MORRISTOWN, N.J. – The Cairn University men's basketball team battled to a 73-69 overtime victory on the road at Colonial States Athletic Conference adversary Saint Elizabeth University on Wednesday evening. In the win, fifth-year point guard Jesse Rivera (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks East) became the program's all-time leading career assists leader, breaking alum Steve Kilgore's (1983-1987) 36-year record of 439 career assists.
"I'm so proud of Jesse for becoming the all-time assist leader at Cairn." remarked Head Coach Jason O'Connell. "He is a tireless worker who represents our program well both on and off the court. Jesse is a selfless leader who wants the team to be successful and I think that can be seen in him earning this record. I'm honored to have had him in our program over the past five years."
Saint Elizabeth (8-14, 5-8 CSAC) came ready to play, holding Cairn (16-8, 11-2 CSAC) to just six points over the first nine minutes of the contest and held a 14-6 lead. The advantage got as high as 12 (25-13) in the first half, and the Eagles took a 29-22 margin into intermission.
Saint Elizabeth maintained its advantage until the midway point of the second half, before fifth-year Richard Rosas (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster Mennonite) tied the game at 46 a-piece on a triple with 10:23 to play. Both teams traded the lead back and forth, and were deadlocked at 63-all with 1:26 to play. Neither team could buy a bucket over the remaining time in regulation, sending Cairn to its first overtime bout of the season.
In overtime, the Eagles garnered a four-point lead with 2:21 to play, before a conventional three-point play courtesy of fifth-year Dashaun Cain (Wilmington, DE / Red Lion Christian Academy) cut the deficit down to one (69-68) at the 1:55 mark. On its next offensive possession, Cairn reclaimed the lead when Rivera buried a step back free throw line jumper, and drew contact to grant the Highlanders a two-point lead with 1:08 to play. The Cairn lead was three (72-69) down the stretch, and Saint Elizabeth got two offensive possessions in the final 30 seconds with a chance to tie the game. However, Cairn's defensive scheme held firm, forcing two contested Saint Elizabeth looks that resulted in misses to seal the victory.
"Tonight was a battle." remarked O'Connell. "There were multiple times throughout the game that we stuck together, made big shots, and got stops when we had to. It was the definition of a team win tonight. Mizz hit some big shots and was really good defensively, especially down the stretch. Kam was outstanding on the glass, and pulling down 23 rebounds was extremely impressive."
Saint Elizabeth out shot Cairn 40% (26-65) to 34.9% (29-83) in the bout. Cairn out rebounded the Eagles 57-45, including 28 offensive boards. Cairn also won the turnover battle, 15-11.
Cairn was led by fifth-year Mizz Nyagwegwe (Norristown, PA / Eastern Mennonite University), who turned in one of his most efficient outputs of the season with a team-high 17 points on six-of-11 shooting. Junior Derian Bradford (Lansdale, PA / University of Valley Forge) followed with 14 points and seven boards, while fifth-year Kameron Clark (Ewing, NJ / Ewing HS) dominated the glass, tying a career-high with 23 rebounds (including 12 offensive boards) to pair with 12 points. Rivera added 11 points, and his five assists brought his career total to 444 career assists.
The Highlanders will now prepare for their final contest of the regular season on Saturday, February 18, when they take on conference foe Bryn Athyn College (11-13, 5-8 CSAC) inside the Mason Activity Center at 3 p.m. The Highlanders will honor their eight seniors prior to the contest, and a win would clinch the No. 1 seed next week's CSAC Championship Tournament.