BOX SCORE

The Bearcats overcame an 8-point halftime deficit to earn a 78-67 victory over visiting Catholic University in the Carey Center, scoring 53 points in the second half.

Saint Vincent trailed 41-31 at the 16:49 mark of the second half before embarking on a 21-2 run, led by senior Sean Kett.  From there, the Bearcats cruised to an 11-point victory.

JC Howard scored the game's first four points, but the Cardinals fought back quickly, and much of the first half was a see-saw battle.  Catholic took its first lead of the game at the 15 minute mark (8-6), but the lead changed hands several times.  The visitors took a four-point lead, 22-18 with five minutes remaining, but Bobby Swartwout scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game with 4:13 to go.  

The Cardinals then scored six straight points to take the lead, but Austin Ford ended the run with a baseline jumper for SVC that made the score 28-24.  However, the Bearcats managed only a Swartwout free throw in the final two minutes, while Catholic added five more points to take a 33-25 lead into the halftime break.

Austin Ford scored on a baseline hook shot to start the second half, followed by a Kett drive at the 19:00 mark that cut the Cardinal lead to four, 33-29.  Catholic then went on an 8-2 run, capped by a three-point play by Corey Stanford.  

Kett then started the Bearcat run with a 3-point play of his own at the 16:28 mark, followed by another 3-point play from freshman Austin Dedert with 16:02 on the clock.  After a score by Pat Jones, Kett came up with a steal and a fast break, dunking the ball to tie the game at 41-41.  After a block by Dedert, Jaylon Bell scored on a drive, and after another Dedert block, Jones scored to extend the run to 14 points, and give the Bearcats a 45-41 lead.

Catholic ended the scoring drought with a pair of free throws, but SVC went right back to work, as Kett fed Dedert in the paint for a bucket, followed by a Ben Klimchock three-pointer.  A Bell putback ran the lead to 52-43 before a score from Catholic's Jay Howard at the 10:31 mark ended a 6 1/2 minute stretch without a field goal for the visitors.  

Up 54-48, SVC got a lift from a buzzer-beating three-point shot off the glass by Ford, which was followed on the next possession by a Swartwout three from the left corner, which made it a 10-point game, 60-50.

Jones, who led the Bearcats with 16 points, added seven in the closing five minutes to help put the game away.

Kett tallied 15 points and 7 rebound on the day, while Bell scored 9 and equaled Kett in rebounds to lead the team.  Swartwout also scored 9, while Howard had 8.  Ford and Dedert each scored 7.  For Dedert, it was a breakout game as he hit all three of his shots, had a pair of rebounds and equaled his career high in points.  

Catholic was led by Jay Howard's 22 points, while Bryson Fonville added 14 and local product Corey Stanford had 13.  

SVC shot 50% overall for the day, but that figure includes hitting 18 of 29 second half shots (62.1%).