CHESTERTOWN, MD- In the first away game of their young season, the Highlanders lost an overtime heartbreaker, 75-78, against the Shoremen of Washington College.
 
 
No stranger to hard-fought games, the Highlanders fell down early in today's contest trailing by a score of 11-6 after a Josh Porteous three pointer. Cairn battled back behind the usual dynamic play of Julian
Collazo, as the junior hit the boards, slashed to the rim, and dished 3 assists to put the Highlanders back on top. Additionally, Cairn was buoyed by Jordan Koczman's return to form. After a tough outing in their
last game, Koczman's shooting touch returned in a major way, netting his usual elbow jumpers to tally 9 points in the first half. Trailing by 6 points with 6 minutes left in the first half, Cairn mounted an
impressive 17-5 run over the last 6 minutes to pull ahead and enter the half with all of the momentum and a 36-30 lead.
 
Keeping up their excellent play, Cairn scored the first 6 points of the second half to stretch their lead all the way to 12 points, a margin they would hold for nearly the entirety of the second half. The Shoremen brought the score within 8 points, but freshman Antoine Nunnally, who played his best game of the season, scored 6 of the Highlanders next 8 points to stretch the lead to 12 points once more. When Nunnally finished yet another layup the Highlanders led 68-55 with 3:37 to go, a seemingly comfortable lead. However, a myriad of fouls, turnovers, and 7 straight missed free throws allowed the Shoremen to sneak back into the game.  The Highlanders Achilles' heel over the first 3 games has been their free throw shooting and while they've been able to close out their last two wins, missed free throws bit the Highlanders today. When Washington College's Tas Dixon converted an and-1 layup, the Shoremen had officially completed the comeback and sent the game to overtime.
 
While free throws let the Highlanders down over the final minutes, Cairn converted a perfect 6-6 in OT, but a tip in by Shoremen big Dallas Marshall gave Washington College a 78-75 lead. Seeking a game-tying 3 pointer, the Shoremen blanketed Cairn sharpshooter Josh Decker, and Julian Collazo's step-back attempt rattled off the rim, ending the Highlanders 2 game winning streak. Despite the loss, there are many bright spots to take away, particularly another strong game from Collazo with 20, 10, and 5, as well as a double-double from Nunnally with 15 and 10. Jordan Koczman tallied 14 points of his own, Malachi Hall had another 4 steals, and Josh Decker splashed 3 more bombs from long-range.
 
The Highlanders will look to bounce back when they open CSAC play against Marywood University this Saturday at 3:00 PM.