Abington, PA – The Highlanders held a 13-point lead at the half but the Nittany Lions took the game into overtime and won by a score of 84-76. Cairn was shut out by Penn State Abington in overtime 8-0 after giving up a three-point lead with under 20 seconds to play in regulation.
The Highlanders played consistently over the two halves, scoring 38 points in each segment. Cairn outscored Abington 38-25 in the first half but were then outscored 51-38 in the second half. JD Zamroz led Cairn with 24 points, Reuben Lacy followed up with 23 and 15 rebounds.
Abington struck first in the Highlanders' first game in more than three weeks, jumping out to an 11-3 lead. Cairn came back to tie it with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half on a jumper by Aaron Stovall. Cairn took over the game from there and had their biggest lead of the game heading into the locker rooms at the half.
Cairn relinquished their lead less than seven minutes after the start of the second half due to the long-range shooting from Max Alton. Alton went 4-4 in the second half from three-point range and 4-7 in the game.
The Highlanders retook the lead at the 9:37 mark with a layup by Lacy. Some quick play down the court by Zamroz and Kyle Bonner stretched the lead to five a minute later. Bonner finished with 13 points in the game and led the team with four assists. Abington stayed within one point for the next few minutes but led 69-65 with a three-pointer by Devin Jones.
Zamroz then answered with a three and a couple of free throws by Lacy gave Cairn the three-point edge with 16 seconds to play. Dequan Jackson took the ball down the court for Abington and made his layup with three seconds on the clock. Jackson was fouled on the play and he sunk his free throw to send the game into overtime.
Unfortunately the Highlanders had no answer for Abington in the overtime period and will have to fight for their first win of the season on another day. For the Nittany Lions, it was their first win of the season and they move to 1-6 overall.
Aaron Stovall finished with a season-high eight points on his first start of 2014-15. Overall, Cairn shot 41% from the field and 53% from the free-throw line.
Abington was led by Devin Jones with 30 points and Alex Agyedu with 15 rebounds. The Nittany Lions shot 42% from the field and 69% from the free-throw line.
Cairn will play their next game this Monday, Jan. 5, at Lancaster Bible College at 6 p.m.
