POTTERSVILLE, N.Y. – The Cairn University men's basketball team lost, 76-73, on the road at non-conference opponent Word of Life Bible Institute in game one of their weekend doubleheader with the Huskies on Friday evening.
 
Word of Life (2-1) got off to a good start against Cairn (1-1), jumping out to a 7-0 lead just over three minutes into the contest. The Highlanders responded by taking their first lead of the game at the 11:45 mark of the first half after sophomore Tehron Phillips (Philadelphia, PA / The Christian Academy) buried a jumper to give Cairn a 14-13 lead. The game remained close for the majority of the half, until Cairn upped their lead to double digits at 35-22 with 3:15 left in the frame. The Huskies finished the half strong, cutting the deficit to just seven after closing the half with an 8-2 run and trailed 37-30 at the break.
 
In the second half, Cairn held a slim lead until the 11:24 mark when the Huskies regained the advantage with two free throws to lead 50-49. Both teams traded leads and were at a stalemate at 61-61 with 4:21 remaining. Cairn collected a two-possession lead after a jumper and two free throws by senior Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) made it 65-61 with 3:32 remaining. Word of Life proceeded to go on a 6-0 run from there to take a 67-65 lead before Cairn knotted in up again at 67-all with 1:34 left. The Huskies made four free throws from there to hold a 71-67 lead, until sophomore Matt Lucas (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) buried a three to cut the lead to one. Word of Life then drew a foul beyond the arc and made all three of their free throws before Lucas splashed another three to make it 74-73 with 12 seconds left. Word of Life hit two key foul shots and Cairn had one final chance trailing by three with three seconds left, but Rivera's three-point attempt fell short, granting the Huskies the victory.
 
Cairn out shot Word of Life in the contest, 43.6% (24-55) to 41.8% (23-55) and shot 58.8% (10-17) from long range. Lucas led the Highlanders offensively with a career-high 20 points off the bench including a perfect six-for-six mark from long range. Rivera followed in double figures with 12 points and dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Cairn will be back on the court tomorrow for game-two of their doubleheader at Word of Life. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.