Brooklyn, NY – Cairn University suffered their second loss in a row Monday evening after being narrowly defeated by Medgar Evers College in overtime, 80-79. The Highlanders had chances to seal the game in the final seconds of regulation but four missed free throws allowed the Cougars to send the game into overtime.
 
Matthew Lee carried the team for the Cougars with his 44 points and 10 rebounds. Lee hit a jumper with one second on the clock in the second half after collecting his own rebound on a missed free throw. If Lee had made his second free throw the Highlanders would have been up by one point with two seconds left and the ball.
 
Missed free throws were once again a factor for the Highlanders late in the overtime period. Two free throws went off the mark with 11 seconds left that would have given Cairn a one-point lead. Despite the misses, the Highlanders gave themselves a chance by collecting an offensive rebound.
 
However, Cairn could not convert after the rebound as Jordan Sharpe's jumper was blocked by Damani Guscott and Jason Kuntzelman's last second shot missed the basket. The Cougars were ultimately able to capitalize on mistakes by the Highlanders and Cairn had multiple opportunities that were missed out on.
 
Kyle Bonner had a breakout game for the Highlanders as he led the team with 27 points. Kuntzelman finished with 15 points and five rebounds, followed by JD Zamroz with 12 points and Gerroid Doughty II with 10. Sharpe led the team in rebounding with eight; he also had eight points to go along with it.
 
Fouls were also a factor late in the game, as two starters for the Highlanders fouled out and were unable to play in the overtime period. Overall, the Cougars out-rebounded the Highlanders by 10 (54-44) and had a better field goal percentage (41.8%-35.7%) as well.
 
With the loss, Cairn dropped to 4-2 on the year, while Medgar Evers improved to 3-4 overall with the win. The Highlanders will next travel to Rosemont College on Wednesday evening to face the Ravens at 7 p.m.