LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team lost, 66-56, in their return to Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) competition against Rosemont College on Thursday.
 
Cairn (9-6, 3-1 CSAC) started the game with two consecutive triples from junior Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) to take a 6-2 lead just under four minutes in, but Rosemont (3-8, 2-1 CSAC) answered with a 13-0 run to take a 15-6 lead before Forker halted the run with another triple at the midway point of the first half. The Highlanders regained the lead at the 5:36 mark after a three-ball by junior Richard Rosas (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster Mennonite) made it 18-17 in favor of Cairn. The Highlanders took a 24-20 lead into intermission.
 
In the second half, the Highlanders started the frame on an 11-3 run, boosted by two threes from Forker and another one by classmate Noah Mitchell (Leesburg, VA / Toccoa Falls College) to give Cairn its largest lead of the contest at 35-23 with 15:12 left to play. However, the Ravens slowly battled back, cutting the deficit to five (42-37) with 9:29 left to play. From that point, the Ravens connected on back-to-back threes to regain their first lead since the first half at 43-42 with 8:43 remaining. The Highlanders regained the lead after a layup from sophomore Aytor Alberto (Willemstad, Curacao / Clarks Summit) on the next possession, but that would be the last lead of the contest for the Highlanders, as Rosemont finished the contest on a 23-12 run to take command of the contest and claim the victory.
 
The Ravens narrowly out-shot the Highlanders in the contest, 41.8% (23-55) to 39.6% (19-48). Cairn narrowly held the rebounding edge (34-30) and connected on 44.4% (12-27) of its three-pointers. The game came down to the turnover department, with the Raven's forcing 21 Highlanders miscues, compared to 12 Rosemont turnovers.
 
Cairn was led by Forker who tied a career-high with 20 points and connected on a career-high six triples. Forker also dished out three assists in the contest. Forker was followed by classmate Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy) who recorded his third-straight game in double figures with 11 points to go along with six rebounds. Freshman Christian Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) dished out a team- and career high seven assists in his first career start.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Saturday, January 15 when they travel north to take on Clarks Summit University in a conference bout at 3 p.m.