1997-98 Season
The Cardinals rebounded from a disappointing 12-13 season in 1996-97 to win their second CAC title and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third time in six seasons. Despite graduating 4,500 career points, Catholic set school records for wins (25) and winning streak (20) while becoming the first team to sweep the CAC regular season. The Cardinals were picked sixth in the preseason conference coaches' poll.
Junior guard Sean Tuohey, who transferred last season from Division I Lehigh, was named first-team all-conference, as was classmate Jim McNiff. Freshman point guard Pat Maloney, who led Division III in three-point percentage, was named conference Rookie of the Year, while Head Coach Mike Lonergan was named Coach of the Year for the first time.
Catholic advanced in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five trips, defeating Johns Hopkins 67-62 at the DuFour Center on March 7. Senior center Jason Alexander scored eight consecutive points as the Cardinals extended their lead to as many as seven points in the second half and survived a Blue Jay three-point barrage for the win.
Senior Shawn Kane scored often from long range this season, including a key three-pointer at the end of regulation to help force overtime against Hunter in the Division III Sweet Sixteen (pictured). Final stats.
Results (25-4, 14-0 CAC)
| Date | Opponent | Score | Highlights |
| Nov. 24 | Haverford | W, 87-51 | Tuohey (17 pts), McNiff (13), Hartman/Rice (11). |
| Nov. 26 | Ursinus | W, 86-81 | McNiff (21), Tuohey (20), Gallagher (12 pts, 8 reb) lead CU at CoreStates Center. |
| Nov. 30 | Scranton | W,
91-88 (OT) | McNiff (27), Tuohey (22), CU wins for only 4th time in 18 meetings with Scranton |
| Dec. 3 | Salisbury State # | W, 97-85 | McNiff (23), Tuohey (20), Kane (17), Gallagher (10 reb). |
| Dec. 13 | American (Div. I) televised on HTS | L, 67-75 | Cardinals cut 23-point second-half deficit to 63-60 with three minutes left; Tuohey (19), Maloney & Kane (13), McNiff (11). |
| Dec. 14 | Marymount # | W, 85-69 | CU breaks three-game losing streak to Saints; McNiff (24, 13-13 FT), Tuohey (18), Kane (13). |
| Dec. 20 | Stetson (Div. I) | L, 70-86 | Cardinals close to 55-52 midway through second half; CU outrebounded 54-16; Tuohey (game-high 23), Gallagher & McNiff (11). |
| Jan. 5 | Connecticut Coll. | L, 85-96 | CU hits 15 three-pointers in loss at regionally ranked Camels; Maloney & Tuohey (16), Kane (15), McNiff (13). |
| Jan. 7 | Western Maryland | W, 75-64 | Cardinals make 13 three-pointers; Maloney (15), Kane & McNiff (14), Alexander (10, 13 reb). |
| Jan. 10 | Gettysburg @ | W, 76-63 | CU makes tournament record 94.1% (16-17) FT; McNiff (game-high 25), Kane (13), Maloney (12). |
| Jan. 11 | N.C. Wesleyan @ | W, 84-78 | Cardinals win 4th straight CUA Classic; McNiff (16, MVP), Maloney (14, all-tourney), Tuohey (14), Kane (12) |
| Jan. 15 | Mary Washington # | W, 61-54 | Cardinals shoot 100% (14-14) from line; Tuohey (17), McNiff & Maloney (12) |
| Jan. 17 | St. Mary's (Md.) # | W, 74-59 | Tuohey (16), Kane (14), McNiff (13), Gallagher (14 reb) |
| Jan. 19 | Villa Julie | W, 92-67 | Shoot 51% from the field; McNiff (16, 4 threes), Tuohey (15), Harrington (11), Kane (10) |
| Jan. 21 | York (Pa.) # | W, 69-67 |
