CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – The No. 3 seed Cairn University men's basketball team saw their 2021-22 season come to an end following a 77-72 defeat in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship game at No. 1 seed Wilson College on Saturday.
 
No. 1 seed Wilson (18-7, 12-2 CSAC) got out to a hot start, beginning the title game on a 22-6 run over the first nine minutes of the contest. After trailing by 15 (29-14) with seven minutes to play in the first half, Highlander junior Wes Murray (Reading, PA / Exeter) ignited an 8-0 run on his own to cut the deficit to seven (29-22). Senior Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) immediately followed that up by scoring back-to-back buckets to bring Cairn (16-11, 9-5 CSAC) within four (29-25). The Highlanders trailed by five (34-29) at intermission.
 
The Phoenix seized control at the midway point of the second half, increasing their lead to 14 (62-48) at its largest point in the half with 6:17 remaining and held a commanding 12-point advantage (69-57) with just 2:09 remaining in regulation. With CSAC Title hopes seeming slim, the Highlanders nearly pulled off the improbable, starting with a tip-in by junior Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian) and a pair of free throws by Rivera to cut the lead to eight (69-61). Junior Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy) then got another bucket off a Wilson turnover, followed by another layup by Rivera, again off a Wilson turnover, to make it a four-point game (69-65) with 1:05 remaining. The Highlanders then fouled the reigning CSAC Player of the Year, Warrick Godwin Jr to send him to the line. Godwin Jr. missed the front end of the one-and-one scenario, and Forker slammed down two at the other end to cut the deficit to just one possession (69-67) with 52 seconds left. Leading 71-69 with 40 seconds remaining, the Phoenix made one of two free throws to keep the game within one-possession (72-69). The Highlanders could not draw cotton on their next possession and the Phoenix again split a pair at the line to lead by four (73-69) with 12 seconds left. The Highlanders hoisted up a triple on their next trip down the floor, but could not get it to fall and the Phoenix made enough free throws in the final six seconds to close out the contest.
 
Cairn shot 41% (25-61) from the field compared to a scorching hot 50% (27-54) mark for the Phoenix. The Highlanders connected on 44.45 (8-18) of their three-point attempts and narrowly out-rebounded the Phoenix (33-28). The Highlanders dished out 12 assists and forced 15 Wilson turnovers, while committing 17 of their own.
 
Cairn was led offensively by Rivera with a team-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists, playing the entire 40 minutes of the CSAC Title bout. Rivera finished the season averaging 5.8 assists per game, the third-highest mark in program history, while his 151 total assists are the second-most all-time. Rivera was followed by Murray and Cain who each poured in 15 points a-piece. Murray's 15 points were a career-high for the junior. Senior Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) chipped in 13 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Clark finished the season with 315 total rebounds and averaged 13.7 rebounds per game, the third-highest total in the country.
 
The Highlanders, led by eighth-year Head Coach Jason O'Connell, finished the season with a 16-11 record and was 9-5 overall in conference play. The Highlanders advanced to the CSAC Title game for the third-consecutive season and had a record above .500 for the fourth-straight year.