WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 21st-ranked Catholic men's basketball team looked to head into the Thanksgiving break in the win column with a non-conference matchup against Marymount (Va.). Despite a nine point halftime deficit, the Cardinals righted the ship in the second half, scoring 51 points over the final 20 minutes to come away with a 69-56 victory to improve to 5-1 on the season.
In the first half, the Cardinals were held to just 9-for-29 from the field by the Saints to allow Marymount to take a 27-18 lead into the halftime break. Marymount used a 12-2 run over the final five minutes of the half to gain control with Brian Poore making a layup with nine seconds left to cap the first half off.
CJ Ruoff provided the bulk of the scoring for Catholic throughout the half with eight points as a good chunk of the Cardinals scoring came within the paint.
The Catholic offense found its groove in the second half, shooting an extremely efficient 16-for-27 (59%) from the field while also knocking down 15 free throws, after not attempting a single one in the opening half. The lead grew as large as 12 for Marymount in the second half but Catholic chipped away and an 8-0 run with buckets from
Ryan Pegg and Ruoff tied the score up at 37 with 11:38 remaining.
From that point on, the Cardinals outscored the Saints 32-19, using a 12-2 run in the middle portion of the half to come away with a 13-point victory. During the run,
Googie Seidman and Ruoff each converted from deep and
Charley Hepting,
Brian Herbert and
Jamie Ntiamoah came up with the other buckets for the Cardinals. The 51 points scored by Catholic in the second half made it the second time the team has eclipsed 50 points in a half this season.
Ruoff led the Cardinals in scoring with a game-high 24 points while shooting 10-for-17 from the field. It was the third time this season he has surpassed 20 points in a game and he also added four rebounds and three assists.
Herbert and Hepting also broke double-figures in scoring for Catholic with 14 and 13 points respectively. Herbert was sharp from the free throw line, converting on all eight of his chances. Hepting came just one rebound shy of his first career double-double with a career-high nine boards.
The Cardinals have now won five straight contests against the Saints dating back to the 2022-23 season and they are 6-3 against them since 2016.
Catholic returns to the court on Wednesday, December 3 for a Landmark matchup against Juniata on the road. Tip off is set for 7 pm at Memorial Gymnasium.
