CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team lost, 78-65, in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) competition at Clarks Summit University on Saturday afternoon.
 
Clarks Summit (5-11, 2-3 CSAC) jumped out of the gates hot while Cairn (9-7, 3-2 CSAC) struggled to get the offense going in its first road game in over a month, as the Defenders started the contest on a 23-1 run through the ten minutes before the Highlanders burned a timeout. In that ten-minute stretch, the Defenders went 9-11 from the field with three triples. Despite the large early deficit, the Highlanders fought back, scoring 15 points in a row out of the timeout to cut the deficit to 23-16 with 7:39 left in the half. Cairn trailed 38-32 at halftime.
 
In the second half, the Highlanders continued to battle and trailed by just one (49-48) with just over ten minutes remaining. The Highlanders then grabbed the lead off back-to-back threes from juniors Noah Mitchell (Leesburg, VA / Toccoa Falls College) and Richard Rosas (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster Mennonite) to take a 54-49 lead with 9:43 left. Cairn then ignited a 10-5 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 64-54 with 6:30 left in the game. The Highlanders maintained their lead and held a 67-60 advantage with 3:52 left. However, the Defenders got hot on both ends the floor, scoring the next 11 points and forcing three Highlanders turnovers during the 11-0 run to take a 71-67 lead with 23 seconds left. The Highlanders did not lead for the rest of the contest.
 
The Defenders shot a scorching 49% (24-49) from the floor in the contest compared to 38.2% (21-55) for Cairn. Both teams got to the charity stripe significantly, with the Highlanders shooting 66.7% (22-33) for the game while the Defenders posted a 63% (17-27) mark from the line.
 
Cairn was led by Mitchell, who dropped a team-high 13 points on five-of-nine shooting including three triples. Senior Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) followed with 10 points, a team-high four assists and a game-and career high five steals.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Tuesday, January 18 when they travel to Chambersburg looking to get back in the win column against Wilson College at 8 p.m.