baptist Bible took the lead at the 10-minute mark and from then on the teams exchanged leads until the final minutes.
 
Abe Valentine led the scoring for the Defenders with 14 and was followed by Dan Decker with 13 and Mitch Raup with 12. Half of all of Baptist Bible's shots came from three-point range for 27 points total. Raup scored all his points from beyond the arc going 4-5.
 
Reuben Lacy led the Highlanders with 14 points and six rebounds. JD Zamroz and Darnell Clowney both finished with nine points overall. Cairn was 4-19 from three-point range and 6-9 from the free-throw line.
 
Baptist Bible took a four-point lead with 1:21 to play but Zamroz cut the lead to two after he hit two free-throws. The Defenders got the ball back with 46 seconds to go but their shot from the field missed and Cairn earned the ball on a shot clock violation.
 
With 19 seconds to go Cairn called a timeout to set up a play. The Highlanders were not given any room from the Defenders' defense and a final shot went up highly contested by Darnell Clowney that was not on target.
 
With the loss, Cairn dropped to 1-14 overall and 1-8 in the CSAC. Baptist Bible earned their first win of the season with the result and moved to 1-14 overall and 1-8 in the conference. The Highlanders will next travel to Keystone College this Saturday, Jan. 24, for a 1 p.m. start.