Cabrini University basketball home opener ended in a win for the women’s basketball team and a loss for the men’s basketball team on Nov. 23, 2019.
First game of the double header was played by the Cabrini women’s basketball team against the New York University Violets. The Cavaliers looking to increase their record to 4-1 after a loss earlier in the week would play a rematch against the Violets, falling 74-82 in their last match which had been played on March 3, 2019.
The Cavaliers started off strong in the first quarter bringing the score to 10-3 with 6:39 remaining to play in the quarter. However, the Violets were not going to make the game easy for the Cavaliers, fighting back to finish the first quarter ahead of the Cavaliers 21-16.
The beginning of the second quarter the score stayed close, with the Cavaliers catching up to the Violets 21-20 with 8:38 left in the quarter. The quarter remained close until a three point shot from Cassidy Gallagher put the Cavaliers up 27-24, from here Cabrini rallied to score a total of 12 unanswered points. At the end of the quarter the Cavaliers successfully held the Violets to three points scored in the second quarter.
After halftime the Violets were looking to come back and narrow the score with Janean Cuffee scoring for the Violets in the first minute. The Cavaliers then widened the score to 45-27 with 6:04 left in the quarter. The Cavaliers were able to hold a comfortable lead over the Violets for the remainder of the third quarter, finishing ahead of the Violets 51-39.
The Cavaliers were then able to maintain their lead over the Violets keeping a minimum of a seven point lead over the Violets for most of the quarter, finishing the game 74-65.
After the victory over NYU, Cabrini improved their record to 4-1 and will play again on November 26 against the Rosemont Ravens at Rosemont, Pennsylvania.
The second game of the day was played by the Cabrini men’s basketball team. The Cavaliers were looking to break their three-game losing streak in a home game against Scranton. Previously the Cavaliers fell to Scranton 80-90 on Nov. 28, 2018 and the history between these two teams show a back and forth battle with Scranton and Cabrini each winning five games in their 10 game history.
The first half of the game started with Scranton pulling ahead to a 7-2 lead over the Cavaliers, then Cabrini came back and narrowed the score to 9-8 before Scranton pulled ahead. Scranton would pull ahead of the Cavaliers from here widening the score to 41-28 with 4:15 left in the half. Going into half time the Cavaliers trailed Scranton 47-35, with senior Keith Blassingale leading the Cavaliers with 13 points scored in the first half.
Scranton started the second half looking to increase their lead and secure their victory against the Cavaliers, bringing the score to 51-35 with 18:12 left in the game. However, the Cavaliers would rally back with three three point shots from Blassingale narrowing the score to 80-83 with 2:32 left to play. The Cavaliers continued to fight the remaining two minutes, but ultimately fell to Scranton 93-86, with Blassingale scoring 25 points during the second half.
Following Saturday’s loss to Scranton, the Cavaliers will play against Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 3, 2019.
