LANGHORNE, PA- With people spilling out of the seams of the Mason Activity Center, the Highlanders and the ever-faithful Cairn Crazies welcomed Rosemont College to town for the championship bout of the Colonial States Athletic Conference.
 
Contending with the thunderous sounds of countless Highlander fans, both teams struggled to get into the flow early on. Sensing the moment, Malachi Hall grabbed a rebound and streaked down the court for the Highlanders first bucket of the night, taking the cap off the rim and allowing the Highlanders to settle in. Jeremiah Harris and Brennan Addley threw the first punch for the Highlanders, knocking down four straight threes to put the Highlanders ahead by 7, a lead they would hold for much of the first half. Rosemont and star guard Keith Blassingale came roaring back towards the end of the first half. Blassingale, who tallied a Rosemont-record 45 points in the CSAC semifinal, made his mark from the outside, knocking down a number of stepback threes from increasingly deep-range to bring the Ravens right back within reach. Blassingale hit another deep three at the end of the first half, putting the Ravens' on top 46-44 headed into the break.
 
The story of the first half for the Highlanders was the early injury of CSAC Player of the Year Julian Collazo. Just seven minutes into the game, Collazo (the heart-and-soul of the Highlanders), landed awkwardly on his right ankle, aggravating an old injury and ruling the junior playmaker out for the remainder of the contest. The Highlanders, led by Jeremiah Harris' sweet-shooting and the overall dominance of Malachi Hall, played their hearts out, attempting to will Cairn to their first CSAC Championship.
 
Although depleted by injury and a rash of foul-trouble, the Highlanders held a two-point advantage, 87-85 with just 3 minutes remaining in the contest. However, two key plays happened within the next 20 seconds that would define the game's dying embers. First, Jeremiah Harris picked up his 5^th foul for the Highlanders, and next Keith Blassingale knocked down two free throws for Rosemont. The exit of Harris, who played a truly stellar game with 18 points on 7-10 shooting, and the return of Blassingale's shooting stroke coincided at exactly the wrong moment. The Rosemont guard, filled with new confidence after being held in check for much of the second half, bounded down the court on the Ravens' next possession and splashed through a final high-arching jump shot to put Rosemont up by 4. The Highlanders drew close as Josh Decker nailed two tough stepback threes to bring Cairn within distance- but when Malachi Hall's final chance went reaching, the Highlanders NCAA tournament hopes officially met their end.
 
Hall wrapped up his excellent season with another outstanding performance: tallying 24 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals on the night. The Highlanders' pair of senior captains, Josh Decker and Jordan Koczman, each ended their careers in terrific fashion. The ever-consistent Koczman finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds, while Decker lit the crowd up with 5 threes to finish with 15 points on the night.
 
While Cairn will not be traveling to Amherst to take part in their first NCAA tournament contest, the Highlanders certainly have nothing to be ashamed of after a record-setting 2018-19 season. The Highlanders finished with the second-most wins in the 68 year history of the Cairn basketball, while also notching the first CSAC regular season title, and boasting the first-ever CSAC Player of the Year (Julian Collazo), CSAC Defensive Player of the Year (Malachi Hall), and CSAC Coach of the Year (Jason O'Connell) in Highlander history. Additionally, the Highlanders continued the revolution started by Cairn soccer, galvanizing the Cairn campus and filling the Mason Activity Center with an eye-popping capacity-plus crowd for the CSAC playoffs. Stay tuned for the spring as Cairn baseball, softball, golf, and tennis make their strides to continue the theme of Highlander excellence in the upcoming weeks!