WASHINGTON, D.C. - Jesse Hafemeister scored 22 points, including a late three-pointer, to lead Catholic to a 65-62 victory over Bridgewater on Saturday evening. 

The Cardinals led by 15 at halftime before holding on down the stretch to improve to 9-0 in 2022. The nine-game winning streak is Catholic's longest under Aaron Kelly and the longest since the Cardinals won 10 straight during the 2015-16 campaign. 

The Eagles cut the Catholic lead to 60-59 with 3:15 remaining in the contest. After more than 2:30 without either team adding to its total, Hafemeister stepped into a three from the top of the key with 41 seconds left to put the Cardinals ahead by four. 

The Eagles missed a three on the other end and then fouled to send Brian Herbert to the line to shoot one-and-one with 22 seconds left. The freshman calmly knocked down two free throws to push the Cardinal lead to 65-59. Andy Pack hit a three with 17 seconds left to cut the lead back to three for the Eagles.

Hafemeister went to the line and missed the front end of the one-and-one, but Pack's attempt to tie the game at the buzzer was blocked by Dan Buckley to preserve a Catholic victory. 

The Cardinals led 17-16 after nine minutes of game action before starting to break it open in the first half. A Sean Neylon three at the 9:53 mark pushed the Catholic lead to 22-16 before Hafemeister scored five straight a few moments later to give the Cardinals a 10-point cushion at 27-17. 

Pack hit a three to cut the deficit back to eight before Neylon drilled another triple at the 7:28 mark to put Catholic ahead by 11. The Eagles got it within seven with 2:41 to play, but Catholic ended the half on a 9-1 run, leading 46-31 at the break. 

Bridgewater cut the Catholic lead to six at the 15:25 mark of the second before another Neylon three and a Colby Martins layup extended the lead back to 53-42 with 14:41 remaining. 

An 8-0 Bridgewater spurt made it a 53-50 game with 10:15 to play before Hafemeister ended a scoring drought with a layup at the 8:34 mark. The Eagles cut it to a one-point game with 5:38 to play, but Neylon's fifth three of the game put the Cardinals ahead 60-56 with 3:33 to play. 

Hafemeister registered his third double-double of the season, pulling in 15 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Neylon's performance was his best as a Cardinal to date, scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds. Martins chipped in with 12 points and five assists off the bench for the Cardinals. 

Pack led Bridgewater with 18 points as the Eagles had four players reach double figures. 

Catholic will have more than a week off before returning to action on Monday, December 19th vs. Mount Aloysius in the Holiday Classic.