Gwynedd Valley, PA – The Cairn men's basketball team held a 27-26 lead with 6:27 remaining in the first-half, but the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins ended the half on a 12-5 run to take a 39-31 advantage into the half. In the second-half it was all Gwynedd Mercy as the Griffins pulled away for the 84-67 victory.
 
Despite fouling out with over 12 minutes left in the game, Seil Park was a key cog for the Highlanders' offense with 10 points on the evening. Park put through the first three buckets of the contest to stake Cairn an early 6-0 lead. Fueled by strong play by Park early on, the Highlanders took a 10-2 lead in the first-half. The Griffins countered with an extended 24-6 run to take a 26-16 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the half.
 
It was Park again who stopped the Gwynedd Mercy run with a layup off a pass from Chris Uhrich with 7:58 remaining in the half. Gerroid Doughty II followed Park's layup with a three to bring the Highlanders within five. After a steal by Doughty, Jeremiah Harris knocked down a three of his own and less than 30 seconds later, JD Zamroz followed with a three and the Highlanders took a 27-26 lead with an 11-0 run that spanned 1:31.
 
Cairn's lead was short-lived as Gwynedd Mercy's Wil Davis stepped out and hit a jumper to take the lead back with 6:10 left in the half. Cairn would tie the score at 28-28 with a free throw by Harris, but they would never retake the lead the rest of the way. Rich Dunham made a layup with seconds left on the clock before half-time and the Griffins took a 39-31 lead into the locker room.
 
The second-half belonged to the Griffins as Gwynedd Mercy stretched their lead to as many as 20 points with 3:23 left in regulation at 79-59. The Highlanders pulled to within 12 in the final three minutes, but they could not get any closer as the Griffins held on for the 84-67 victory.
 
Throughout the evening the Highlanders struggled to contain Aaron Goodman, who went 8-11 from the field and led all scorers with 23 points in 20 minutes of play. He also grabbed eight rebounds.
 
Gerroid Doughty II led three double-digit scorers for the Highlanders with 16 points. He was joined by Jeremiah Harris and Seil Park, who scored 15 and 10 points respectively. Harris also grabbed nine rebounds, finishing just one board shy of his second-career double-double.
 
Doughty collected six assists in the game to tie for the team lead with Zachary Dolton.
 
The loss drops the Highlanders to 4-15 on the season and 2-11 in the CSAC. Cairn will next take the floor on Saturday when they host Marywood University at 3:00 p.m. in the Mason Activity Center.