Center Valley, PA (December 15, 2025) - The DeSales University men's basketball team dropped an 84-72 decision to hot shooting Cairn University in non-conference action on Monday evening in Billera Hall.

The Basics

• Final Score: Cairn - 84, DeSales - 72
• Records: DeSales (4-5 Overall); Cairn (9-2 Overall)
• Cairn snaps an 8-game losing streak in the all-time series as the Bulldogs now own an 8-2 all-time vs. the Highlanders.

How it Happened

• A bucket from sophomore Jayden Thomas midway thru the first-half gave DSU a 16-14 lead but that was followed by a 14-3 Highlander run that gave Cairn a 28-19 advantage with 9:34 left in the opening half.
• The lead grew to as many as 12 points before a 10-2 push from the Bulldogs cut the margin down to four points and was three at the break thanks in part to 18 points from Thomas over the first twenty minutes.
• Senior Will Meeker scored first out of the locker room but two straight 3's from Cairn made it a seven-point game.
• Those two 3's sparked a 19-6 spurt that pushed the Cairn lead up to 14 points with 14:52 left.
• The deficit grew to 18 points at the 11:52 mark before a 13-4 run pulled DeSales within nine (72-63) with 5:24 remaining.
• The Highlanders answered pushing the lead back up to 14 points and never looked back late.

Top Bulldog Performers

• Thomas continued his dominant play totaling 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting, adding five rebounds.
• Senior Brendan Boyle and sophomore Luke Keppel each had 11 points to also reach double digits.

For the Foes

• Cairn had five players in double digits led by Ron Ayers, Jaylon Simpson, and Chris Hill each with 15 points.
• Byron Gaskins and Andrew DaCosta added 11 and 10 points respectively.

Inside the Box Score

• DeSales shot 50.9 percent from the field but just 4-for-17 from outside the arc.
• Cairn hit 13 3's, shooting 41.9 percent from beyond the line.
• The Highlanders also took excellent care of the ball with just four turnovers in the game.
• Cairn had a 26-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

Up Next

• DeSales breaks for the holiday and will return to action on December 28th hosting Baruch College in the first day of the Al Senavitis Holiday Tournament.