GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- Rich Dunham tied a career high with 31 points, including 17 coming in the second half to help Gwynedd Mercy rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to knock off Cabrini, 71-69 in the Atlantic East opener for both teams Saturday evening at The Griffin Complex.

Dunham was 11-of-18 from the floor, including a 3-for-6 effort from downtown and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Courtney Cubbage added 14 points, five boards, and a pair of blocks while Jeff Seigafuse totaled a personal-best 11 boards along with eight points, five assists, and three steals.

Gwynedd trailed the entire first half, falling behind as much as 13 points while just shooting over 32% in the period. But they stayed in arm's reach, trailing 39-28 at the break.

The Cavaliers looked to run away with it early in the second half after a three-point play from Billy Warren made it 44-28 for their largest lead of the game. GMercyU responded with a huge 14-2 run over a three-minute span to trim the deficit to just four. The team used another run, this time an 8-0 spurt to build their largest lead at 61-55 with 6:07 to play.

Cabrini swung the momentum back their way, thanks to a 9-0 scoring run of their own. Dunham ended the skid with back-to-back buckets including a big throwdown jam off a steal to get the crowd on its feet.

Now tied a 69-69 with 49 ticks left, the Griffins worked the ball into the post area, where Cubbage drew a foul. He hit both his attempts to a two-point lead with just 5 seconds left. Cabrini had a last-chance effort but Anthony Wright-Downing lost the handle on his drive to the bucket leading to the final horn.

Wright-Downing scored 25 points and had nine caroms for the Cavaliers. DJ Smith kicked in 14 points as he hit four of the team's nine three-pointers.

Gwynedd Mercy took advantage of 23 Cabrini turnovers that led to 29 points.

The team is back in action a week from today when they take on Gallaudet at home in a 2 p.m. start.