WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Friday afternoon in Hartford, Conn., Catholic and Roanoke will meet to decide a spot in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Quarterfinals. The Cardinals will participate in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in program history while the Maroons reach the Third Round for the first time since 1996. 
 
After reaching the field via at-large bid after a loss in the Landmark Conference Championship Game, Catholic was dominant on the opening weekend of the tournament, blasting the host team Franklin & Marshall by 34 before picking up a 12-point victory over Randolph-Macon in the second round. The Cardinals won each half of the Franklin & Marshall matchup by 17 points, building an early lead thanks to a flurry of threes from Dan Buckley as the senior made five threes in the first half and six in the game to lead all scorers with 22 points. Brian Herbert scored 17 points and pulled in six rebounds while Charley Hepting gave the Cardinals 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists off the bench. 

It was a hot start once again for Catholic versus Randolph-Macon on Saturday as the Cardinals jumped ahead 20-10 after 11 minutes and took a 17-point lead into halftime. The Cardinals executed well at the free throw line, making 29-of-35 with four players making exactly five free throws. Sean Neylon led the way with 19 points while Herbert chipped in with 18 points and six rebounds on just eight shots. This time it was CJ Ruoff with the spark off the bench, scoring 10 points in 21 minutes. 
 
This year's tournament run marks Catholic's 16th appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament and 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Cardinals make a return trip after the winning the Landmark a year ago to earn their first bid into the field since 2016.

In Catholic history, the Cardinals are 19-14 all-time in the Division III Tournament, winning the 2001 NCAA Division III Championship. Catholic reached the Elite Eight in both 2000 and 2001 and appeared in five straight Sweet Sixteens from 1998-2002, sifting through a 23-year drought before its return trip this weekend. Catholic defeated Worcester State in overtime in last year's opening round before dropping a tight one to Rowan in the Second Round. 
The Landmark Conference Player of the Year AND Senior Scholar-Athlete, Neylon has paced the Cardinals in 2024-25. The senior from Delaware leads the team with 16.7 points per game while putting together one of the most prolific three-point shooting seasons in program history. Neylon ranks fifth nationally in three-point percentage, knocking down 46.9 percent of his tries while ranking eighth in threes made with 90. In Catholic single-season history, Neylon's 90 makes ranks him fourth in program history while his percentage ties him for seventh among those with 50 or more attempts from three. Now a two-time all-conference player, Neylon scored 20 or more points 10 times this season, including a career-high 32 points versus Scranton on February 8. Neylon made at least four three-pointers in 13 different games this year. 
Neylon was joined on the All-Landmark Teams by Herbert and Buckley who both earned spots on the second team. Buckley, a senior guard from Jacksonville, Fla. put together the best season of his career to earn the honor. Buckley appeared in all but one contest this season, starting all 28 in which he appeared. The veteran guard plays 31.0 minutes per game and is averaging 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. Buckley's scoring is up from 6.7 to 10.6 points per game and he has recorded 34 more assists than last season in one less game. A strong shooter from deep, Buckley has made more than one three per game this year while making them at a 40 percent clip. Buckley has come on strong over the last month-plus, scoring a career-high 20 points in a win at Susquehanna before besting that in the opening round. He raised his scoring average from 8.1 to 10.6 over the final 13 games of the season. 

Herbert, a junior from Robbinsville, N.J. also has career-highs rolling across the board. The junior has raised his scoring average from 9.0 points per game to 13.8 while grabbing 5.7 rebounds. Herbert set new season-bests in blocks (23) and steals (22) and threes (21). Herbert recorded a pair of double-doubles in 2024-25 while also setting a new career-high with 26 points against Wilkes in the Landmark Conference Semifinals. Herbert has scored 15 or more points 12 times this season, including six of his last seven. Herbert is averaging 16.4 points in his last seven outings, making 63.8 percent of his shots over that time. 
Catholic head coach Aaron Kelly became the sixth coach in Catholic men's basketball history to win 100 games with the Cardinals. Kelly enters the weekend with a career record of 100-41 after victories over Franklin & Marshall and Randolph-Macon, adding him to a group of Fred Rice (177-139, 1911-1930), Tom Young (134-88, 1958-1967), Jack Bruen (110-72, 1982-1989), Mike Lonergan (251-88, 1992-2004), and Steve Howes (276-139, 2004-2019) with 100 victories at Catholic. 
 
The Maroons rallied from 18 points down in the second half Friday afternoon in the first round to post a 71-70 victory over Pfeiffer University. Senior guard Joshua McClary, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, knocked down two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to turn a one-point deficit into the winning margin.

The shoe was on the other foot Saturday as No. 12 CNU trailed Roanoke by 17 in the second half but tied the game in the closing seconds. McClary was again the hero, hitting a 15-foot jumper from the elbow with 4.4 seconds left to put RC ahead 77-75. The Roanoke defense held the Captains on the other end to seal the victory.

• With a 25-5 record overall, Roanoke has its most wins in a season since 1993-94 (26-2).
• Catholic and Roanoke met in December of 2023, with the Cardinals getting the best of the Maroons with a 99-72 victory. 
• The Maroons rank eighth in the country in field goal percentage, making an impressive 48.6 percent of their shots. 
• Roanoke also ranks 10th in scoring margin at plus-14.6 while Catholic ranks 19th at plus-12.8.

Joshua McClary earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in the ODAC and was also named to the All-ODAC First Team. Junior guard Marcus Morgan was the second honoree for Roanoke, grabbing second-team honors. 

McClary is the team's leading scorer at 17.5 points per game, knocking down 46 three-pointers while playing lockdown and opportunistic defense. The guard has nabbed 63 steals this season, including a five-steal performance early in the season. McClary scored 41 points in the two games on the tournament's opening weekend, grabbing 14 rebounds as well. 

Morgan averages 13.2 points per game, shooting 52 percent from the field. Morgan grabs 6.4 rebounds per contest and also has 97 assists this season.