MEDIA, PA – The Cairn Men's Basketball team opened up on the road Thursday night against Penn State – Brandywine, defeating the Lions, 76-66.
Penn State – Brandywine (0-2) struck first, taking a six point lead out of the gate. Senior forward
Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge) got the Highlanders on the board and then cut the lead in half on two jump shots. The Lions would go up seven points before Cairn (1-0) fought back to take the lead by way of five straight points from senior guard
Aytor Alberto (Willemstad, Curaçao / Clarks Summit University) in the form of a made three and pair of free throws with Bradford knocking down a jumper for the lead. Junior guard
Jonathan Desir (Feasterville, PA / Neshaminy) extended the lead to four on a made three with Alberto keeping it there as Penn State – Brandywine answered right back. As the first half wound down, fifth year guard
Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian Academy) knocked down a three along with a jumper and free throw from Bradford for the Highlanders to close the period on a 9-4 run, up 35-28 at the break
Cairn came out of the locker room with momentum as Alberto fired way from deep and a Bradford free throw gave the Highlanders their largest lead of the night at eleven points. Penn State – Brandywine constructed a comeback to get within three points of the visitors. Another Bradford jumper and pair of free throws by Alberto stretch the lead back to seven. Junior guard
Christian Rivera (Cayey, Puerto Rico / Central Bucks East) chalked up a layup following a Lion fast break to try to keep some distance. The Lions took the lead back with about ten minutes to play on a made three and tried their turn at building a lead on the Highlanders. They would only get as far as three points before freshman guard
Carson Starns (Kansas City, MO / Northland Christian) knocked down his second three to tie the game at 57-57. Alberto knocked in two from the free throw line with another jumper from Bradford to push the lead to five. Alberto hit the dagger from behind the arc to go up six and Cairn never looked back. Desir added a three to go up nine while Alberto and Forker added the finishing touches with a pair of free throws apiece. The Highlanders took the opening night victory by a final score of 76-66.
Bradford was the top performer with a double-double is 26 points on 9-13 shooting (69.2%) and 13 rebounds, both one away from tying career-highs in a Cairn jersey for the senior forward. Alberto had 19 of his own on 3-5 shooting from deep and 6 boards. Forker added nine points, making his only three point attempt, with six rebounds and a pair of blocks. Rivera held down the point, scoring 7 with three assists.
As a team, Cairn shot 47.9% on the game (23-48) while knocking down an even 50% from the field in the second half. From behind the arc the Highlanders went 8-19 as a team (42.1%), holding their opponent to 36.6% from the floor and 12.5% from deep. Cairn capitalized with 19 points off of Penn State – Brandywine's 16 turnovers while the Lions tried to take advantage of 10 second-chance points. Cairn's ability to shoot well from deep loomed large against the Lion's 40 points in the paint.
The Highlanders head to Maryland on Saturday to take on Division I Maryland Eastern Shore in an exhibition showdown at 3 p.m.
