New Wilmington, Pa. – The Thiel College men's basketball team suffered an 83-73 setback Saturday at the hands of the Catholic University Cardinals on day two of the 22^nd annual Buzz Ridl Classic, hosted by Westminster College.
 
The Tomcats trailed the Cardinals by as many as seven points early in the first half, but used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 24-24 with a little less than seven minutes remaining before the break. A three-pointer by Simeon Revales (Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) and a pair of free throws by Demetris Lafontant (Orlando, Fla./Osceola) highlighted the run for Thiel.
 
A NCAA Division III tournament qualifier a year ago, Catholic took the lead from that point and never looked back. A Luke Kochka (Monroeville, Pa. /Gateway) layup, his game-high 24^th point, cut the deficit to six with 40 seconds to play, but a 4-0 run by the Cardinals closed out the contest.
 
Kocha scored a game-high 24 points, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line to lead all scorers. He averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds a game during the two-day event, and in doing so, was one of six chosen for the Buzz Ridl Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
Fellow sophomore Khari Bess (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. Mcdonough) added 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while also tallying two assists, three steals and a block. Junior Charlie Thomas (North Warren/Warren Area) chipped in 10 points off the bench on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc.