GRANTHAM, Pa. - Catholic shot an impressive 53.3 percent from the floor in Friday evening's 80-73 win over Misericordia at Messiah University, sending the Cardinals to the Messiah Tip-Off final tomorrow. 

The Cardinal trio of Colby Martins (19), Jesse Hafemeister (17), and Sean Neylon (14) combined for 50 of the team's 80 points, leading an efficient offense in Friday's contest. After just missing out on a double-double in the opener, Hafemeister grabbed 10 rebounds to record his first of the season. 

Following suit after Tuesday's red-hot start from the field, Catholic once again filled it up early, taking a 13-3 lead less than four minutes in. Cephas Wilson-Bahun and Hafemeister combined for nine of the 13 with Wilson-Bahun hitting the first of eight Cardinal threes for the game. 

The Cougars used an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to get back within two before ultimately tying the game at 15-15 with 11:23 to play in the half. Catholic proceeded to rip off a 10-2 run, getting threes from Neylon and Hafemeister to make it a 25-17 game with 8:23 to play in the half. 

Ethan Hinds joined the three party at the 7:27 mark and Jack Kouba scored his first points of the game to make it 30-21 Cardinals 18 seconds later. Back-to-back three-point plays from the Cougars got them within three before Joseph Baldachino tied it at 30 with a triple. 

Leading 36-34 with just over a minute left in the half, Catholic added to the margin with a late run starting with a technical foul against the Cougars. Hafemeister hit the technical free throw before Charley Hepting hit a three to make it 40-34. The Cards headed to halftime with a 42-35 advantage. 

Martins and Hafemeister scored to start the second half, getting the Cardinal lead into double figures. Neylon hit a jumper at the 16:03 mark to force a timeout before a Hepting layup gave Catholic its biggest lead of the contest at 55-39. 

Misericordia cut it back to six forcing Aaron Kelly to use a timeout, but Martins hit a three with 11:03 left to extend the lead back to nine. Catholic pushed the lead back to 14 with 9:29 to play as Neylon hit another two-point jump shot. Neylon cashed a three at the 8:05 mark to push the lead back to 15. 

Misericordia used a 7-0 run to get the deficit down to 74-70 with 3:44 left to play, but Martins ended the run with a jumper at the 3:08 mark. Brian Herbert hit a bucket less than a minute later to extend the lead back to eight before Hafemeister pushed it back to 10 with 2:04 to play. 

The Cards shot 42.1 percent from three in the win while the Cougars made just 31.6 percent of their shots from distance. Kevin Lazdowsky (25) and Nate Kreitzer (15) combined for 40 for the Cougars. 

Catholic will play in the Messiah Tip-Off final tomorrow versus the winner of Messiah/Penn State-Abington at 3 p.m.