READING, PA – The Highlanders put together a 57-point first half to fly past Penn St. Berks, 94-68 on Friday night.
 
Graduate guard Chris Hill (Charlotte, NC / St. Augustine's University) got the evening started with a three with classmates Ron Ayers (Prince George's Co., MD / Stevenson) and Jaylon Simpson (Atlanta, GA / Belmont Abbey) adding a layup and three each. With the Highlanders up six, Penn St. Berks (2-10 / 1-1 UNITED EAST) added a mid-range and a three, cutting the lead to one. Sophomore guard Andrew DaCosta (Bordentown, NJ / Bordentown Regional) got to work, hitting a three before a layup and dunk for a seven-point scoring run on his own. Graduate guard Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, VA / Carlow) hit a pair of free throws with a three, boosting the advantage to eleven. Classmate Corey Baldwin (Henderson, NC / Averett) continued his three-point shooting prowess, hitting one to move the needle to fourteen as Hill and DaCosta each hit another as the lead quickly reached twenty-five and things approached getting out of hand for the Nittany Lions. Cairn (8-2 / 2-0 UNITED EAST) finished the half up twenty-six with Gaskins hitting another pair of free throws before the horn.
 
Ayers led the scoring to open the second half, making two layups with a free throw to extend the lead to 68-38. Senior guard Jonathan Desir (Feasterville, PA / Neshaminy) knocked down a pair of threes to continue pushing the pace down the stretch. Cairn continued to run away at the end, with a final score of 94-68.
 
DaCosta took his turn leading the scoring with a team-high 16 points on 50% shooting from the field. Ayers added twelve with six rebounds. Senior forward Andre Burrell, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA / Burlington Co. Tech) swatted four shots along with five boards.
 
Cairn will head to DeSales on Monday before hosting McDaniel on Wednesday afternoon.