Baltimore, MD – Highlanders fall short on the road against Notre Dame of Maryland.

The Highlanders got off to a hot start going on an 11-0 run to start the game. This early Highlander run was fueled by a pair of triples from graduate guard Corey Baldwin (Henderson, NC / Averett).  Notre Dame (MD) (13-9 / 6-2 UNITED EAST) bounced back and shrank the deficit before ultimately sinking a long range shot to take the lead. Cairn (15-6 / 7-2 UNITED EAST) traded baskets with Notre Dame (MD) until the Highlander offense stalled with just over a minute remaining in the first half allowing the Gators to build a 6 point lead entering the break. 

Early in the second half graduate guard Jaylon Simpson (Atlanta, GA / Belmont Abbey) found an offensive rhythm scoring 10 points early in the period to keep the Highlanders within 4 points. Graduate guard Ron Ayers (Prince George's County, MD / Stevenson University) knocked down a triple to cut the lead to 1. With this 3-pointer Ayers crossed the 1000 career point threshold. Ayers kept rolling, knocking down a jumper on the next possession to give Cairn their first lead of the second half. The Gators regained the lead quickly and pushed the advantage to 10. Late triples from Baldwin and Simpson gave the Highlanders an offensive burst but the Notre Dame (MD) lead was too great and Cairn was unable to make up the difference, falling 86-76. 

Cairn continues their United East Conference schedule by going on the road to visit Lancaster Bible College on Saturday January 31st with tip-off at 6 PM.