LANGHORNE, PA- On Saturday night at the Mason Activity Center, the Highlanders took on the CSAC powerhouse Neumann University Knights to conclude their 2017-2018 season. The Highlanders fought courageously, but the sheer amount of injuries and illness on the Highlanders squad proved to be too much, as they dropped their final contest to the Knights by a final score of 102-74.
The Highlanders were missing 8 players due to injury and illness on Saturday, including their leading scorer Malachi Hall, and looked to other players to help contribute to the scoring effort against Neumann. Seth Brunner was nothing short of excellent, tallying a career high 23 points on top of a 6-9 mark from long range. Jordan Koczman matched Brunner with 23 points of his own on 9-17 from the field.
The loss places Cairn at 8-17 for the season, including a 3-15 record in the CSAC. The good news is that the Highlanders graduated no seniors this year, and will return their entire squad next season. In his first season as a Highlander, Malachi Hall's impact simply cannot be understated, as the sophomore averaged 18.0 points per game on 55.7% shooting, 6.1 rebounds per game, 5.7 assists per game, and 2.13 steals per game. Hall managed these numbers while facing double teams nightly, and often blanketing the opposition's top scoring option as well. Jordan Koczman broke out in his junior year and proved to be one of the CSAC's most formidable big men with 12.1 points per game on 48.5% shooting. Additionally, Antoine Nunnally showed immense potential as a scorer and rebounder, as the freshman nearly averaged a double-double with 10.4 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. Sharpshooters Josh Decker (65 three pointers made, 37.4%) and Seth Brunner (37 threes made, 48.7%) each made a great impact this season from beyond the arc.he Highlanders will likely return Julian Collazo (13.1 points per game in 8 games played), and Jeremiah Harris (9.4 points per game in 2016) to significant roles next season.
The Highlanders will now optimistically look to next season, where they will see the healthy return of Julian Collazo (13.1 points per game in 8 games played), and Jeremiah Harris (9.4 points per game in 2016) to the prevalent roles they played in past seasons, as well as continued growth from each of the members of the 2017-18 team.
