THE BASICS:

• Score:  Rhode Island 74, Holy Cross 56
• Records: Holy Cross 3-4; Rhode Island 5-2
• Location: Thomas M. Ryan Center, Kingston, R.I.
• Date: December 2, 2015
• The Lead: Junior guard Robert Champion scored a team-high 13 points, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Rhode Island 74-56 at the Thomas M. Ryan Center.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Champion hit five of 10 field goal attempts on the night, and also pulled down four rebounds.
• Freshman guard Matt Zignorski added 10 points on four of seven shooting.
• Senior guard Cullen Hamilton and freshman forward Karl Charles finished with nine points each.
• The Rams were led by Kuran Iverson with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
• Rhode Island hit 19 of 31 free throw attempts on the night, while Holy Cross was just eight of 15 at the charity stripe.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The game was close throughout a first half which featured seven ties and 12 lead changes.
• The Crusaders held an 18-15 lead with 10:25 left before the break, when the Rams went on a 9-2 run to pull in front by four (24-20).
• Holy Cross scored the next five points to go back in front, but Rhode Island eventually took a 34-32 lead into the locker room.
• The Rams opened the second half with a quick 9-1 spurt to build their lead up to 10 points (43-33), and were still up by nine (50-41) with 11:55 remaining.
• The Crusaders then used an 8-2 run, including six points by Charles, to trim the margin to three points (52-49) with nine minutes left.
• But Rhode Island responded with a 12-0 spurt over the next four minutes to put the game away.
• Holy Cross would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the night, as the Rams eventually pulled away for an 18-point victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Freshman forward Jehyve Floyd scored the first points of his Holy Cross career on a layup with 4:46 remaining, while freshman guard Pat Benzan scored his first career point on a free throw with 43.4 seconds left.
• Walk-on guards Thomas Kennedy and Patrick Rielly both made the first appearances of their collegiate careers.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 5, when it plays host to Albany at 2:05 p.m.

BE PART OF THE ACTION:

• Single-game tickets, season tickets and mini plans to see the Crusaders are on sale now. Make sure you don't miss the opportunity to see the best collegiate basketball in Central Massachusetts! Tickets for Holy Cross basketball can be purchased online at GoHolyCross.com/tickets or over the phone by calling 1-844-GOCROSS.

KEEP CONNECTED:

• To stay updated on the Holy Cross men's basketball team, follow the Crusaders on Twitter @HCrossMBB and on Facebook at HolyCrossBasketball.
• You can also subscribe for email alerts for all news and information on the team by clicking here.