LANCASTER, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team lost, 86-62, against non-conference foe Franklin & Marshall College in the first round of the William Marshall Tip-Off Classic, hosted by the Diplomats on Friday evening.
 
Franklin & Marshall (2-0) had the offense working early, jetting out to a 21-9 lead over Cairn (0-1) midway through the first half. The Diplomats got their lead up to 24 (36-12) and held a 44-26 lead at intermission. F&M extended its lead up to 30 (73-43) at its largest point with 6:38 to play, before Cairn cut the deficit down to 20 (73-53) following a 10-0 run capped off by a triple from sophomore Derrick Dolan (Berlin, NJ / Conwell-Egan) with 5:27 remaining. The Diplomats held the edge for the rest of the contest en-route to victory.
 
F&M shot 47.8% (32-67) from the floor compared to a 33.8% (22-65) mark for the Highlanders. The Diplomats were a scorching 44.8% (13-29) from long range and utilized 38 bench points and 26 points off turnovers to put away the Highlanders. Cairn held a slim 43-41 advantage in the rebounding department.
 
Fifth-year Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) led Cairn's scoring output with a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double, both game-highs. Junior Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) added 11 points and a team-high three blocks, while classmate Wes Murray (Reading, PA / Exeter HS) added seven points. Fifth-year Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy) chipped in six points and seven boards.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the floor tomorrow in Lancaster for the consolation matchup of the William Marshall Tip-Off Classic against non-conference adversary Alvernia University, who was defeated by Hampden-Sydney in their first round bout (79-62) of the tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.