LANGHORNE, Penn. (Nov. 16, 2018) – The Cairn University men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit here Friday night and outlasted Rutgers University-Camden, 72-68, in a non-conference game.
The Highlanders, 1-2, trailed by 37-28 at halftime and 44-31 three minutes into the second half before starting their comeback. That rally included a 13-point run to tie the game at 44-44, sparked by a three-pointer from junior guard Jeremiah Harris, who had six points in the Cairn spurt. It was capped by a layup and free throw from sophomore forward Justin Dean to knot the score at 44-44.
After battling through several ties, with the last coming at 55-55, the Highlanders took a 58-57 advantage on a trey from senior center Jordan Koczman. The Raptors answered back with a three-pointer by freshman guard
Adam Perry to grab their last lead of the night, 60-58, before Cairn notched a foul shot and then took the lead for good on a layup by Dean, making the score 61-60. The shot was part of a seven-point run, capped by a layup from junior guard Malachi Hall, that put Cairn ahead, 65-60.
Cairn's rally dropped the Scarlet Raptors to 0-3.
Hall paced the Highlanders with 14 points, while Koczman notched 13 points and six rebounds. Junior guard Julian Collazo collected 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Harris and Dean both netted 12 points, while adding 10 and eight boards, respectively. Senior guard Josh Decker scored the other nine Cairn points as the Highlanders nearly placed six players in double digits offensively.
The Highlanders' comeback spoiled a stellar effort by Raptor senior guard
Trai Greer. A first-year Scarlet Raptor who transferred from Holy Family University, Greer scored a game-high 27 points, while adding eight rebounds and four assists.
Junior center
Roy Bond scored 10 points, while freshman guard
Adam Perry notched eight points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard
Ian McCarthy netted seven points and four rebounds, while both sophomore guard
Kyle Goodson Jr. and junior guard
Robbie Brosh added six points. Brosh and senior forward
Chin Akwarandu both grabbed five rebounds for the Raptors.
Rutgers-Camden shot 28-for-65 (43.1 percent) from the floor, while Cairn shot 27-for-62 (43.5). The Highlanders held a 43-36 advantage off the boards.
Rutgers-Camden begins its New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule Tuesday when it hosts Rowan University at 8 p.m.
