Langhorne, PA - The Cairn Highlanders hosted Neumann University on Saturday afternoon in men's basketball hoping to piggy back off of their win on Wednesday night. Unfortunately Cairn could not play to the level that they did in Aston, Pa., earlier this season and lost to the Knights 78-51.
The Highlanders had a chance at the end of the game in their meeting at Neumann to win the game but today the Knights proved too much for the Highlanders. The Knights' athleticism came through to get past the Cairn defense.
Neumann had four players hit double-digits in points; James Butler led the team with 16 points and nine rebounds. Cairn was led by
Darnell Clowney with 13 points and
Reuben Lacy followed with 11 points. Both teams struggled from the free-throw line but Neumann was 30-53 in field goals for 56% in the game.
Cairn started out the game on the right foot going 3-3 and had an 8-2 lead. The Highlanders stayed ahead on good shooting and saw their lead build to 15-8 and 17-12. However, Cairn then went on a six-minute scoreless streak while Neumann went ahead by four 21-17.
The Highlanders came back to tie the game at 23-23 but that would be the last tie score of the game. The Knights started to overpower the Highlanders and get to the basket down low. The two teams headed into the locker rooms with Neumann leading 34-27.
Neumann jumped out to a 12-point lead early on in the second half and the Highlanders just couldn't keep up. The Knights continued to penetrate the Highlanders' defense. Cairn tried to respond with their three-point shooting but it wasn't enough to cut the deficit.
Cairn shot high-percentages like they have all-season but this afternoon they could only get to the free-throw line six times throughout the game. Clowney was 6-11 from the field and had four rebounds, while Lacy was 5-13 shooting and also had four rebounds.
Aaron Stovall was 2-8 and
Kyle Bonner finished 3-5.
With the loss, Cairn dropped to 2-18 overall and 2-12 in the conference. Neumann improved to 12-9 overall and 9-5 in the CSAC. The Highlanders will next travel to the University of Valley Forge on Monday, Feb. 9, to take on the Patriots at 7 p.m.
