The Basics

• Final Score: Rosemont 92, Cairn 89..
• Records: Rosemont 11-9, 9-4 CSAC, Cairn 7-13, 3-10 CSAC.
• Fifth straight win sets new program mark for most consecutive victories.
• Marcus Thomas was clutch down the stretch for Rosemont, accounting for the Ravens' final nine points.
• Location: Langhorne, Pa.

How It Happened

• The two teams battled closely in the first 12 minutes of the first half. A jumper from Cairn's Gerroid Doughty knotted the score at 19-19, the 4^th tie score of the contest with 8:03 left on the clock. The Ravens would begin to gather some momentum from that point as baskets by Itay Levy, Kyle Lafferty and Khai Roberts would give Rosemont a six-point 25-19 lead with 6:52 left in the half. Still leading by five (34-29) with 2:46 left in the half, a bucket from Lafferty and a steal leading to a Marcus Thomas three-point play would give Rosemont a 10-point lead, their largest to that point of the contest, 39-29 with 2:20 remaining. After trading baskets the rest of the half, Rosemont would take a 41-31 lead into the break.

• Remembering that Cairn defeated the Ravens in their contest earlier this season at Alumnae Hall (in OT), the Ravens knew that the Highlanders would have something left in the tank. Indeed they did.

• The Highlanders would outscore Rosemont 15-8 to knock down the Ravens' advantage to only three points, 49-46 with 15:51 left on the clock. Two free throws from Jamier Hughes would restore most of Rosemont's lead to put the visitors ahead 57-48 with 14:23 remaining, ending an 8-2 advantage for the Ravens. Again, Cairn would craft a comeback, outscoring Rosemont 18-9 over the next 5:05 to forge the game's fifth tie score, 66-66.

• The Highlanders would make it a 21-9 run to take a three point lead, 70-67 with 7 ½ minutes left, but a Clayton Wolfe three-ball would tie the game for the 6^th time, 70-70.

• From that point the Ravens would work slowly on building a lead, and in fact put together an 11-4 advantage to retake a seven-point lead, 81-74 with 4:22 left. A couple of Cairn three-point buckets would trim Rosemont's lead back to two points, and following a Marcus Thomas bucket, another three-pointer from Cairn would get the home side to within one lone point, 83-82 with 3:07 left.

• Thomas would take over for his Ravens from this point, as he was unstoppable. Starting with a bucket from downtown, he then converted on his next six free throws in six attempts to help salt away the game for Rosemont. Another Doughty three-pointer with 25 seconds left brought the Highlanders within one point, but Thomas's two free throws with 0:07 on the clock put Rosemont ahead by three, and a last-ditch attempt from downtown from Doughty would not fall.

Ravens' Top Performers

• Marcus Thomas matched the 32 points he scored against Cairn earlier this season. He shot 10-for-22 from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. He was credited with five assists, six rebounds and a couple of steals.

• Jamier Hughes had a breakout game, shooting 10-for-19 from the field and 7-for-9 from downtown to add a career-high 27 points to Rosemont's total. He continued showing his strength in the paint, leading Rosemont with seven boards.

• Kyle Lafferty hit on 5-for-8 from the field for 10 points.

 
For the Highlanders

• Seth Brunner hit on 14-for-20 from the field and scored 29 to lead Cairn.

• Gerroid Doughty continued to be a thorn in Rosemont's side, tonight hitting on 10-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc  to score 25.

• Jeremiah Harris scored 12 and Josh Vlna added 11 to round out the double-digit scorers for Cairn.

Stats of the Game

• Cairn converted three more field goals than Rosemont (37 vs. 34), and three more treys (9 vs. 6). The Highlanders may have been perfect from the foul line (6-for-6), but the Ravens more than made up for it, hitting on 18-of-22 chances from the charity stripe (81.8%).

• Cairn was credited with 19 assists vs. 12 for Rosemont.

• Rosemont won the battle for ball control, forcing Cairn to commit 17 turnovers, while the Ravens turned over the ball six times.

• Cairn shot better percentage from the field in total, from downtown, and from the foul line, but it was the Ravens sinking free throws that helped them take this contest.

 
Up Next

• Rosemont will put their winning streak on the line on Saturday when they travel to 1^st-place Gwynedd Mercy, who absorbed their first conference loss of the season tonight in Gwynedd Valley against Neumann, 88-77. The game on Saturday is scheduled for a 2:00pm tip-off.