Box Score Huntingdon, Pa. - The Catholic University of America men's basketball team traveled to top-seeded Juniata in the Landmark Conference Semifinals on Wednesday night and though the Cardinals gave the Eagles all they could handle, they could not pull the upset, 77-70.
Senior Jay Howard led the Cardinals with 17 points and nine rebounds, just missing the double-double as he fought through foul trouble, a lost tooth knocked out in the first half and a knee injury in the second.
Howard finishes his collegiate career with 2,122 points and 727 rebounds. He finishes as the all-time leading scorer in the Landmark, third all-time at Catholic and 14th all-time in DMV basketball history, 25 behind Maryland's Len Bias.
Catholic held a two-point advantage at the half, 33-31, but the 3-pointer proved to be the difference for both teams.
Juniata was able to knock down 42.9-percent (9-of-21) from long range while the Eagles held the Cards to just 4-of-15 from downtown.
Catholic was able to stay in the game as they knocked down 16-of-20 free throw attempts and outrebounded Juniata, 37-29. The Eagles shot just 59-percent from the line and had only six offensive boards to 13 for the Cardinals, but knocked down 53-percent of their shots from the field.
Juniata caught fire to start the second half. After Catholic opened the frame with a 3-pointer, the Eagles went on a 14-0 run to go up by 11 less than five minutes into the second.
Catholic answered with a 9-3 run capped by an And-1 by Howard to bring it to 48-44, but again Juniata had another stretch of 16-4 basketball that pushed the lead to 16 with only seven minutes left.
The Cardinals refused to quit and began clawing away at the lead. Junior Jimmy Golaszewski's first 3-pointer of the game with just under two left made it a 70-63 game. Golaszewski, who hit the triple that sent Catholic to the playoffs, had one more in him and then added a free throw to make it 75-68 with 14 seconds left.
After a Juniata layup, the two team began to trade free throws and defensive stands.
After Juniata went 1-for-2 at the line, Catholic got a layup from sophomore Collin Hartmann to make it a two a two-possession game but with five seconds left and one more free throw from the Eagles, the clock ran out on the Cardinals' season.
Sophomore center Riley Hayes was second on the team with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Seven different Cardinals made the scoresheet with each scoring six-or-more. Six of those players put in eight-or-more in a well-rounded effort.
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