CU closes with a 16-5 run; McNiff (17), Kane (15), |
| Jan. 24 | Goucher # | W, 72-65 | Cardinals off to best start in 40 years; McNiff (20, 4 threes), Kane (19, 8-8 FT), Maloney (12) |
| Jan. 28 | Salisbury State # | W,
107-106 (OT) | Ties 1958-59 team for best start in school history; McNiff (career-high 32, 8 threes), Tuohey (27), Alexander (10, 13 reb). |
| Jan. 31 | Gallaudet # | W, 90-62 | 15 players score, Tuohey (14), Kane (12), Lepeonka (10, 10 reb) |
| Feb. 3 | Mary Washington # | W, 83-76 | McNiff 21, Alexander 6 blocks |
| Feb. 7 | Marymount # | W, 95-64 | McNiff 29, Maloney career-high 21 |
| Feb. 11 | St. Mary's (Md.) # | W, 85-79 | Five in double figures: Harrington 18, Alexander 16, Maloney 14, McNiff 13, Kane 12 |
| Feb. 14 | Goucher # | W,
91-87 (OT) | Catholic ties school record with 14th consecutive win, clinches CAC regular season title, Kane 20, Tuohey 20, Maloney 13, Judge 11 off bench |
| Feb. 18 | York (Pa.) # | W, 82-70 | School-record 15-win streak, Harrington 16, Maloney 15 |
| Feb. 20 | Gallaudet # | W, 100-66 | Catholic first men's team to sweep CAC, Kane 19, Maloney 15 |
| Feb. 23 | Gallaudet % | W, 86-56 | Program's 900th win, four in double figures |
| Feb. 25 | St. Mary's % | W, 90-59 | Maloney career-high 23, Lonergan's 100th win |
| Feb. 28 | Goucher % | W, 74-73 | First CAC title since 1993 and automatic bid to NCAA's. Maloney 21, Kane 16, Tuohey 10 |
| March 7 | Johns Hopkins * | W, 67-62 | Alexander scores eight in key second-half run, finishes with 15, Maloney 18 |
| March 13 | Hunter at Wilkes * | L,
84-82 (2 OT) | Tuohey career-high 29, Cardinals score final seven points of regulation to force OT, score only four in second extra period |
@ Coca-Cola Classic
# CAC games
% CAC Tournament
* NCAA Tournament
Home games in bold
1997-98 Roster
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown/High School |
| 10 | Andy Rice | G | 5-11 | 150 | Fr. | Springfield, Va./West Springfield |
| 11 | Mike Robertson | G | 6-0 | 165 | Fr. | North Potomac, Md./DeMatha |
| 14 | Tim Judge | G | 6-0 | 155 | Fr. | West Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll |
| 15 | Dan Harrington | G | 6-1 | 165 | So. | Washington, D.C./St. John's |
| 20 | Mike Hartman | G/F | 6-3 | 170 | Fr. | Media, Pa./Archbishop Carroll |
| 21 | Pat Maloney | G | 6-2 | 180 | Fr. | Brant Beach, N.J./Southern Regional |
| 22 | Sean Tuohey | G/F | 6-3 | 185 | Jr. | Washington, D.C./Gonzaga |
| 23 | Shawn Kane | G | 5-11 | 165 | Sr. | Gaithersburg, Md./Bullis |
| 24 | John Ginnity | G | 5-10 | 150 | Fr. | Fitchburg, Mass./St. Bernards Central |
| 25 | Jim McNiff | G | 5-10 | 180 | Jr. | Stratford, Conn./Fairfield Prep |
| 33 | Greg Campbell | F | 6-5 | 215 | Fr. | Pelham, N.H./Bishop Guertin |
| 34 | Matt Laczkowski | F/C | 6-7 | 200 | So. | Westminster, Md./Westminster |
| 42 | Kurt Zeisler | F | 6-5 | 220 | Fr. | Plymouth, Mass./Shawnee (N.J.) |
| 43 | Ed Loughlin | F | 6-5 | 210 | Fr. | Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West |
| 44 | Jason Alexander | C | 6-7 | 235 | Sr. | Gaithersburg, Md./St. John's (D.C.) |
| 52 | Mike Gallagher | F | 6-6 | 215 | Jr. | Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep |
| 53 | Mike Lepeonka | F/C | 6-8 | 235 | So. | Darnestown, Md./Quince Orchard |
Head Coach: Mike Lonergan (Catholic '88)
