BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team won, 78-75, in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action on the road at Bryn Athyn College on Saturday afternoon. The Highlanders connected on 19 three-pointers in the contest, a new school-record for made threes in a single game.
Cairn (10-8, 4-3 CSAC) diverted from its usual in-the-paint centric strategy, venturing to the perimeter to do most of its damage on offense. The Highlanders first 10 made field goals of the contest all came from long range and Cairn held a 37-33 lead at intermission. Cairn junior
Richard Rosas (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster Mennonite) and sophomore
Matt Lucas (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) combined for 21 of Cairn's 37 first half points, all via the long-ball, with Rosas connecting on four consecutive triples over a five-minute span early in the first half, leading the Highlanders with 12 points at the break.
In the second half, Bryn Athyn (2-14, 1-6 CSAC) took its first lead of the contest at the 15:26 mark and had their largest lead of five points (52-47) with 14:01 remaining. However, a quick 11-0 run sparked by three Lucas triples gave the Highlanders the lead at 58-52 with 11:03 left. The Lions crawled back into it in the later stages of the second half, knotting the contest up at 69 a-piece with 3:56 to play. However, senior
Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) scored the next seven points for the Highlanders to grant them a 76-71 lead with 1:03 on the clock. The Lions proceeded to sink four-consecutive free throws to make it a one-point game (76-75) with 24 seconds remaining, before junior
Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) connected on two free throws to give Cairn a three-point advantage with 11 seconds left. The Lions got one more look to tie the game, but their last-second three fell short, giving the Highlanders a gutsy, pivotal CSAC victory.
As mentioned, the Highlanders splashed a school-record 19 triples in the contest, shooting a combined 44.2% (19-42) from beyond the arc. Cairn's 19 three-balls accounted for just below 80% of their total offense (25 total made shots) for the game. The Highlanders also dished out 20 assists in the contest, tied for the most they've had in a game this season.
Cairn was led by Lucas, who registered a career-high 26 points, pouring in eight three pointers and nine total made shots (9-14 from the field). Forker followed with 15 points of his own, including four triples and four assists. Rivera deposited 14 points and dished out a game-high eight assists, while Rosas tied a career-high with 12 points on four threes, all in the first half.
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Wednesday, January 26 when return home to take on the University of Valley Forge in conference action inside the Mason Activity Center at 8 p.m.
