TOWSON, Md.  —  The Catholic men's basketball team looked to pick up back-to-back wins for the first time this season in the first Landmark game of the season against Goucher on Wednesday night. In a game where the score was within seven points for both teams for the entire second half, the Cardinals came up with a key run in the final nine minutes of the action to overcome a seven point deficit and capture a 62-56 victory over the Gophers.

The Cardinals found themselves trailing in the second half after a layup from Darnell Morris put the Gophers on top 46-39 with 10:31 remaining in regulation. Catholic grabbed the momentum back and took control of the game over the next several minutes, going on a 17-5 run to take a 56-51 lead with 1:39 remaining. Googie Seidman started the run off by knocking down a three before CJ Ruoff also converted from deep and Jamie Ntiamoah made a layup to tie things up at 49. Ruoff knocked down a jumper to give the Cardinals the lead and they would hold on to it for the remainder of the game.

During the last minutes of the contest, Catholic made life difficult offensively for Goucher as the Gophers shot just 3-for-12 over the final several of the game to help the Cardinals secure the victory. Overall in the second half, the Gophers shot just 34 percent from the field in the second half.

Brian Herbert came up with seven points over the final five minutes to help Catholic secure the win. He made a key bucket with 53 seconds left to give the Cardinals a two-possession lead and Ruoff also knocked down a pair of free throws to seal things up.

The Cardinals started the game off on fire, scoring the first 12 points of the game as Ruoff and Herbert both knocked down triples. The Gophers rallied back however and were able to take a slim one point lead into the halftime break. Catholic knocked down five three-pointers in the opening half with Ruoff and Seidman each knocking down a pair. 

The victory improved the Cardinals record to 3-1 on the young season and they started off Landmark play on the right foot with a 1-0 record. Catholic has now won nine consecutive matchups against Goucher, dating back to the 2021-22 season.

Ruoff led the Cardinals in scoring in the contest with a game-high 17 points while adding in four assists and three rebounds. Three more Catholic players also recorded double figures in points, Herbert (14), Ntiamoah (13) and Seidman (10). 

In addition, Ntiamoah finished just one rebound shy of a double-double with a season and game-high nine rebounds as Charley Hepting also pulled down a career-high tying eight rebounds while also adding three blocks. The Cardinals held a 46-35 advantage on the glass throughout the game. 

Catholic remains on the road this weekend to take on Lycoming on Saturday, November 22. Tip off is set for 2 pm at Lamade Gym.