Williamsport, PA – Cairn hangs on for the win over Penn College.
Cairn (18-6 / 10-2 UNITED EAST) settled into an early rhythm of trading baskets with the Wildcats and got to a score of 5-6. The Highlanders then rattled off 10 straight points including 5 contributed by graduate guard Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, VA / Carlow University). Penn College (4-18 / 3-8 UNITED EAST) responded with a run of their own to knot the game up at 17. Cairn outplayed the Wildcats down the stretch building a 30-21 advantage with just over a minute remaining. Graduate guard Corey Baldwin (Henderson, NC / Averett) padded the Highlander lead by connecting on 2 late triples for Cairn to send the game to the break a 36-24.
Penn College started the second half strong with 4 straight points. Cairn responded with a pair of baskets from graduate guard Ron Ayers (Prince George's County, MD / Stevenson University) and sophomore guard Andrew DaCosta (Bordentown / NJ Bordentown Regional). DaCosta followed this up by converting a 4-point play and lay-up to complete a personal 6-0 run. A pair of lay-ups by Gaskins pushed Cairn's advantage all the way out to 18 points. The Wildcats whittled the lead down to 7 late in the game but the Highlanders held on and secured the win 89-80.
The Highlanders will complete their regular season schedule by hosting Penn State Berks on Saturday February 14th at 1 PM for Senior day.