ARLINGTON, Va. – Catholic University men's basketball improved to 7-0 on the season with a commanding 68-53 victory over Marymount on Wednesday night in Virginia.

Four Cardinals scored in double figures, led by 13 points on six-of-10 shooting from Tommy Kelly. Jesse Hafemeister and Brian Herbert each had 12 points while Cephas Wilson-Bahun added 10 for Catholic.

Catholic dominated the game inside the arc, shooting 63 percent from two-point range, scoring 40 points in the paint, and outrebounding the Saints by seven in the victory.

Tied 5-5, Hafemeister knocked down a jumper at the 15:54 mark of the first half to take a 7-5 lead. The Cardinals would not relinquish that lead the rest of the way, leading for 37:55 of Wednesday's contest. Hafemeister's basket sparked a 9-0 run that pushed the Catholic lead to 14-5 after Kelly knocked down a jumper with 11:48 to go in the first.

The Catholic lead hit double figures for the first time at the 10:47 mark as Herbert knocked down a corner triple to put the Cardinals ahead by 11. The Saints took their first timeout of the contest, trailing 23-9 with 8:40 left in the first after Hafemeister hit another jumper 25 seconds earlier.

Another Kelly jumper at the 6:05 mark pushed Catholic's lead to 16 and the lead remained that large at the 4:39 mark with Ethan Hinds' lone bucket of the game. Marymount began to chip away, cutting the deficit to nine with 3:14 left in the half.

Kelly answered with a three to push the lead back to 12, but a 5-0 run trimmed Catholic's lead to seven, and the teams headed into the locker room separated by seven points.

Marymount was within five of the Cardinals after 1:47 seconds of second-half action, but Catholic answered with a quick 8-0 run and took an 11-point lead after a Herbert layup. The Saints were back within five after a James Bell three at the 13:44 mark, but once again it was a 6-0 Catholic run, and the Cards led by 11 with 11:41 to go.

Catholic put the game away with a 10-0 run, spanning more than five minutes. Colby Martins' first bucket of the game came via the three-pointer with 4:04 to play as he pushed the Cardinal lead to 64-47.

One minute later, Kelly hit a jump shot and the Cardinals had their largest lead of the contest at 19 points with 3:01 to play before Catholic closed out a 15-point road victory. 

Continuing to come into his own as a freshman, Herbert made his first career start this evening, picking up 12 points to give him 27 in his last two games. That total is three more points than he scored in the first five games of his career.

With 12 and eight, Hafemeister has scored at least 12 points and grabbed at least six rebounds in all seven games so far this year. He is averaging 15.4 points and 8.4 boards per game.

Catholic will play its first Landmark Conference contest of the season on Saturday at Moravian. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.