ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- The size of Riley Hayes inside hurt the Elizabethtown College men's basketball team in the second half as the Cardinals rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to beat the Blue Jays 69-64 at Thompson Gymnasium Wednesday night in the Landmark Conference action. Brandon Berry had a team-high 16 points for E-town while four were in double figures for Catholic, led by Will Mulquin's game-high 20.

Elizabethtown's (9-10, 4-5 Landmark) first two makes of the night were treys by Michael Pastore and the Jays led 7-4 three and a half minutes into the game. Both teams started 3-for-10 from the field. E-town led by as many as five in the first half while Catholic (8-12, 4-5 Landmark) led by as many as seven on two separate occasions.

With the Cardinals ahead 16-9, Ethan DuBois hit back-to-back shots, a jumper in the paint off a Pastore assist and then a three-pointer provided by Zach Nannen's pass to the junior point guard. It was 16-14 in favor of CATHU with 8:36 to go in the first half.

Jimmy Golaszewski, who had 11 off the bench for the Cards, did his DuBois impression and knocked down consecutive shots to put Catholic back up by seven. Connor Moffatt became the third straight player to go for a pair of baskets in a row, canning a jumper and then taking DuBois' dish for the layup to bring the Blue Jays back within three, 21-18.

Elizabethtown did well to contain leading scorer Andre Mitchell, who had posted two 30-plus point games in his last three. Mitchell scored just four points in the first half, but it was Mulquin that paced the Cardinals through the first 20 minutes. He was 4-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line, good for 14 first-half points. Mitchell would finish with 12, his lowest output in a month since scoring three against Babson on December 30.

Moffatt started a fast break opportunity with under a minute to go with a steal. Bryce Greene finished off the play with the hoop plus the harm as the junior was fouled going in for the layup. He connected on the shot and then sank the free throw to restore the lead to E-town at 31-29 with 38 seconds to go before halftime. Will Turgeon missed on Catholic's final first-half possession and a last-second chance for the Jays didn't fall either as it remained a two-point lead for Elizabethtown at the break.

Every possession mattered in the second half as the game was no more than a one-possession game through the first 17 minutes of the second half. The second half contained five different ties and 12 lead changes as the two battled it out over the duration of the last 20 minutes.

Golaszewski hit a three from the left wing that put Catholic ahead by four, the first two-possession lead of the second half, with 2:39 to go. The Cardinals led 60-56 at that point. Trailing, the Blue Jays began fouling to extend the game. Hayes hit two at the line to make it a six-point game, 62-56, with 1:01 remaining.

Up by seven, Greene got inside for the layup and then immediately fouled the ball handler on the inbounds pass. Golaszewski hit two more at the foul line, which became important as DuBois swished a high-arching three the next possession for Elizabethtown. It was a 65-61 game with 32 seconds left. Catholic split its next set of free throws and, with 19 seconds on the clock, Berry dropped in a three to cut the deficit to two. The Blue Jays couldn't get the turnover on the following inbounds play, so Mulquin ended up at the line and nailed two more critical freebies. A missed three for E-town was a last resort and Catholic was able to hang on for the 69-64 win.

Berry sparked the Jays with 16 points off the bench on 6-for-11 shooting. DuBois put up 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for EC. Greene tallied 14. Mulquin and Hayes each had double-doubles for the Cardinals, with 20 and 12 for Mulquin and 16 and 10 for Hayes.

Elizabethtown will host Susquehanna on Saturday, February 2, at 4 p.m.