LA PLUME, PA – The Cairn University Men's Basketball team made their 5^th straight postseason appearance as the #5 seed facing the #4 Keystone College Giants in La Plume, PA for the United East Women's Basketball Championship – Divisional First Round, falling to the Giants 101-86.
 
#4 Keystone (11-14 / 10-6 Skye Division) got started on a 9-3 run before senior forward Owen Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge) found the paint for back-to-back layups, making the Giants lead only two points. Junior guard Christian Rivera (Cayey, Puerto Rico / Central Bucks East) provided the first lead for #5 Cairn (14-12 / 8-8 Skye Division), 11-10. Keystone took the lead back, pushing the pace and lead up to seven points. Senior guard Aytor Alberto (Willemstad, Curraçao / Clarks Summit University) cut into the lead with a made three followed up by sophomore guard Moses Ilodigwe (Wilmington, DE / Lycoming College) with his own triple.
 
Senior forward Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge) tied the score with a layup after junior forward Chris Eelman (North Haledon, NJ / Hawthorne Christian Academy) grabbed an offensive rebound to keep the possession alive. Bradford would add a jump shot to get the lead back. Junior guard Jonathan Desir (Feasterville, PA / Neshaminy) got on the board with a deep shot followed by layups from O. Bradford and fifth year guard Josh Forker (Telford, PA / Faith Christian Academy) to build a five point lead for the Highlanders. Keystone answered back with a three and pair of free throws to snatch the lead away. Aytor would add three layups to close the half with the Giants answering on a pair of threes along the way as the half closed with Keystone ahead 48-47.
 
Alberto got things started in the second half, knocking down a three. Keystone got on a scoring spree, hitting three triples and a layup to extend the lead to nine. Derian Bradford made a pair of jump shots to attempt to put a dent in the Giants' lead but was answered with another three. With ten minutes to play, the Keystone lead was up to twelve. D. Bradford and Alberto each hit jumpers to make it a 10-point ballgame. The Giants went for the knockout punch, finding the net with another trifecta of threes as the lead climbed to sixteen. Forker responded with a three, followed by Rivera with a mid-range jumper and a pair from Derian Bradford.
 
The late Highlander response was led by Alberto who knocked down another three, jump shot and free throw in the span of a minute. Keystone scored quickly on two layups to garner an 18-point buffer. The Giants would be put on the free throw line to try and regain possession for Cairn, but would put the lead out of reach. Owen Bradford would get two open layups in the last minute of play where he scored his 1,000^th career point and becoming the 28^th and latest member of the Cairn Men's Basketball 1,000 point club.
 
Cairn will graduate Alberto, Derian & Owen Bradford, Forker, and senior guard James Patterson (Marlton, NJ / Collingswood High School) as they look to rebuild for the 2024-2025 season. Their fifth and latest trip to the postseason comes up short, 101-86.