MADISON, N.J. - Catholic University men's basketball freshman Tommy Kelly scored a team-high 17 points off the bench as the Cardinals opened their season with a 69-65 road loss at Drew Friday inside Baldwin Gym.

Kelly, the 2019 Frederick County Player of the Year at Oakdale High School, made the most of his opportunities in his collegiate debut as he scored all his points in just 19 minutes. He was 5-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.

Kelly was one of seven freshman who saw significant minutes in their first game for the Cardinals (0-1, 0-1 LC) as the rookies combined for 148 of the team's 200 minutes, 59 out of 65 points and 33 of its 45 rebounds.

Colby Martins, Jesse Hafemeister and Jake Timby each made their first career start while Hafemeister totaled 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds and Timby added 10 points and five rebounds.

Led by nine points each from Martins and Kelly, Catholic built a 37-31 halftime lead. The Cardinals built their largest lead of the game, 35-23, following two free throws from Kelly with 2:42 remaining in the first half.

The second half was a game of runs by both teams with neither able to pull away. After a jumper by Hafemeister put Catholic in front 40-31 with 19:12 left in the second, the Rangers (1-0, 1-0 LC) scored 16 unanswered points to take a 47-40 advantage with 13:12 to play.

The Cardinals responded with a 15-3 run of their own to take a 55-50 lead on a three-pointer by Hafemeister with under eight minutes remaining, but Drew countered with a 14 more unanswered points to go back up by nine, 64-55 with 3:06 left.

An 8-0 spurt by Catholic, capped by a jumper from Kelly, pulled the visitors within one with 1:30 to play, but two free throws by Carter Truby with 12 seconds remaining provided the final margin. The Cardinals missed their final two attempts from the floor and couldn't take advantage of two missed Ranger free throws with seven seconds left.

Sophomore Jack Kouba finished with a career-high five assists while junior Frank Lumaj had four points and three rebounds before fouling out in 21 minutes.

Howard McBurnie, Jr. led the hosts with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

The two teams will battle again on Sunday as Catholic makes it home debut on Franny Murray Court beginning at 2 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on the new Landmark Digital Network.