LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team won, 71-62, in their Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) regular season finale at home against Saint Elizabeth University on Saturday, marking their fourth-straight victory. With the win, the Highlanders locked up the No. 3 seed in next week's CSAC Championship Tournament and received a bye to the conference semifinals. Before Saturday's bout, the Highlanders celebrated their two graduating seniors,
Joshua Eichenauer (Cleveland, OH / Faith Academy) and
Andrew Aycoth (Greenwood, DE / Greenwood Mennonite).
The game commenced with a slow pace in the early going, with neither team surpassing 10 points until nine minutes into the contest when senior
Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) gave the Highlanders a 10-7 lead. Saint Elizabeth (7-15, 7-7 CSAC) kept the game at a striking distance and took the lead at the 8:23 mark, holding their largest advantage of the half at three points (18-15). Cairn (15-10, 9-5 CSAC) then made its run, going on a 17-2 sprint to regain a commanding 32-20 lead. The Highlanders increased their margin to 13 (36-23) at intermission.
In the second half, Cairn got its lead up to 21 (53-32) at its largest point with 11:30 left in regulation. From that point, the Eagles chipped away at the deficit, getting it down below double digits (60-52) with 4:44 to play. Saint Elizabeth then went on a quick 10-3 burst and was knocking on the door, trailing by just three four at the 2:49 mark. The Highlanders then shut the door on the next possession, as junior
Wes Murray (Reading, PA / Exeter) connected on a clutch three-pointer to extend the lead to six points. The Highlanders then forced five consecutive missed shots by the Eagles to ice the game.
Cairn shot a scorching 49.1% (26-53) from the field compared to a 33.8% mark for the Eagles. The Highlanders dominated the rebounding department, besting the Eagles 46-32 on the glass and double up Saint Elizabeth in total assists (18-9). The Highlanders also tied the second-most blocked shots in a single-game in program history, totaling nine rejections in the contest. 57 of Cairn's 71 points came from its bench and the Highlanders edged the Eagles in second-chance points (19-6).
Cairn was led offensively by junior
Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) who tied a career-high with 20 points, including five triples to go along with a game-high four blocked shots. Clark followed with 13 points and a game-high 21 rebounds, while senior
Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) added seven points and dished out a game-high eight assists. Eichenauer made in impact on the defensive end after getting the start on senior day, earning a career-high three blocked shots in just three minutes of play.
As mentioned, the Highlanders clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CSAC Championship tournament. They will travel to No. 2 seed Rosemont College on Wednesday, February 23 for the right to compete in the conference championship game. Time is TBA.
