WESTMINSTER, Md. - The McDaniel College men's basketball team continued its best start to a season in school history with a 73-65 win over Cairn Thursday night inside the Gill Center.

The Green Terror (10-1) picked up their eighth-straight win while improving to 6-0 at home this season.

Junior Jonas Sujeta posted his fifth 20-point performance this season and ninth of his career with a game-high 25 points. Graduate student Chuck Contee just missed his fourth career double double with 13 points and nine rebounds while senior Lorin Hall just missed his first with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Junior David Kearney had 12 points and eight rebounds while junior Mikey Ayala Jr. totaled eight points and eight assists as McDaniel's five starters combined for 67 points, 34 rebounds and 12 assists.

The game featured seven ties and 12 lead changes with the Highlanders (6-6) holding a 32-30 halftime lead. Sujeta scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half while Hall added two points and eight rebounds.

With the Green Terror holding a 47-45 advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining, they used an 18-7 run to take their largest lead at 13 points, 65-52 with 3:27 to play. Kearney and Contee each contributed five points during the run while the team went 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Cairn would trim the lead to seven with under two minutes left, but McDaniel made 6-of-8 free throw attempts over the final 1:44 to pick the win in its first-ever meeting against the Highlanders.

The Green Terror went 10-for-15 from the free throw line in the second half while scoring 12 points off turnovers and adding eight second-chance points as they held a 21-14 advantage in rebounds.

Sujeta and Contee each had 10 second-half points while Ayala had four points, five assists and drew three charges.

McDaniel heads to Virginia Beach, Virginia on Tuesday for a rematch with Regent. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. The Green Terror won the first meeting between the non-conference foes in Westminster on Dec. 7, 91-70.