WASHINGTON, D.C. - Catholic (17-3, 12-1) overcame a second half deficit to fend off the Elizabethtown Blue Jays (8-12, 5-8) on Wednesday night in the DuFour Center. Elizabethtown led with 7:30 to play before the Cardinals outscored the Blue Jays 18-8 over that final stretch. 

Trailing 51-50 after a pair of Austin Finarelli free throws with 7:30 to play, Catholic found a quick answer as Jamie Ntiamoah rebounded a CJ Ruoff miss and found Dan Buckley for a wide-open three, pushing the Cardinals back on top just 15 seconds later. Buckley would score the next five points, going on a personal 8-0 run to put Catholic ahead 58-51 after a triple with 4:17 to play. 

Elizabethtown responded, scoring the next six points as Finarelli scored four of those to pull the deficit down to one point with 2:21 remaining. Sean Neylon, quiet for the first 38 minutes, took over on back-to-back possessions, making tough mid-range jumpers to extend Catholic's lead to 62-57 with 1:11 left in the contest. After a Finarelli miss, Justin Green rebounded and set up Googie Seidman for a trip to the line. Seidman made one-of-two, but Rance Russo's shot attempt with 31 seconds left didn't go and Catholic once again was sent to the line. Charley Hepting was the Cardinal at the stripe this time, also knocking down just one of his free throw tries, but a battle for the rebound landed with Seidman and the sophomore put it away with a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left. Russo would score to make it a 66-59 game with 15 seconds left, but a beautifully executed play had Buckley find Ruoff for an open layup to close out the nine-point victory. 

In the first half, Catholic led 11-4 within the first five minutes of the contest, but it was back-and-forth throughout the opening 20 minutes. A Hepting hook shot had Catholic up 28-24 with 1:42 to play in the opening half, but Elizabethtown ended on a 6-0 run with threes from Zuri Harris and Russo to put the Blue Jays ahead 30-28 at the break. 

Buckley was the leading scorer for Catholic with 17 points, adding seven rebounds as well. Aaron Kelly trimmed the rotation down to just eight throughout the tight contest, but Ruoff, Green, and Hepting all served massive purposes, combining for 28 bench points and 12 rebounds. Ruoff and Buckley combined for all six of Catholic's three-point makes.

Russo and Finarelli led the way offensively for Elizabethtown, combining for 36 points, but the pair made just two-of-nine from deep as the Blue Jays were held to 25 percent from three in the contest. EJ Finney was strong as well, posting a line of eight points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. 

QUICK HITTERS

• Ruoff stepped up in a big way, scoring 15 points off the bench in 23 minutes. The junior played his most minutes since December 19 and scored his most points since the second game of the season when he scored 19 against Stockton. 
• Despite playing more than 20 minutes in just four games this season (including tonight), Green, who pulled down nine rebounds tonight, has five games with at least nine rebounds this season. 
• Seidman took just two field goals, making them both and finishing with seven points, but the sophomore added a career-high seven rebounds and chipped in with three steals as well. 
• Catholic improves to 17-3 against Elizabethtown in the Landmark Conference era, winning seven consecutive games, and nine-of-10 at Franny Murray Court. 
• The Cardinals have won seven straight since dropping a 76-71 overtime contest to Drew on January 11. 

Catholic will host Scranton on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both the men's and women's contests will be White Out's with students eligible to compete in a halftime game of Knockout to win Catholic gear.