Langhorne, PA - Cairn University hosted Gwynedd Mercy University on Wednesday evening, where they Highlanders nearly stole a win from the Griffins but ultimately fell 85-79. The Highlanders led at the half, 45-39, but the league-leaders were able to outscore Cairn in the second half 46-34.
 
Gwynedd Mercy took the lead back from Cairn in the second half, 47-46, with 15:55 on the clock but the teams traded the lead from there. The Griffins built a four-point lead, 59-55, however a three-pointer from Josh Vlna at the end of the shot clock got the Highlanders back to within one.
 
The Griffins stretched the lead back out to five but Gerroid Doughty II cut the deficit back with a deep three-pointer. The Highlanders later tied the game at 67-67 after a layup from Julian Collazo, assisted by Kyle Bonner. Cairn took the lead 70-69 shortly after with another made three-pointer by Bonner, following a steal by Jordan Sharpe in their own offensive zone.
 
Kyle Bonner co-led the team in scoring with 20 points, going 4-6 from beyond the arc and 7-11 overall. Doughty also finished with 20 points, going 4-11 from three-point range. Chris Uhrich played one of his best games of the season, scoring 13 points and shooting 6-7 from the field with two blocks.
 
With 3:48 left in the game, Chris Uhrich gave Cairn another lead of 72-71 on a made layup, assisted by Zachary Jackson. After the Griffins took a 76-74 lead, Uhrich missed his only shot of the game on an attempted dunk but made up for it on Cairn's next possession with a putback on a missed three-pointer.
 
The Highlanders brought the game to within one point on the following drive with a three-pointer by Kyle Bonner, assisted by Uhrich. Unfortunately those were the last points of the game for the Highlanders, as they couldn't get through the Griffins' defense in the final minute of play.
 
Julian Hyden led the Griffins in scoring with 31 points on 11-14 shooting from the floor and 7-9 from the free throw line. Cedric Elleby scored 16 points, followed by Darnell Artis with 13 points. Overall, the Griffins were 19-27 from the free throw line and 31-57 from the floor.
 
By comparison, Cairn was 9-16 from the free throw line and 30-68 from the floor. The Highlanders shot 54% in the first half and just 34% in the second half. However, Cairn controlled the ball well and had less turnovers than the Griffins (11 to 15). Unfortunately, the Highlanders also found themselves in foul trouble near the end of the game and had two players foul out.
 
With the loss, Cairn dropped to 9-15 overall and 5-12 in the conference. Gwynedd Mercy improved to 18-6 overall and 16-1 in the conference with the win. The Highlanders will play their final game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 20, when they host Summit University.