ROSEMONT, Pa. – The No. 3 seed Cairn University men's basketball team won, 68-65, in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) semifinals at No. 2 seed Rosemont College on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Highlanders advanced the CSAC Championship game for the third-consecutive season.
 

 

Cairn (16-10) and Rosemont (11-12) battled evenly early in the playoff contest and the Highlanders held a 15-14 lead though eight minutes of play. Both teams proceeded to hit an offensive dry spell, with neither team scoring for three minutes before Rosemont broke the scoring drought on a three-pointer to reclaim the advantage. Cairn then ignited an 8-0 run which included six points from senior Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) to take a six-point lead 23-17) with 6:30 left in the half. The Highlanders took a four-point lead into intermission.
 

 

Neither team could pull away for much of the final 20 minutes, handing the lead back-and-forth to each other and Rosemont boasted a two-point lead (44-42) with 12:48 to play. From that point, neither team held a lead of more than one possession for eight-straight minutes, as Cairn clung to a 59-57 lead with 4:20 left. The deficit remained at one possession after two Rosemont free throws (65-63) with 20 seconds left, giving Cairn the ball with a chance to ice the game with free throws. The Ravens intentionally fouled Highlander freshman Christian Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) to send the youngster to the charity stripe. Rivera proceeded to knock down both clutch free throws to five Cairn a two-possession lead (67-63) with 15 seconds left. Needing a bucket to stay in the game, the Ravens got a look from long range, but the attempt caught iron and junior Noah Mitchell (Leesburg, VA / Toccoa Falls College) collected the rebound, essentially icing the game and sealing a CSAC Championship berth for the Highlanders.
 

 

Cairn shot 44.9% (22-49) from the floor compared to a 42.9% (24-56) mark for the Ravens. Cairn dominated the glass (40-24) and held the edge in the assist department (15-13). 
 

 

Cairn was led offensively by Clark who notched his 11th double-double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds, both game-highs. Clark was 8-for-12 from the field and also snagged a team-high two steals. Clark was followed by sophomore Matt Lucas (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) who dropped 15 points on a game-high five three-pointers, while senior Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) contributed 14 points and dished out a team-high seven assists.
 

 

As mentioned, the Highlanders advanced to the CSAC Championship game for the third-consecutive season. They will travel to Chambersburg on Saturday, February 26, to take on No. 1 seed Wilson College, who defeated No. 5 seed Keystone College, 86-77, in overtime in the second semifinal contest to secure their first CSAC Championship appearance. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.