LANGHORNE, PA – Cairn Men's Basketball picked up their fifth straight win on Wednesday night in their dogfight with Bryn Athyn, winning 89-79.
 
Bryn Athyn (2-6 / 1-1 UNITED EAST) grabbed the lead early on a three-pointer as senior guard Ashton West (Newport Beach, CA / Clarks Summit University) buried a three of his own to take the lead for Cairn (5-2 / 2-0 UNITED EAST), beginning a 7-3 run for West on his own, adding two layups. Graduate forward Josiah Hardy (Ashburn, VA / Hampden-Sydney) got going with a layup off the offensive glass, a jump shot and another tip-in. West and Hardy each added another layup before the Lions tried to get rolling, tying taking the lead with a three-pointer that fifth year guard Isaiah Coleman (Fontana, CA / Clarks Summit University) responded to with a layup, drawing contact and finishing the three-point-play. West knocked down a pair of free throws with another layup by Coleman to secure the lead back to five points. Senior guard Jonathan Desir (Feasterville, PA / Neshaminy) made a layup and Hardy followed with a three to extend the lead to double digits with two minutes to play. Bryn Athyn formed a threat to the lead with back-to-back threes, but graduate guard Corey Baldwin (Henderson, NC / Averett) kept them at bay with a layup to close the half ahead 43-37.
 
Hardy made a bucket to open the second frame as the Lions began to chop away at the lead, getting it down to three. Hardy got fouled on his next layup, making the free throw with Coleman adding a three to get back to a seven-point lead. The Highlanders kept firing from deep with Coleman hitting another and graduate guard Jaylon Simpson (Atlanta, GA / Belmont Abbey) hitting as well, but Bryn Athyn would get six points of their own in the paint cutting the Highlander lead to two. West powered Cairn forward, scoring eight points down the stretch to bring the lead back to eight. Bryn Athyn got into foul trouble but the Highlanders made their free throws late, continuing to keep their distance from the Lions' attack. Simpson would score the Highlanders' last five points on five free throws to seal their fifth-straight victory, 89-79.
 
Hardy had another big night with 27 points on 11-15 shooting with seven rebounds. West had 23 points with six boards, a block, and two steals. Coleman finished with 19 points including two shots from deep. Desir and Baldwin each crashed the boards effectively, grabbing 10 rebounds apiece. Simpson moved the ball for the Highlanders, dishing out six assists and helping Cairn shoot 50.8% (33-65) from the field on the night.
 
Cairn Men's Basketball will hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday, heading to Notre Dame for a 3:30 p.m. tip off, followed by a Division I crossover at UMBC Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.