WASHINGTON, D.C.  — The Catholic men's basketball team moved up three spots in this week's d3hoops.com poll to the 18th-ranked team in the country, it was announced today. The Cardinals have remained in the top 25 in all three polls thus far this season.

The Cardinals got off to a solid start this season with a 5-1 record while also picking up victories in their first two conference games of the season. Catholic is currently riding a four game win streak after capping off a 69-56 win over Marymount (Va.) last week. In the win, CJ Ruoff led the way in scoring with 26 points while Charley Hepting notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Cardinals overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to pick up the win. 

Ruoff has been the driver of the Catholic offense this season so far, leading the team in points per game with 20.3 which currently ranks second in the Landmark. He also leads the conference and is top 40 in the country in assists with 32. 

Brian Herbert has also been a steady scoring presence to start the season, averaging 17.5 points per game while also shooting 84 percent from the charity stripe. He scored a career-high 33 points against Hood earlier in the season. 

Hepting has been extremely efficient on the offensive end to start the season as he is 25-for-33 from the field (75.8%) while also helping the team rank in the top 35 in the country in defensive rebounds per game. 

The Cardinals next game is Wednesday, December 3 when they travel to Juniata for a Landmark showdown with the Eagles. The game is set to start at 7 pm.