Langhorne, PA - The Cairn men's basketball team defeated the Clarks Summit Defenders 81-68 for their first Colonial States Athletic Conference victory of the season on Saturday afternoon. Cairn used big games from Julian Collazo and Gerroid Doughty II to defeat Clarks Summit and halt a three-game losing streak.
 
Zachary Dolton added a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds to aid in the first conference victory on the season.
 
The first-half was a back-and-forth battle through the majority of the 20 minutes, neither team held a lead of more than four until Gerroid Doughty II hit a three with 7:21 remaining in the period to give the Highlanders a 26-21 lead. The Defenders responded with a three on the next possession but Doughty hit another three to push the lead back the three moments later.
 
Doughty's second three started a quick 10-0 run that pushed the Cairn lead to 12 points with under five minutes left in the half. The run last just over three minutes and was highlighted by seven-straight points from Julian Collazo.
 
After a pair of free throws by Kyron Jones ended the scoreless drought for the Defenders, it was Clarks Summit's turn to go on a run of their own. The Defenders rattled off 12 of the half's final 16 points to close the gap to 40-36 heading into the break.
 
After the half, Cairn scored eight-straight points to start the half and bump their lead back up to 12. Much like they did at the end of the first-half, the Defenders responded with a run to trim the lead down to two with 13:16 remaining in the game.
 
A jumper by Julian Collazo pulled the momentum back to the home team and began a 19-6 run that lasted 7:16 and put the Highlanders in the driver's seat for the rest of the contest. Cairn held their largest lead of the game at 74-59 with exactly six minutes to play.
 
Clarks Summit brought the lead down to eight on two occasions in the final minutes, but the Highlanders held on the 81-68 victory.
 
As mentioned Zach Dolton posted his first career double-double and Doughty and Collazo each went for 21 points. It was the second time this season that the duo has both gone for 20-plus points in the same game.
 
Cairn will become road warriors for the next month as they play five-straight games away from the Mason Activity Center. The Highlanders will travel to Elizabethtown College on Tuesday to take on the Blue Jays at 8:00 p.m.