WASHINGTON, D.C. - 16th-ranked Catholic men's basketball won its 10th straight game on Wednesday night, defeating Susquehanna 75-67 to take over sole possession of first place in the Landmark Conference. Catholic's victory ended a six-game skid for the Cardinals against Susquehanna. 

Enzo Sechi used a massive second-half effort to lead Catholic with 17 points while grabbing five rebounds. He scored 12 of his team-high 17 in the final 20 minutes. Jesse Hafemeister, Tommy Kelly, and Sean Neylon joined Sechi in double figures with Hafemeister scoring 15 for the Cardinals. 

Leading 41-40 with 17:12 to play, Aaron Kelly's team ripped off an 11-0 run to take a 52-40 lead with 12:46 to play. The run showed Catholic's depth and ability to score up-and-down the lineup with six different players scoring during the run. No stretch was bigger than a crucial six seconds from sophomore Jamie Ntiamoah. Ntiamoah stood his ground and blocked the shot of the 6'8 Billy Anderson. He proceeded to grab the rebound, pass it off to Kelly, and run the floor where he found himself wide-open for a fastbreak layup to put Catholic up 48-40 and force a Susquehanna timeout. 

Catholic took its second-biggest lead of the contest at 59-43 as Neylon knocked in a corner three-pointer off a great feed from Jake Timby. The Cardinals would push the lead as high as 18 as Hafemeister scored to make it 69-51 with 7:30 left in the contest. Dan Buckley pushed Catholic's lead back to 18 at 73-55 with 4:51 to play, all but assuring a Catholic victory. The River Hawks ended the game on a 7-0 run, but the Cardinals were victorious against Susquehanna for the first time since January, 2020. 

The first half was extremely tight as expected with both teams making runs before a late Hafemeister bucket gave the Cardinals a 35-32 edge at the break. The Cardinals built a 10-point lead as Buckley nailed a three with 9:03 to play in the half, but Susquehanna kept chipping away, getting within one point on multiple occasions late in the half. 

The top defensive rebounding team in Division III at 32.7 defensive boards per game, Catholic grabbed 31 defensive rebounds in the contest. Neylon and Brian Herbert each grabbed eight total rebounds in the game while Buckley pulled in six defensive boards. Both teams took particularly good care of the ball, combining for just 17 turnovers in the game. This marks the second straight season in which the Cardinals have ripped off a win streak of 10 games or longer after starting 13-0 in 2022-23. 

Catholic now 16-2 and 10-1 in Landmark Conference play will host Moravian on Saturday afternoon for a Landmark Conference doubleheader.