CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball won, 76-69, on the road at Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) adversary Clarks Summit University on Wednesday evening, moving to 3-0 in conference play this season.
"Games at Clark Summit always end up being a battle." remarked Head Coach
Jason O'Connell.
"Tonight wasn't the prettiest win, but our guys found a way and made some timely plays down the stretch. We started off slow, but our bench came in giving us some really good minutes."
Clarks Summit (1-11, 0-3 CSAC) controlled the pace early, collecting a 13-6 lead just five and a half minutes in before a triple by Cairn (8-6, 3-0 CSAC) junior
Matt Lucas (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) halted the Defender run. Clarks Summit led by as much as eight (28-20) in the first half, but the Highlanders closed the opening 20 minutes on a 17-6 run from that point to take a three-point lead (37-34) into intermission.
The second half momentum swung back-and-forth, and Cairn held that three-point margin with just over a minute to play. The Highlanders closed out the contest, converting five of their final six free throw chances over the last minute to secure the victory.
Clarks Summit narrowly out shot Cairn in the contest, 44.8% (26-58) to 43.5% (27-62). The Highlanders controlled the glass (36-32) and won the bout with their ability to force turnovers, hounding the Defenders for 23 turnovers. Cairn dominated in bench points, outpacing the Defenders, 41-19, in that category.
Cairn was paced on offense by junior
Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge), who posted a team-high 13 points to pair with six rebounds. Lucas and fifth-year
Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) each added 12 points, with Lucas connecting on a team-high four triples, while Rivera dished out a team-high six assists. Fifth-year
Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy) contributed eight points and hauled in a game-high eight boards.
The victory sets up a conference tilt on Saturday, January 14 with conference unbeaten Rosemont College (5-8, 3-0 CSAC), who defeated Wilson College this evening, 61-56. First place in the CSAC standings will be on the line inside the Mason Activity Center at 1 p.m.
