Catholic University's men's basketball team may not be quite the universal champion that the dictionary definition of "catholic" suggests.

But thanks to its 76-62 win over William Paterson March 17, the Cardinals are at least the Division III national champions for the first time.

Senior guard and tournament most outstanding player Pat Maloney added 16 points, while senior guard Tim Judge and sophomore center Matt Hilleary had 12 points each.

"We've been through a lot," Rice said. "We've played some pretty big games and we've lost some tough ones, and now we've won the most important one."

Rice nailed a three-pointer on Catholic's next possession to give the Cardinals a lead they would keep the rest of the game. The Pioneers trimmed the lead to four points at the 3:27 mark, but Maloney nailed three-pointers on consecutive trips to all but seal the victory.

"Tonight was pretty much like our whole season," Maloney said, noting the balanced scoring attack. "We really don't have a standout Everybody picks a different game to step up."

Catholic shot 46.2 percent for the game and 76.2 percent from the free-throw line. William Paterson shot 31.1 percent from the field, 25.9 percent in the first half.

The Cardinals broke two Division III tournament records for free throws made and free throws attempted. Catholic attempted 81 free throws in the last two games, breaking the record set by Illinois Wesleyan in 1997 (70). In addition, the Cardinals' 65 free throws made broke the old record of 56, also set by Illinois Wesleyan.

William Paterson, which was led by Jenkins' game-high 21 points and five rebounds, finished with a 26-5 mark. Muffeed Thomas chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pioneers.

Hilleary, Ohio Northern's Chad Bostelman and Luke Kasten of Illinois Wesleyan rounded out the all-tournament team.

Catholic advanced to the championship game with 82-77 win over Ohio Northern in the semifinals March 16; William Paterson won its semifinal game, 67-52, over Illinois Wesleyan on the same day.

Championship summary

First round: Salem St. 96, Western New Eng. 71; Carthage 83, Marian (Wis.) 65; Maryville (Tenn.) 85, MacMurray 69; Calvin 89, Defiance 78; Merchant Marine 106, Cabrini 96; Amherst 89, St. John Fisher 76; Catholic 82, CCNY 65; Brockport St. 65, Colby-Sawyer 59; Wis.-Eau Claire 66, Benedictine (Ill.) 55; Linfield 85, Cal Lutheran 66; Washington (Mo.) 101, Aurora 84; Ill. Wesleyan 132, Grinnell 91; Roanoke 70, Savannah A&D 62; Gust. Adolphus 69, Neb. Wesleyan 60; Mississippi Col. 61, Millsaps 45; Hampden-Sydney 60, Gettysburg 52.

Third round: Carthage 90, Mass.-Dartmouth 41; Ohio Northern 82, Wittenberg 66; Clark (Mass.) 75, Merchant Marine 69; Catholic 69, Brockport St. 64; Chicago 62, Lewis & Clark 52 ; Ill. Wesleyan 63, Elmhurst 60; Chris. Newport 71, St. John's (Minn.) 65; Wm. Paterson 77, McMurry 59.

Quarterfinals: Ohio Northern 66, Carthage 64; Catholic 82, Clark (Mass.) 78; Ill. Wesleyan 77, Chicago 68; Wm. Paterson 86, Chris. Newport 75.

SEMIFINALS

Catholic 82, Ohio Northern 77

Catholic: Andy Rice 2-7, 2-2, 3, 8; Tim Judge 2-8, 3-4, 5, 7; Pat Maloney 6-12, 14-14, 4, 29; Matt Hilleary 5-7, 5-6, 12, 15; Will Morley 4-9, 6-9, 5, 14; Kevin Wise 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Craig Avallone 1-1, 1-2, 2, 4; Mike Hartman 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2; Chris Altenburger 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Kurt Zeisler 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Blair Mills 1-1, 0-0, 2, 3; Brian Meyer 0-1, 0-0, 3, 0. TOTALS: 21-49, 33-39, 40 (2 team) 82.

Ohio Northern: Chad Bostelman 8-18, 2-2, 7, 24; Aaron Fries 2-3, 0-0, 1, 6; Kris Oberdick 2-14, 8-11, 5, 12; Mike Heitkamp 3-5, 2-3, 7, 8; Craig Wohlgamuth 1-4, 1-4, 3, 3; Jim Conrad 6-11, 2-2, 4, 17; Lee Creager 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Mike Haynes 0-2, 0-0, 3, 0; Kyle Lowry 3-5, 1-3, 5, 7. TOTALS: 25-63, 16-25, 37 (1 team), 77.

Half time: Ohio Northern 31, Catholic 29. Three-point field goals: Catholic 7-20 (Rice 2-6, Judge 0-2, Maloney 3-7, Morley 0-1, Wise 0-2, Avallone 1-1, Mills 1-1); Ohio Northern 11-25 (Bostelman 6-13, Fries 2-3, Oberdick 0-2, Conrad 3-6, Creager 0-1). Disqualifications: Haynes.

