Papageorge, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, helped the Cardinals (8-2) overcome a 19-point first-half deficit to earn the victory over the Crusaders (7-4) in a battle of future Landmark Conference rivals.
Josh Robinson, who entered the game as the seventh-leading scorer in NCAA Division III at 24.7 points per game, led Susquehanna with a game-high 29 points by going 11-for-17 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range, while Kevin Cuff added 23 points and six rebounds as the Crusaders shot 56.6 percent (30-for-53) and 12-for-26 from three-point range.
Scott Fumai led Catholic with 25 points while Patrick Dwyer added 15 points and seven rebounds as the Cardinals used a 21-4 run spanning the first and second halves to erase most of the Crusaders' early lead.
Susquehanna tied the contest at 76-76 on a three-pointer by Robinson with 1:19 left, but misfired on the potential winning layup with six seconds to play and Papageorge connected on a scoop shot in the lane to give the Cardinals the victory.
The Crusaders rolled out to a 28-15 lead with 8:49 left in the first half behind 14 points by Robinson, but the Cardinals reeled off nine straight points to pull within 28-24 with 6:53 remaining in the first half.
Susquehanna then ripped off 15 consecutive points - 10 from Cuff - to take its largest lead at 43-24 with 3:44 left in the half, but Catholic finished the period by scoring 10 of the final 12 points to go to intermission trailing 45-34.
Cuff, who went 6-for-6 from the field in the first half, and Robinson each scored 16 points to lead all players in the first half as Susquehanna shot 65.6 percent (19-for-29) from the floor. Fumai led the Cardinals with 12 points as Catholic shot 38.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
After Susquehanna scored the opening basket of the second half to go ahead 48-34, Catholic ran off 11 straight points to pull within 47-45 with 16:11 left. The Cardinals took their first lead at 53-52 on a basket by Fumai with 11:04 remaining.
The teams traded the lead for the next several minutes, with the Crusaders tying the game at 68-68 on a three-pointer by Brad Okonak with 4:10 left. Fumai restored the Cardinals' lead on a layup with 3:32 remaining, and added a foul shot with 2:59 to go to give Catholic a 71-68 advantage.
Cuff pulled the Crusaders to 71-70 on a layup with 2:27 left, but missed the ensuing foul shot to keep the Cardinal lead at one. Papageorge gave Catholic a 73-70 lead with 2:13 to go, but Cuff answered with a three-pointer to knot the score at 73-73 with 1:55 remaining.
Dwyer then buried a three-pointer to push Catholic ahead 76-73 with 1:36 left before Robinson answered with the tying shot with 1:19 to play.
Catholic shot 46.7 percent (28-for-60) from the field and finished with a 37-21 edge in rebounding, as Stephen Wheeler led all players with eight boards. The Cardinals dominated at the foul line as well, going 13-for-20 from the stripe while the Crusaders connected on 4-of-6 attempts.
CATHOLIC 78, SUSQUEHANNA 76 SUSQUEHANNA (7-4) Josh Robinson 11-17 2-3 29; Kevin Cuff 9-14 2-3 23; Joel Patch 4-6 0-0 8; Brad Okonak 2-5 0-0 6; Andy Gaebel 2-5 0-0 5; Zac Smith 1-2 0-0 3; Bryan Majors 1-3 0-0 2; Brandon Andersen 0-1 0-0 0; Chad Cohle 0-0 0-0 0; Matt McDevitt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-53 4-6 76. CATHOLIC (8-2) Scott Fumai 7-16 7-8 25; Patrick Dwyer 6-11 1-2 15; Steven Papageorge 5-8 2-2 13; Nick Olivero 3-7 1-2 8; Mike Wasilenko 3-7 0-0 7; Sean Stolzenthaler 2-4 1-1 5; Stephen Wheeler 2-4 0-2 4; Kurt Reinhold 0-2 1-3 1; Evin Yarbrough 0-1 0-0 0; Danny Quinn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 13-20 78. Susquehanna................... 45 31 - 76 Catholic...................... 34 44 - 78 3-point goals-Susquehanna 12-26 (Josh Robinson 5-9; Kevin Cuff 3-5; Brad Okonak 2-5; Zac Smith 1-2; Andy Gaebel 1-4; Bryan Majors 0-1), Catholic 9-24 (Scott Fumai 4-9; Patrick Dwyer 2-3; Mike Wasilenko 1-3; Nick Olivero 1-3; Steven Papageorge 1-3; Evin Yarbrough 0-1; Kurt Reinhold 0-1; Sean Stolzenthaler 0-1). Fouled out--Susquehanna-None, Catholic-None. Rebounds-Susquehanna 21 (Kevin Cuff 6), Catholic 37 (Stephen Wheeler 8). Assists-Susquehanna 15 (Bryan Majors 8), Catholic 19 (Mike Wasilenko 5). Total fouls-Susquehanna 16, Catholic 10.