Langhorne, PA – #3 Seed Cairn drop Championship game 72-71.
The Highlanders jumped out to a quick 8-3 advantage after 3-pointers from graduate guards
Corey Baldwin (Henderson, NC / Averett) and
Ron Ayers (Prince George's County, MD / Stevenson University). Cairn (21-7 / 11-2 UNITED EAST) defended the lead until the 8-minute mark when Penn State Harrisburg (18-10 / 10-3 UNITED EAST) evened the game at 22. The Lions controlled the remainder of the half, outscoring Cairn 12-4 in the final 8 minutes to enter halftime with a score of 34-26.
The Highlanders came out of the break hot, cutting the lead to 2 after graduate guard
Jaylon Simpson (Atlanta, GA / Belmont Abbey) and Baldwin each connected on a triple. The Lions rallied and pushed the lead back out to 11 points. Another pair of long range shots, this time by graduate guard
Byron Gaskins (Woodbridge, VA / Carlow University) and sophomore guard
Andrew DaCosta (Bordentown, NJ / Bordentown Regional) helped to cut the lead to 4. After this the Highlanders handed the reigns to their leading scorer in Simpson. Simpson delivered 5 points to give Cairn a 1 point edge, but a lay-up with under a minute remaining gave the Lions a lead they held onto for the rest of the game.