RADNOR, Pa. – The Cabrini men's basketball team withstood a late rally to score a 70-64 victory over the visiting Centenary College Cyclones today at Nerney Field House. With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 6-5 on the year, including 4-1 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference.
Five Cavaliers scored in double figures in the win, led by sophomore Tyheim Monroe, who paired 14 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for his Division III leading 11th double-double of the season. Fellow sophomore Jair Green added 14 points, eight rebounds and a trio of monstrous blocked shots.
Freshman Ivan Robinson added 13 points, one more than senior Ace Henry and two more than sophomore Deryl Bagwell. Junior Ryan Charity chipped in with six points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Both clubs exchanged leads in the first half, a stanza that witnessed seven lead changes and nine ties. Trailing by two with five minutes left in the first half, a Green blocked shot led to a Bagwell lay-up, evening the game at 23, the day's final deadlock.
A Charity lay-up extended Cabrini's lead to three before a pair of buckets returned the lead to Centenary. Monroe's offensive rebounds and put back put Cabrini ahead for good at 28-27 with 2:27 left in the half.
A Blue and White lay-up pushed the lead to five before a late Centenary lay-up sent the teams into the half with the Cavaliers holding a slim 35-32 advantage.
The Cyclones wasted little time slicing Cabrini's lead back to 37-35 but the Blue and White answered with a 14-3 spurt, as pair of Robinson free throws extended Cabrini's lead to a game high 51-37 with 14:46 to play.
Centenary continued to chip away at its deficit, cutting the Cavaliers' lead to 63-59 with 3:27 on the clock. A Cyclones three point play whittled the deficit to 65-64 with 37 seconds on the clock.
The Cavaliers never surrendered their lead, as Bagwell, Monroe and Robinson combined to go 5-6 from the charity stripe in the final seconds, while Monroe's final two rebounds of the day held Centenary to one shot oneach of its final possessions.
The Blue and White dominated the glass in the win, outrebounding the Cyclones 57-41, including 16 offensive rebounds, and earned 11 second chance points to just two for Centenary.
Sophomore Rashaan Spencer led the Cyclones (8-5, 4-2 CSAC) with 22 points, while senior Anthony Bailey paired 16 points and 11 boards.
The Cavaliers have little time to enjoy the victory, as they will host Keystone College 1-9, 1-4 CSAC) on Monday at 6:30 p.m.