Shemar Bennett was named Tournament MVP after scoring a career high 27 points to lead Saint Vincent to an 81-73 win over Catholic University of America in the Catholic Basketball Invitational Championship held at the Carey Center.

Catholic played well early, but Shemar Bennett kept the game close for the Bearcats, scoring six points as SVC trailed 9-8 just over five minutes into play.
 
After a score by the Cardinals made it 11-8, Josh Duda scored to cut the gap to one, then a steal by Cletus Helton led to a Walter Bonds fastbreak to put SVC in front.  Duda and Bonds then hit threes to extend the SVC lead to 18-12 at the 11-minute mark of the half.
 
The visitors battled back, going on a 6-0 run to tie the game just 45 seconds later, but a Bennett layup once again put the Bearcats on top.   
 
From there, the next several minutes were played evenly, with teams trading scores and leads.  A layup by Riley Hayes with 4:30 to go extended the Cardinal lead to three, 32-29, and a three just over a minute later gave the visitors a 6-point edge.  By the half, the difference had grown to 10, with Catholic taking a 39-29 advantage into the break.
 
Catholic built its lead to 11 early in the second half, 42-31, but SVC quickly tallied five straight points.  Stephen drew a foul while shooting a long-range shot and sunk all three free throws, then Bennett added a layup to make it 42-36.  After another Cardinal turnover, Duda hit a three to cut the margin in half. 
 
After a missed shot, Helton grabbed a rebound and drew a foul, hitting one shot to make it a two-point game, 42-40, with 14:33 to go.
 
Another Catholic turnover led to a layup by Helton that tied the game, 42-42, completing the 11-point comeback for the Bearcats, and forcing the visitors to take a timeout at the 14:07 mark.
 
The Bearcats quickly caused another turnover, and Helton fed the ball to Bennett for a layup, giving SVC the lead, 44-42.
 
Later, with the game tied at 48, Duda hit a three, followed by a Bonds steal and fastbreak layup by Stephen that ran the Saint Vincent lead to five, 53-48.
 
SVC ran the lead to seven (60-53), but Catholic responded with five straight points to make it a 2-point game with 7:20 remaining,
 
However, the Bearcats pulled away quickly, as Duda started the rally by hitting two free throws.  Bennett then scored off an inside feed from Helton, followed by a Duda steal that led to a Bennett dunk, making it 66-58 with 5:40 to go.
 
Once again, the visitors battled back, with a conventional three-point play at the 3:17 mark cutting the margin to just one, 68-67.  Seconds later, Duda followed with a three for SVC to extend the lead to four, but Catholic answered right back with a three, then came up with a steal that led to a foul.  Hayes hit one shot, tying the game at 71-71 with 2:10 on the clock.
 
A Bennett layup off a pass from Bonds put SVC in front by two, then Duda fought for a rebound on a missed Cardinal shot, drew a foul, and hit both shots from the charity stripe to make it a 4-point SVC lead.
 
The visitors scored on a layup with 36 ticks left, to make the score 75-73 in favor of the Bearcats, but Catholic was forced to foul, and sent SVC's Bonds to the line with 25 seconds remaining.  He hit both shots to make it 77-73, and Helton came up with a key steal and drew a foul on the ensuing possession.
 
Helton's free throws put the game out of reach, as SVC held on for the 8-point victory.

Bennett added 8 rebounds and three blocks to go along with his 27 points.  Duda scored 18 points, while Bonds had a career-best 11, to go along with 6 assists.  Stephen added 11 points, while Helton had 9 points and 8 rebounds.  Stephen was also named to the All-Tournament team.

For Catholic, Hayes tallied 21 points.

Saint VIncent is now 7-5 overall on the season, while Catholic falls to 3-7.

Catholic Basketball Invitational All-Tournament Team
Misericordia: #2 Nate Kreitzer (Fr., Guard)
Immaculata: #21 Tyler Tillery (Fr., Forward)
Catholic: #24 Riley Hayes (Sr., Forward)
Saint Vincent: #5 David Stephen (Jr., Guard)
Saint Vincent: #1 Shemar Bennett (Jr., Forward)

Catholic Basketball Invitational MVP
Saint Vincent: #1 Shemar Bennett (Jr., Forward)