WASHINGTON, D.C. — It was a night to remember for the Catholic University men's basketball team as the Cardinals downed Goucher, 84-71, to secure the top seed in the Landmark Conference Tournament next week. As the No. 1 seed, Catholic will have a first-round bye and host a semifinal on Thursday, Feb. 22, at a time soon to be determined.
It was an especially memorable night for senior Tommy Kelly, who dropped 25 points to become the 48th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
Kelly was sensational on the night, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from the three-point range, but the senior really came alive in the second half. After having seven points on the board at halftime, he dropped 18 in the second stanza, securing the career milestone by knocking down a pair of three throws with 37 seconds remaining. He was immediately substituted following the second make and honored by the home crowd.
Jesse Hafemeister keyed Catholic's first-half performance and finished with 23 points himself. After Goucher held him to just eight points in the first meeting between these two teams in January, Hafemeister made a statement with a 17-point explosion in the opening 20 minutes. He added three layups in the second stanza to nearly mirror Kelly's stateline, shooting 9-of-14 overall and an identical 4-of-7 from deep.
No. 19 Catholic built the lead to 18 multiple times in the first half before taking a 13-point advantage to the break. The teams broke even after halftime as Catholic secured a 13-point victory, but the final score was closer than much of the second half as the Cardinals led by as many as 22 multiple times, including with under three minutes remaining.
Dan Buckley played well for the Cardinals with six rebounds, four points and an assist while Brian Herbert was also effective, scoring seven points while grabbing two rebounds and contributing two assists. The Gopher trio of Darrell Green (21), Brandon Joseph (19) and Jacob Morgan (16) all scored in double figures and accounted for 78.8 percent of Goucher's scoring.
The loss for Goucher means the Gophers enter the final day of the regular season on Saturday needing to defeat Wilkes to be assured of a berth into the conference tournament. If they fall to Wilkes and Elizabethtown triumphs over Scranton, the teams will both possess a 7-10 conference record. Since the teams split the regular-season series, multiple levels of tie-breaking criterion will be used to determine which team gets the No. 6 seed and the final postseason spot.
Aaron Kelly's team will conclude the regular season with a trip to Williamsport on Saturday. The Cardinals will look to move to 22-3 overall and 16-2 in conference, and most importantly, ride a victory in the conference tournament. Tip-off against Lycoming is set for 2 p.m.
