NORFOLK, Va. – The Cairn University men's basketball team commenced their 2022-23 season on the road, falling by a score of 87-59 at NCAA Division I, and reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier Norfolk State University in an exhibition contest on Wednesday evening.
 
Norfolk State (2-0) jetted out to a 19-0 lead over the first six minutes of the contest, before fifth-year Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) got Cairn on the board with a triple at the 13:21 mark of the first half. The Spartans took a 50-22 lead into intermission.
 
The Highlanders fought back in the second half. After falling behind 73-32 with 11:32 left to play, Cairn ignited a 26-6 run over the next seven minutes to cut the deficit to just 21 (79-58) with just over four minutes remaining.
 
Fifth-year Mizz Nyagwegwe (Norristown, PA / Eastern Mennonite) paced the Highlanders scoring output with a team-high 15 points and four three-pointers. Junior Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) followed with nine points, while classmate Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / Valley Forge) and fifth-year Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy) each chipped in seven points. Bradford added four rebounds and a team-high four assists.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Friday, November 11 when they travel to Lancaster to take on non-conference adversary Franklin & Marshall College in the first matchup of the William Marshall Tip-Off Tournament at 8 p.m.