WASHINGTON — The Catholic University of America men's basketball team fell on Saturday afternoon inside the DuFour Center to Stevens, 76-70, despite a sixth-straight 20-plus point performance by senior forward Jay Howard.

Howard scored 23 points and had a team-high seven rebounds, but Stevens' Spencer Cook went for a game-high 27 points to help the Ducks to the win.

Catholic shot 48-percent from the field, but Stevens was able to make half of its shots and double the Cardinals' output from 3-point land to secure the victory.

The game featured 11 lead changes and eight ties with both teams holding seven-point leads as the largest advantage.

Catholic faced its largest deficit with 1:59 remaining in the game after a Cook layup but the Cards refused to quit. Junior Andre Mitchell answered on the possession with a jumper to bring it back to five, 71-66.

After a missed Stevens free throw, Howard added a jumper of his own to make it a three-point game.

Stevens was able to make its free throws down the stretch however with three-straight points from the charity stripe to bring the advantage back to six with only 15 seconds left.

Mitchell enjoyed a strong game and was second on the team with 17 points and posted a career-high nine assists in 35 minutes.

Catholic now has two days to prep for its clash with Division I Maryland on Tuesday, December 12, at 7 p.m. Fans can get tickets and more information here.

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