HARTFORD, Conn. - The Catholic Cardinals walked into Ray Oosting Gymnasium on Friday, excited to appear in the program's first Sweet Sixteen since 2002. Tomorrow, they'll walk into the same gym as one of the last eight men's basketball teams remaining in the NCAA Division III Tournament after an exhilarating comeback to defeat Roanoke in overtime. 

The Cardinals trailed by as many as 19 in the second half before outscoring the Maroons 55-42 to force overtime. Catholic would go on to take the lead with 1:49 to play in the extra period, never giving it back to advance to the third Elite Eight in program history. 

CJ Ruoff put forth a herculean effort, scoring a career-high 36 points to lead Catholic's efforts with leading scorer Sean Neylon sidelined with an illness. He was joined in the effort by Brian Herbert and Dan Buckley, who combined for 41 points, all in the second half and overtime. 

The Cardinals trailed by four points after 1:37 of overtime, but a big basket from Herbert with 3:08 to play in the extra period, sparked a 15-7 Catholic run to finish the game. Buckley tied the contest at the charity stripe with 2:42 to play before hitting the bucket to put the Cardinals ahead less than a minute later. After an offensive foul on Gavin O'Malley, Herbert knocked down a corner three, putting Catholic ahead 89-84 and sending the Cardinal bench into a frenzy. Roanoke would pull within two points with 18 seconds left, but Ruoff got the job done at the free throw line to help Catholic close it out. 

The Roanoke lead reached its apex 40 seconds into the second half as Jackson Bell drained a three-pointer to increase Catholic's deficit to 19 points. By the 13:58 mark, the Cardinals had trimmed the gap to 11 points as Ruoff drilled a three off a feed from Charley Hepting. 43 seconds later, Ruoff connected again, pulling the Cardinals within single digits for the first time since the 1:12 mark of the first half. 

Over the next six minutes, Catholic failed to cut the gap lower than seven, but back-to-back buckets from Ruoff and Buckley made it a five-point game with 7:31 to play. 

Roanoke pushed back yet again, extending the lead to 10 points after a Marcus Morgan bucket with 4:55 remaining, and the Maroons led by nine with 4:27 to play, but the Catholic response came hard and fast. Buckley cashed in a triple with 3:10 to play, making it a 76-71 contest. After getting a stop on defense, the Cardinals used a second-chance opportunity to pull within a basket as Herbert connected from distance with 2:33 on the clock. 

Ruoff tied the contest for the first time in nearly 30 minutes of game action at 76-76 with 1:59 left in regulation on a tough drive to the basket. Joshu McClary got right to the bucket to retake the lead for the Maroons, but Ruoff drew a foul and knocked down the free throws to knot things once more with 91 seconds left. 

Once again, McClary was the guy for the Maroons, giving Roanoke the lead with 50 ticks on the clock, but Buckley's reverse layup with 25 seconds to play held as McClary's shot before the buzzer wouldn't fall. 

THE MORE YOU KNOW

• Catholic improves to 20-14 all-time in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament, reaching the Elite Eight for the third time in program history (2000, 2001). The Cardinals are the second team in Landmark Conference history to reach the Sectional Final and first since Scranton did it in 2012. 
• Ruoff's 36 points are the second-most by a Catholic player in an NCAA Tournament game, falling just two points shy of Bryson Fonville's 38-point effort versus Alvernia in 2015. Ruoff's previous career-high was 19 points and the junior entered the contest making just 23 percent of his threes before knocking down six of them. His six triples ties Buckley, Steve Limberiou, and Tim Judge for the most in a tournament game. He is also the fourth player in program history to make 10 or more free throws in a tournament contest. 
• Catholic's 95 points are the most the Cardinals have scored in an NCAA Tournament contest, breaking the previous mark of 91 set in 1993 versus Stockton. The Cardinals 13 threes are the most-ever in an NCAA Tournament game by Catholic. 
• With 21 points and five rebounds tonight, Herbert is averaging 17 points and five rebounds in his last eight contests. The junior is shooting better than 60 percent from the floor during the stretch. 
• In the three games so far in the NCAA Tournament, Buckley is averaging 17 points, nearly six rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. 
• With Neylon out of the lineup, Ethan Hinds (31:54) and Hepting (34:42) played big minutes off the bench. Hinds added eight points and six rebounds while Hepting had four points, three rebounds, and three assists. Googie Seidman hit two threes in 10 minutes off the bench. 

Catholic will take on the winner of Trinity (Conn.) and Western New England tomorrow evening at 7:15 p.m. in Hartford, Conn.