Senior William Morley led Catholic with 15 points. Sophomores Shane Sowden Matt Tanner each added 14 points off the bench.
The win propels CUA to a second-round game at Gwynedd-Mercy College on Saturday, March 6th at 7 p.m.
"Our reserves scored big baskets tonight and have helped out all year. Matt (Tanner) and Shane (Sowden) both played well especially when Will (Morley) got in foul trouble" CUA Head Coach Mike Lonergan said after the game.
Sowden was one of three Cardinals with eight rebounds as Catholic (24-5) held a 44-39 edge on the glass. The forward also added three blocks.
Tanner scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half as Catholic shot 48.4% in the first stanza. The Panther's struggled, hitting 7 of it's 32 shots (21.9%) in the first 20 minutes and trailed 39-19 at the break.
The Cardinals kept a 20-point cushion for most of the second half and took a 58-35 lead with 8:46 remaining as Tanner drained his third trey of the night.
"The bench definitely stepped it up tonight," added Lonergan, who won his 251st career game in the process.
Morley had 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting and acknowledged the bench play, which outscored Old Westbury, 42-12, was a big factor. "A big part of our win tonight and all year are the threats off our bench. We definitely are going to need them on this playoff run," said Morley, who scored his 1,700th career point in the win.
SUNY-Old Westbury head coach Bernard Tomlin admitted youth and inexperience played a big role in the game. "We are a young team and this is our first experience in the (NCAA) Tournament. Catholic just played with a lot of consistency and poise."
Deverent Williams led the Panthers (19-9) with 17 points and Michael Garrett added 11 points.
Senior Blair Mills chipped in eight points, eight boards, and two blocked shots.
Newspaper Box Score SUNY-Old Westbury vs Catholic University 03/04/04 7 p.m. at Washington, D.C. DuFour Center At Washington, D.C. DuFour Center CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY 75, SUNY-OLD WESTBURY 50 SUNY-OLD WESTBURY (19-9) WILLIAMS, Dervent 4-9 8-10 17; GARRETT, Michael 4-19 3-4 11; GERVAIS, Carl 3-10 1-1 8; JACKSON, Divine 1-4 1-2 4; CLARK, Sal 2-10 0-0 4; WEIR, Jared 1-2 0-0 2; PETTAWAY, Roman 1-1 0-0 2; CANNON, Lovell (III) 1-4 0-3 2; ROBERTS, Chris 0-1 0-0 0; BACKONGO, Abraham 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-61 13-20 50. CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY (24-5) William Morley 7-17 1-3 15; Matt Tanner 5-9 1-2 14; Shane Sowden 5-8 4-4 14; Blair Mills 3-8 2-2 8; Mike Wasilenko 2-3 2-2 6; Patrick Satalin 2-7 0-0 6; Tim Burke 2-3 0-0 4; Matt Spierenburg 1-1 0-0 2; Patrick Dwyer 1-3 0-1 2; Steve Papageorge 1-1 0-0 2; Adam Dickman 0-1 2-4 2; Jeff Baccash 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 12-18 75. SUNY-Old Westbury............. 19 31 - 50 Catholic University........... 39 36 - 75 3-point goals-SUNY-Old Westbury 3-20 (JACKSON, Divine 1-1; GERVAIS, Carl 1-1; WILLIAMS, Dervent 1-4; WEIR, Jared 0-1; CANNON, Lovell (III) 0-2; ROBERTS, Chris 0-1; BACKONGO, Abraham 0-1; CLARK, Sal 0-2; GARRETT, Michael 0-7), Catholic University 5-20 (Matt Tanner 3-7; Patrick Satalin 2-6; Blair Mills 0-2; Patrick Dwyer 0-2; Adam Dickman 0-1; William Morley 0-2). Fouled out--SUNY-Old Westbury-None, Catholic University-None. Rebounds-SUNY-Old Westbury 39 (GERVAIS, Carl 8), Catholic University 44 (Patrick Dwyer 8; Blair Mills 8; Shane Sowden 8). Assists-SUNY-Old Westbury 7 (GARRETT, Michael 3), Catholic University 19 (Adam Dickman 4; Patrick Satalin 4). Total fouls-SUNY-Old Westbury 19, Catholic University 19. A-750 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament First-Round Game