TOWSON, Md. - Seventeenth-ranked Catholic men's basketball was announced as the favorite to win the Landmark Conference crown after a 22-4 season that saw them win 11 conference games in 2022-23. 

The Cardinals opened the season with a massive non-conference victory over Mary Washington on Wednesday night, defeating the Eagles 60-59. 

Catholic received 81 points in the coaches poll, earning 13 more points than Juniata in second. Susquehanna, Scranton, and Moravian round out the top five of the preseason poll. 

The Cardinals enter the 2023-24 season with six different players who started at least nine games returning for Aaron Kelly's squad. Dan Buckley (26), Jesse Hafemeister (24), Sean Neylon (24) and Tommy Kelly (24) all return after starting more than 20 games a season ago. 

Catholic loses just 654 minutes of more than 5,000 from last year's team with 11 of the 12 top scorers returning from a year ago. A D3hoops.com All-Region 5 First Team selection, Hafemeister returns to lead the Catholic offense alongside the team's second and third-leading scorers in Kelly and Neylon. 

Last night, Hafemeister scored eight points to surpass 1,000 for his Catholic career, making him the 47th Cardinal to reach that mark. Kelly scored 22 and hit five threes while Dan Buckley scored 16 and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the contest. 

The Cardinals will host Stevens on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.