BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO  — The 15th-ranked Catholic men's basketball team looked to bounce back with a victory over Illinois Tech on Saturday morning in its final game at the Puerto Rico Clasico. The Cardinals absolutely dominated the first half against the Scarlet Hawks, opening up a 30 point lead which allowed them to coast to a convincing 84-48 win.

The Cardinals were highly efficient from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, going 16-for-26 from the field (61%) while on the flipside, the Scarlet Hawks made just six field goals in the half while shooting 23%. Catholic went on an unprecedented run to start the game, outscoring Illinois Tech 29-2 over the first 10 minutes of the game. Five different Cardinals scored during that run including CJ Ruoff who dropped 10 points and Charley Hepting who added seven.

Illinois Tech were able to keep the lead from growing beyond 30, but were still unable to slow Catholic down offensively for the remainder of the half. Alex Welch put an exclamation point on the half by connecting from deep on the Cardinals final possession to send them into the half with a 49-19 advantage.

The Cardinals never allowed the Scarlet Hawks to get the deficit closer than 26 in the second half as the Scarlet Hawks continued to struggle to find consistent offense. Catholic was able to get several different players into the action during the half with 12 different players scoring for the Cardinals in the game. The Cardinals coasted in the second half and closed out an 84-48 win to advance to 8-2 on the season. The 36 point margin of victory is the largest for Catholic thus far this season and its second win by 30 or more points.

Brian Herbert led the Cardinals in scoring with 18 points, while also pulling down six boards and dishing out three assists. Ruoff and Hepting were the other two Cardinals to finish in double figures with 17 and 13 points respectively. Ruoff also came up just two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight while also adding five assists.

Illinois Tech shot just 26% from the field throughout the game, the lowest field goal percentage allowed by Catholic on the season. It is the lowest field goal percentage the Cardinals have held an opponent to since the 2015-16 season (Waynesburg, 24%).

The Cardinals next contest will not be until the new year when they take on No. 5 Mary Washington on Saturday, January 3. Tipoff is set for 2 pm at Franny Murray Court.