WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University men's basketball team is set for NCAA Tournament action for the first time since 2016! Catholic recently completed a Landmark Conference Championship season, defeating Susq uehanna, 87-65, to improve its record to 24-3. 

Catholic won its third Landmark Championship in program history to earn an automatic bid into the tournament. While there was no anxiety as to whether the Cardinals would be in the field, whether Catholic would be hosting was in question. The Cardinals were granted the opportunity to host and will welcome Worcester State, Rowan, and Carnegie Mellon to D.C. for the opening weekend.

Rowan and Carnegie Mellon will open the three-game slate at 3:15 p.m. on Friday with the Catholic vs. Worcester State game to follow at 5:45 p.m. The Second Round game is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Saturday in the DuFour Center. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Catholic compiled a record of 24-3, earning a ranking of 14th in the most recent d3hoops.com poll. Catholic survived a thrilling battle on Thursday, February 22 to defeat Wilkes, 93-88, in overtime of the Landmark Conference Semifinals. Catholic was then utterly dominant in the Landmark Championship game, defeating Susquehanna 87-65 in the DuFour Center to earn the third Landmark title in program history. 
Worcester State earned the MASCAC's automatic bid after defeating Bridgewater State in an instant classic. The Lancers' Sam Davies laid it in at the buzzer in overtime to push the Lancers to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history. 

POWERED BY THE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Both teams enter the tournament led by their conference's respective Players of the Year. Catholic is led by four-time All-Landmark First Team selection Jesse Hafemeister who was named Landmark Player of the Year after an outstanding senior campaign to this point. 

Hafemeister joins Jay Howard as just the second player in program history named All-Landmark First Team in four consecutive seasons. Hafemeister adds to a list of career achievements that include conference and regional rookie of the year awards, all-region nods, and various conference and national team of the week selections. 
Currently ranked 14th on Catholic's all-time scoring list with 1,453 points, Hafemeister set a new career high with 454 points, averaging 17.5 points per game this season. Hafemeister averages 5.4 rebounds per game and also set a new career-high with 33 steals. The Mendham, N.J. native is shooting 51/36/83 this season and has knocked down 38 three-point tries. He has scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games this season with his career-high of 38 points set at Wilkes in January. 

For Worcester State, Aaron Nkrumah picked up MASCAC Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. Nkrumah closed out the regular season first in total points with 529, and second in defensive rebounds with 198 while averaging 19.6 points and 8.1 rebounds. He added 66 steals, 65 assists, and 22 blocks on the year. In his best scoring output of the season, Nkrumah tallied 41 points with seven rebounds and four assists in a win over Salem State. 

ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES
Hafemeister and Nkrumah weren't the only representatives of the Cardinals and Lancers to be recognized by their conferences. Hafemeister was joined on the All-Landmark First Team by fellow senior and 1,000-point scorer, Tommy Kelly.

A three-time All-Landmark Second Team choice and two-time Athlete of the Week, Kelly averaged 13.3 points per game and 3.1 assists while shooting 50/43/77 from the field. Kelly went over 1,000 career points in the Goucher game and is currently 43rd on the all-time scoring list. 

Kelly was recently named Landmark Conference Tournament MVP after a 19-point, eight-assist, four-steal performance in the 22-point win over Susquehanna. Kelly scored 10-plus points in 20 games this season, including a season-high 25 vs. Goucher. 

Catholic's Enzo Sechi was named to the Landmark's second team while Worcester State's Ryan Rubenskas was an All-MASCAC Second Team choice. 
A former All-Region selection at Trinity (Texas), Sechi started 24 games for the Cardinals and averaged 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He recorded four double-doubles and put forth a massive 21-point effort in the Landmark Semifinals versus Wilkes. 

Sechi's numbers proved to be even better during Landmark Conference play as he averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 36 percent from deep in 17 Landmark games. 
Rubenskas averaged 15.1 points and nearly nine rebounds per game for the Lancers while shooting 53 percent from the field. The 6-8 senior blocks over two shots per game. 

COACHES CORNER
Not only do both teams enter with their league's players of the year, but both head coaches and their staffs also earned Coaching Staff awards for their efforts in the regular season. Tyler Hundley of Worcester State led the team to a program record 22 wins and the NCAA Tournament a year ago before following it up with a 19-win regular season to earn Coach of the Year honors again. Worcester State has reached the Division III Tournament for back-to-back seasons after going nearly 30 years without an appearance. The Lancers' last trip to the tourney before 2023 was 1994. Worcester State is 82-54 under Hundley. 

Earning his first Landmark Coach of the Year nod in year five with the Cardinals, Aaron Kelly continues to grow the Catholic men's basketball program back to prominence. Kelly's program has improved its win percentage in each season under his watch, crossing the 20-win plateau in 2022-23 and resulting in the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2016 this year. Kelly is 75-35 with 110 career games at the helm of the Cardinals. 

TALE OF THE TAPE

CATHOLIC (Nat'l Rank)	CATEGORY	WORCESTER STATE (Nat'l Rank)
82.4 (66th)	Points Per Game	75.9 (145th)
40.9 (43rd)	Rebounds Per Game	36.7 (227th)
13.0 (237th)	Assists Per Game	14.5 (121st)
1.32 (37th)	A/TO Ratio	1.26 (64th)
9.8 (7th)	TO Per Game	11.5 (64th)
+16.1 (6th)	Scoring Margin	+2.9 (149th)
48.4 (23rd)	Field Goal %	42.6 (259th)
38.2 (15th)	Three-Point %	33.5 (155th)
76.1 (22nd)	Free Throw %	71.9 (124th)
66.3 (45th)	Scoring Defense	72.9 (188th)
39.4 (29th)	Def. Field Goal %	40.7 (64th)

HISTORY IN THE DANCE
Catholic enters the Division III Men's Basketball Tournament for the 15th time in program history and first since 2016. The last time Catholic qualified for the tourney, the Cardinals were defeated in the first round by Endicott. In 14 previous trips, Catholic is 7-4 in the First Round of the Division III Men's Tournament. Catholic began its tournament journeys in the Second Round in 2000, 2002, and 2003. 
Catholic is 16-13 all-time and the 2001 men's team remains the only team in Catholic history to be crowned national champions. 

This will be Worcester State's fourth all-time trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Lancers fell to Middlebury, 76-51. The 1993-94 team qualified and fell to Williams in the First Round. The 1976-77 team qualified and lost to Brandeis before falling to Suffolk in the Regional Consolation Game. Worcester is looking for its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

NEUTRAL SITE NUGGETS

Prior to Catholic vs. Worcester State on Friday at 5:45 p.m., Rowan and Carnegie Mellon will open up the proceedings at 3:15. 

An at-large selection, Rowan is making its 16th overall appearance and third consecutive. An extremely strong team historically in NCAA Tournament action, Rowan is 32-14 all-time in the dance with a 1996 National Championship victory in tow. Rowan is 9-4 all-time in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament with byes to the Second Round in 1993 and 1994. 

Carnegie Mellon also received an at-large bid 2024, making its fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. This is the Tartans' first appearance since 2009. Carnegie Mellon reached the NCAA Tournament in 1977 and 2006 as well.