WASHINGTON, D.C. - Top-seeded Catholic men's basketball advanced to its first Landmark Conference Championship game since 2016 with a 93-88 overtime victory over Wilkes in front of a packed DuFour Center crowd on Thursday night. The Cardinals will face Susquehanna on Saturday afternoon for a Landmark Championship and automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

After Wilkes forced overtime with a furious late rally, the Cardinals outscored the Colonels 15-10 in the extra period to secure the victory. Enzo Sechi started the final five minutes with his fifth three-pointer of the contest 14 seconds in and Catholic never gave back the lead. A Jesse Hafemeister and-one pushed the lead to eight points with 2:54 to go in the extra session, but Wilkes trimmed it back to three with 54 seconds left. Tommy Kelly scored a crucial bucket, blowing past the Wilkes defense to make it 92-87 with 30 seconds left to help ice away the win. 

A Jake Timby three-pointer gave Catholic an eight-point advantage with 1:36 to go in regulation, but Cayden Merrifield and Matthew Davidheiser each hit massive shots to force the overtime period. Merrifield's three tied the game with 14 seconds remaining in regulation, giving Catholic a chance to win it, but the Cardinals turned it over and the game needed five more minutes to decide a victor. 

Wilkes controlled much of the first half, leading by as many as eight before heading into the locker room with a 42-37 lead. Catholic pulled within two late in the half, but the Colonels ended the first 20 minutes on a quick 3-0 run. Lucas Lesko scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half while Sechi drilled three of his five triples in the first half, 

Sechi led the Catholic scoring effort with 21 points, adding five rebounds as well. Three others scored at least 16 points with Hafemeister adding 19, Kelly totaling 18, and Timby scoring 16. Timby put forth a massive effort off the bench, shooting a perfect five-for-five from the field and knocking down all four of his three-point attempts. Kelly dished out six assists for the Cardinals. Brian Herbert added nine points and six boards in 40 crucial minutes for Catholic. 

Both teams were efficient on the offensive end with Catholic shooting nearly 52 percent from the field and better than 52 percent from distance (11-21). The Colonels made 48 percent of their field goals and 46 percent (12-26) of their three-point attempts. Merrifield and Fisher each had 24 for Wilkes in their first-ever Landmark Conference Semifinal. 

Catholic heads to the Landmark Championship game for the first time under Aaron Kelly after falling in the semis three straight times under the sixth-year head man. 93 points is the most scored by Catholic in a Landmark Tournament game and the 11 threes made are also a tournament record for the Cardinals. Sechi becomes the fifth player in Cardinal history to score at least 21 in a Landmark Tournament game joining Bryson Fonville, RJ Dixon, Hafemeister, and Jay Howard. His five three-pointers tie Kyle Phanord for the most by a Cardinal as well. 

Now 23-3, Catholic matches the 2014-15 team for the most wins in the last decade of Catholic men's basketball. A win on Saturday would give Catholic its third Landmark Conference title and most wins since going 25-4 in 2012-13. 

The Cardinals will play for the Landmark Championship on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside the DuFour Center against third-seeded Susquehanna.