GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball lost, 60-43, on the road at non-conference adversary Gwynedd Mercy University on Monday evening.
Gwynedd Mercy (3-6) held the momentum early in the bout, scampering out to a 15-9 lead midway through the first half in a defensive centric contest. Cairn (5-5) cut the deficit to one (22-21) with 4:04 left to play in the half, before closing the frame on an emphatic 8-0 run, highlighted by four points each by fifth-year
Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) and junior
Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) to take a 29-22 lead into intermission.
After holding a 34-27 lead four minutes into the second half, Gwynedd Mercy answered the call with an 8-0 run of its own to take the lead at 35-34 with 14:34 to play. The Griffins did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the contest, outscoring Cairn 25-9 over the final 14 minutes of play.
Gwynedd Mercy shot 35.7% (20-56) from the field compared to a 31.5% (17-54) mark for Cairn. The Griffins narrowly edged the Highlanders in the rebounding battle (42-35). The Griffins held the edge in bench points (26-11) and shot 88.2% (15-17) from the charity stripe.
Cairn was led offensively by Clark, who tallied 14 points to pair with seven rebounds. Clark was followed by classmate
Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy), who finished in double figures with 10 points on four-of-six shooting.
The Highlanders will now go on a month hiatus for Christmas break before they return to the floor on Monday, January 2 at home to take on non-conference foe Penn State Abington at 3 p.m.
