WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Hood College men's basketball team outscored Catholic 11-3 over the final two minutes and four seconds to pull away for an 86-74 win to advance to the championship game of the Battle of DC & Maryland at Gallaudet University. 

Inside the Box Score

• Mason Wang led the Blazers with 26 points on 9 of 16 shooting. He knocked down three 3-pointers and dished out five assists. The sophomore went 5 for 5 at the free throw line. 
• Jared Ruiz had a career-high six steals on his way to a dozen points on 4 of 5 shooting. 
• Evan Wang scored 14 points and had four assists and four steals. 
• Anthony Pearson came off the bench for 17 points and a team-high five rebounds. 
• Hood shot 51 percent in the game (30-58) and had 16 steals. 

How it Happened

• The Blazers led 75-71 before a layup by Ruiz with 2:04 left started the game-sealing run. Mason Wang had a pair of 3-point plays during the run and Evan Wang went 3 of 4 at the free throw line down the stretch to put the game out of reach. 
• Hood never trailed in the game, opening things with a 28-11 run that saw the Cardinals limited to just 2 for 14 shooting with 10 turnovers over the opening 13 minutes. 
• Catholic regrouped and made a push over the rest of the half with the Blazers taking a 41-31 lead into halftime. 
• A 3-pointer by Jimmy Golaszewski with 18:56 left in the game made it 41-36 but the Blazers went on a 15-2 run to take an 18-point lead barely two minutes later. Mason Wang scored eight points in the run as Hood claimed a 56-38 edge. 
• The Blazers' biggest lead of the afternoon came on a 3-pointer by Pearson that made it 68-49 with 11:48 to play. From there, CUA used a 22-8 run to trim Hood's lead to just four to set up the Blazers' run to end the game. 

Notes

• Riley Hayes went 10 of 14 from the floor for 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help keep the Cardinals in the game. Golaszewski added 16 points. 
• Hood held Catholic to 8 of 29 (28 percent from 3-point range. 
• The Blazers turned 20 turnovers by CUA into 37 points, while Hood committed just 13 turnovers as a team. 
• Hood's 3-1 start is its best since the 2016-17 season, while Catholic drops to 0-2. 

Up Next

With the win, the Blazers face St. Mary's (Md.) in the tournament's championship game on Sunday, November 18 at 3 p.m. at Gallaudet University.