Wm. Paterson 67, Ill. Wesleyan 52

Wm. Paterson: Michael Everett 1-2, 0-0, 3, 2; Horace Jenkins 11-19, 6-6, 4, 30; Ray Ortiz 5-14, 0-0, 8, 11; Dag Christensen 3-5, 3-4, 3, 9; Muffeed Thomas 3-11, 0-0, 8, 6; Bart Jordan 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Gregg Anacker 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Michael Schirick 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Steve Smith 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; Rashaan Barner 1-4, 1-4, 2, 3; Keith Hardy 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Lauer 1-2, 0-0, 3, 2. TOTALS: 27-62, 10-14, 36 (4 team), 67.

Ill. Wesleyan: Eric Starkey 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Adam Osborn 2-6, 0-0, 1, 6; Laban Cross 4-9, 3-3, 3, 12; Luke Kasten 6-10, 6-7, 4, 18; Todd Wente 3-6, 1-2, 5, 7; John O'Brien 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jim Lehan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Silagi 0-6, 0-0, 1, 0; Shawn McGuire 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Ryan McCreery 0-3, 0-0, 4, 0; Martin Eich 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Mike Rogers 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; John Camardella 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Seth Hubbard 2-2, 2-4, 3, 7; Casey Tushaus 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 18-44, 12-16, 28 (5 team), 52.

Halftime: Wm. Paterson 35, Ill. Wesleyan 26. Three-point field goals: Wm. Paterson 3-13 (Jenkins 2-7, Ortiz 1-5, Thomas 0-1); Ill. Wesleyan 4-17 (Osborn 2-5, Cross 1-4, Silagi 0-6, McCreery 0-1, Hubbard 1-1). Disqualifications: none.

THIRD-PLACE GAME

Ill. Wesleyan 76, Ohio Northern 73

Ill Wesleyan: Adam Osborn 4-14, 5-5, 4, 14; Laban Cross 7-17, 2-2, 3, 18; Mike Rogers 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Luke Kasten 7-14, 3-4, 9, 17; Will Morley 4-8, 4-6, 13, 12; Kevin Wise 1-3, 3-4, 2, 5; Craig Avallone 1-3, 0-0, 2, 2; Mike Hartman 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Altenburger 0-1, 2-2, 3, 2; Kurt Zeisler 2-4, 2-4, 5, 6. TOTALS: 26-65, 21-27, 43 (2 team), 76.

Ohio Northern: Kris Oberdick 5-13, 8-11, 8, 18; Craig Wohlgamuth 2-3, 2-2, 4, 6; Kyle Lowry 3-5, 0-0, 4, 6; Chad Bostelman 4-11, 0-0, 5, 11; Aaron Fries 4-6, 2-2, 2, 13; Jim Conrad 5-12, 2-2, 4, 13; Lee Creager 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Mike Haynes 3-4, 0-0, 3, 0; Billy Barkimer 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Matt Metzger 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 26-56, 13-17, 31 (1 team), 73.

Halftime: Ohio Northern 39, Ill. Wesleyan 35. Three-point field goals: Ill. Wesleyan 3-18 (Osborn 1-6, Cross 2-5, Kasten 0-2, Morley 0-1, Wise 0-1, Avallone 0-2, Zeisler 0-1); Ohio Northern 8-24 (Oberdick 0-2, Bostelman 3-9, Fries 4-6, Conrad 1-5, Creager 0-1, Metzger 0-1). Disqualifications: Oberdick, Fries, Haynes.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Catholic 76, Wm. Paterson 62

Catholic: Andy Rice 4-8, 7-8, 2, 17; Tim Judge 3-7, 5-5, 2, 12; Pat Maloney 5-9, 1-2, 5, 16; Matt Hilleary 3-6, 6-9, 3, 12; Will Morley 1-4, 7-8, 4, 9; Adam Dickman 0-0, 1-4, 1, 1; Kevin Wise 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Craig Avallone 0-0, 5-6, 1, 5; Ben Gibson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kyle Hyland 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Mike Hartman 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Altenburger 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Kurt Zeisler 1-1, 0-0, 2, 2; Blair Mills 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; Brian Meyer 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 18-39, 32-42, 28 (6 team), 76.

Wm. Paterson: Michael Everett 0-3, 4-4, 2, 4; Horace Jenkins 7-25, 6-8, 5, 21; Ray Ortiz 3-10, 0-0, 4, 7; Dag Christensen 2-5, 4-4, 7, 8; Muffeed Thomas 2-4, 6-6, 11, 10; Gregg Anacker 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jeff Mogila 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Michael Schirick 2-3, 0-0, 3, 4; Steve Smith 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Rashaan Barner 2-7, 2-4, 5, 6; Keith Hardy 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Jeff Pela 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Lauer 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 19-61, 22-26, 42 (3 team), 62.

Halftime: Catholic 31, Wm. Paterson 24. Three-point field goals: Catholic 8-16 (Rice 2-5, Judge 1-2, Maloney 5-8, Mills 0-1); Wm. Paterson 2-20 (Jenkins 1-12, Ortiz 1-4, Christensen 0-1, Schirick 0-1, Smith 0-1, Barner 0-1). Disqualifications: Christensen.