CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team lost, 57-54, in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action at Wilson College on Tuesday evening.
 
Cairn (9-8, 3-3 CSAC) flipped the script from the start from their last contest, jumping out to a 14-2 lead over Wilson (9-4, 5-0 CSAC) just over eight minutes into the first half. The Highlanders defensive approach caused issues for Wilson throughout the first half, limiting the Phoenix to just 20 points and 32% (8-25) shooting in the first 20 minutes as Cairn took a 31-20 advantage into intermission.
 
Cairn kept its lead at double digits for most of the second half, at its largest getting up to 15 (37-22) at the 16:18 mark. The Highlanders maintained a double digit lead (47-34) with 12 minutes remaining. However, Wilson ignited a 13-0 run from that point, knotting the game up at 47 a-piece with 5:31 remaining and took its first lead of the contest at 49-48 with 4:49 to play. Both teams handed the lead back-and-forth to each other over the final four minutes and the Phoenix had a 54-52 lead with one minute left. Cairn senior Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) converted a layup on the next possession to tie the game with 30 seconds left, before Wilson junior Darryl Garib knocked down the game-winning three pointer from well beyond the arc to give the Phoenix the lead. Cairn had one last chance with less than a second remaining, but the prayer fell short and Wilson earned the victory.
 
Cairn shot 32.4% (22-68) from the floor compared to 35.3% (18-51) for the Phoenix. Wilson held the advantage in the rebounding department (47-37) but the Highlanders held the edge in turnovers, forcing 16 Phoenix miscues. Cairn's 54 points and Wilson's 57 points were the least amount scored by each team this season.
 
Cairn was led by Clark, who was one rebound short of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, both team-highs. Clark was followed by classmate Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East), who also finished in double figures with 13 points.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Saturday, January 22 when it travels to Bryn Athyn College for their second meeting with the Lions this season at 3 p.m.