PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's basketball team won, 81-41, on the road at Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) adversary the University of Valley Forge on Saturday afternoon, completing the season sweep against the Patriots.
 
"The first time we played Valley, we struggled guarding ball screens and rebounding the ball so these two things were points of emphasis heading into the game." remarked Head Coach Jason O'Connell. "We did both at a really high level in today's game, which is why we were able to open it up. Kam was impressive on the glass pulling down 17 rebounds, which was a big reason why we ended +27 in that category for the night.
 
Cairn (12-7, 7-1 CSAC) jumped out to an early 19-10 lead over Valley Forge (1-15, 0-8 CSAC) seven minutes into the contest, before opening it up with a 9-0 run, boosted by five points from sophomore Christian Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) to take a 28-10 lead at the midway point of the first frame. The Highlanders continued to pour on the offense and led by 25 (48-23) at intermission. The Patriots deficit did not come within 25 points for the duration of the contest.
 
Cairn shot 37.2% (32-86) from the field and held Valley Forge to 28% (14-50) shooting, its best defensive output of the season. The Highlanders dominated the rebounding department to a +27 (55-28) advantage, their biggest margin this year. Cairn dominated the paint to a 36-12 advantage, and outpaced Valley's bench to a 30-10 margin.
 
12 different Highlanders registered a point in the bout, led by junior Matt Lucas (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown HS) with a game-high 17 points and five triples. Lucas was followed by fifth-year Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing HS) with 15 points and a season-high 17 boards. Junior Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge) added 12 points, while fifth-year Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) and his brother, Christian, each dished out a game-high five assists.
 
The Highlanders will be back on the hardwood on Wednesday, February 1 when they return home to take on one of the hottest teams in the conference, Clarks Summit University (5-13, 4-4 CSAC), who have won three of their last four conference games, inside the Mason Activity Center at 8 p.m.