FREDERICK, Md.--The No. 2 seed Catholic University Cardinals used a torrid second half to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit and hung on defeat the top-seeded Hood College Blazers Saturday night to capture their seventh Capital Athletic Conference Championship at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.

The Cardinals (22-5) earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament, while the Blazers' (21-7) will await the decision of the NCAA committee Sunday evening to see if they have been selected as an at-large Pool C tournament team.

Hood controlled the first half and led by as many as nine when sophomore Anthony Bennett hit a jumper at the 10:40 mark. Catholic closed to within one, 35-34, with 3:38 remaining but the Blazers scored the final six points of the half to take a 41-34 edge into the intermission.

Sophomore Ryan Junghans and junior Jesse Gutekunst combined for 25 of Hood's 41 first-half points and the Blazers outrebounded the Cardinals, 23-14.

The Cardinals raced out of the gates at the start of the second half, outscoring the Blazers 12-4 in the opening four minutes to take their first lead of the game, 46-45. Catholic converted four consecutive field goals in the spurt, including a pair of triples by Scott Fumai and Mike Wasilenko.

The lead changed hands nine more times before the Cardinals made another run, using back-to-back treys from Patrick Dwyer to take a 71-65 advantage with 5:42 to play. From that point on, the Blazers connected on just 2-of-13 from the field and the Cardinals converted 6-of-9 from the foul line in the final 58 seconds to clinch the victory.

Catholic shot 60.0% from the floor in the final 20 minutes and knocked down six triples, while the Blazers shot just 1-of-9 from distance in the second stanza.

Gutekunst led all scorers with 28 points and pulled down 18 boards for his 33rd career double-double. Junghans finished with 19 points and logged 39 minutes on the night, while senior Darnell Edmonds chipped in 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, to go along with three assists and three steals.

Five Cardinals reached double figures led by Dwyer's 25. He also drained 6-of-7 from behind the arc and grabbed seven boards. Scott Fumai tallied 17 points and nine boards and also played 39 minutes while Wasilenko and Steven Papageorge netted 14 apiece. Nick Oliverio came off the bench to record 13 points.

The NCAA Division III Tournament selections will be announced on the official website of the NCAA, http://www.ncaasports.com/, Sunday evening at approximately 10 p.m. ET.