WILKES-BARRE, Pa.  — The Catholic men's basketball team looked to keep up its winning ways over the past two weeks in a road matchup against Wilkes on Saturday afternoon, after defeating Colonels by 12 earlier this season. The Cardinals built up a 10-point lead during the second half, but the Colonels chipped away over the final eight minutes of regulation to come away with a 68-62 win over the Cardinals to split the season series.

A slow start offensively put the Cardinals behind 10-2 in the opening six minutes of the action, but Jamie Ntiamoah scored four straight points to get the offense rolling. Mason Fedor knocked down a three to put Wilkes on top 20-12, Catholic found its footing offensively over the final seven minutes of the half, going 8-for-12 from the field with a pair of triples to take the lead into the break. Charley Hepting led the way during the 21-11 run with eight points while CJ Ruoff and Brian Herbert each added five points. Catholic took a 33-28 lead into the half after trailing through a good portion of the opening 20 minutes.

Catholic looked sharp coming out of the half as well as a three-pointer from Googie Seidman and a Ruoff layup put the Cardinals ahead 40-28 with 16:34 remaining in the contest. The Cardinals opened up a lead as large as 15 points in the second half. Hepting knocked down a jumper with 6:47 left to have Catholic up by 10 but fortunes shifted in favor of Wilkes from that point forward. 

Over the final 6:10 of the game, the Colonels offense clicked unlike for the majority of the action as they went 7-for-9 from the field and outscored the Cardinals 22-6 to steal the victory. Jack Argento made a jump shot with 2:56 remaining to give Wilkes a 59-58 lead and it protected that lead until the final buzzer to capture a six-point win.

Hepting led the team with 18 points, just one point shy of his career high, while going an efficient 8-for-13 from the floor. Herbert and Ruoff were the other two Cardinals to reach double figures in points with 13 and 12 respectively as Ruoff also led the team with five assists. In his return to the court, Ntiamoah led the way in rebounds for Catholic with seven.

The Cardinals return home on Wednesday, February 4 when they take on Juniata for the second time this season. Tipoff is set for 7 pm at Franny Murray Court.