SCRANTON, PA – The Highlanders hit the road, traveling to the Electric City for their first CSAC contest against the Marywood Pacers. A furious second half comeback aside, the Pacers barely edged the Highlanders by a final score of 73-77.
 
The Pacers took a commanding first half lead, thanks in large part to a 5-11 performance from behind the three point line. Junior Julian Collazo took charge offensively in the first half leading the Highlanders with 11 points and two blocks. The Pacers jumped out to an 11 point lead in the first 5 minutes, and held the lead over the entire first half. The Highlanders struggled with turnovers and rebounding, as Cairn notched 8 turnovers and the Pacers tallied 6 offensive rebounds. Justin Dean spurred some offense for Cairn late in the first half with a steal leading to a fast break score to bring the deficit to single digits, but the first half ended with Marywood leading by a score of 25-39.
 
The Highlanders took command of the second half, surging forward to put all the pressure on the Pacers. Cairn outscored Marywood 48-38 in the second period, namely due to 9 steals, a 55.6% mark from three, and 17 bench points. The Highlanders' bench, behind Montay Hood, Clarence Brunot, and Antoine Nunnally put up 17 of the 48 points scored in the second half. In his first action of the season Brunot tallied 7 points on 3-4 shooting to help close the gap between the two teams. In the last minute of play, Highlanders sharpshooting Josh Decker subbed in and within seconds of stepping foot on the court hit a clutch three-pointer to bring the Highlanders within one.
 
In the final seconds, Collazo drove baseline and fed Jordan Koczman, but Koczman's attempt was tipped by the Marywood defender and the Highlanders final effort fell short. Collazo's 17 points and 5 rebounds, and Malachi Hall's 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals led the Highlanders throughout the game.
 
The Highlanders will host Elizabethtown Monday night at 7:00 PM in a non-conference matchup.