Langhorne, PA – The City College of New York men's basketball team's second-half surge fell short as the Beavers dropped a non-conference contest to Cairn University, 87-82, on Sunday evening. The Beavers round out their five-game road trip, standing at 3-4 overall with the loss.
Three Beavers scored in double figures on the night. Freshman Jordan Williams had an explosive night, pumping in a career-high 29 points to lead all scorers and collected five rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Yassine Sakhi followed with 18 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Amir Assani added 12 points, seven rebounds, a game-high six assists, and two blocks.
Freshman Elijah Patterson posted a game-high three blocks, along with four points and five rebounds. Junior Dashaun Galloway tallied eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the loss. Senior Joey Leighton finished the night with nine points, four rebounds, ad two assists.
After being down as much as 24 points in the first half, strong sharpshooting helped the Beavers cut their deficit in half( 65-53) midway through the second half (10:25).
With under eight minutes remaining, a pair of converted free throws by Gallaway capped off an 11-6 scoring run to cut the lead to single digits, 77-68, with 3:32 to go in regulation. Seven unanswered points down the stretch from the Beavers brought the game within five points (80-75).
Cairn converted a free throw to put themselves up by six (81-75) with 1:54 to go. Trailing with 1:43 on the clock, Williams knocked down a clutch three-pointer to bring CCNY within three points (81-78).
Free throws would help Cairn push their lead back up to five (84-79) with 32 ticks on the clock. Williams stepped up again with time expiring, draining a deep three-pointer, narrowing Carin's lead to two points (84-82) with 24 seconds left.
Late free throws would aid Cairn to escape the final segment of the game, securing an 87-82 victory.
Next, the CCNY men's basketball team returns home to the Nat Holman Gymnasium on Friday, Dec. 3, for their 2021-22 CUNYAC opener against the John Jay College Bloodhounds at 7:00 p.m.
