LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team won, 94-49, in dominant fashion at home in their second-straight NCAA Division III-USCAA crossover matchup with Penn State Brandywine inside the Mason Activity Center on Thursday evening.
"We had four keys to victory heading into the game and we were able to achieve each of them." remarked Head Coach
Jason O'Connell.
"Our No. 1 key was to guard well in transition and we did excellent in that area against a team that has been averaging almost 80 points per game prior to tonight. I was also really pleased with how well we rebounded the ball keeping them to one shot and done."
Cairn (2-2) jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead over Brandywine (1-3) over the first seven minutes of the contest, highlighted by six points in the run by fifth-year
Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing). The Highlanders got the lead up to 22 (40-18) at its highest point in the first half, and took a 40-21 lead into intermission. The Highlanders came out firing on all cylinders in the second frame, connecting on their first four shots of the half to take a 49-24 lead two minutes in. Cairn continued to pour on the offense, shooting 59.5% (22-37) from the field in the second twenty minutes to cruise to victory.
Cairn put forth its second-straight offensive clinic on Thursday evening, compiling a 46.3% (37-80) mark from the field and held Brandywine to a paltry 28.3% (17-60) field goal percentage. The Highlanders dominated the Nittany Lions in the painted area (48-18) and outperformed Brandywine's bench significantly (55-14). Cairn forced 15 Nittany Lion turnovers and scored 16 points off those turnovers, while Brandywine forced six Highlander miscues, scoring no points off said turnovers. The Highlanders handily commanded the rebounding department, grabbing 60 boards compared to 35 for the Nittany Lions, including 20 Highlander offensive rebounds.
Cairn was led offensively by junior
Wes Murray (Reading, PA / Exeter), who poured in a career-high 20 points on a seven-for-eight night from the floor to go along with four three-pointers in just 15 minutes off the bench.
Murray was followed by fifth-year
Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East), who contributed 12 points to pair with a game-high eight assists. Junior
Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge) added 11 points and six rebounds, while Clark snagged a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with eight points and a pair of blocks.
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Monday, November 21 when they compete in their third-straight home contest against non-conference adversary Penn State Berks inside the Mason Activity Center at 7 p.m.
