THE BASICS:

• Score:  Bucknell 98, Holy Cross 71
• Records: Holy Cross 7-8, 2-2 PL; Bucknell 7-8, 4-0 PL
• Location: Sojka Pavilion, Lewisburg, Pa.
• Date: January 9, 2016
• The Lead: Junior guard Anthony Thompson totaled 16 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Bucknell 98-71 at Sojka Pavilion.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Freshman forward Karl Charles added 12 points and three rebounds for the Crusaders.
• The Bison were led by John Azzinaro with 21 points on seven of 10 shooting from three-point range.
• Bucknell shot 58.5 percent from the field (31 of 53), and made 64.0 percent of its shots from three-point range (16 of 25).
• Holy Cross was only able to hit 41.4 percent of its field goal attempts (24 of 58) and 29.2 percent of its three-pointers (seven of 24).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Bison opened the game by hitting their first six three-point attempts, while jumping out to a 20-4 lead after the first 7:09 of play.
• The Crusaders scored the next five points to close within 11 (20-9), but Bucknell responded with a 9-2 spurt to increase its lead to 18 (29-11).
• Holy Cross would again trim the margin to 11 points (41-30) with 3:33 left in the half, before the Bison used an 11-0 run to take a 52-30 advantage at the break.
• The Crusaders started the second half hot, scoring the first 10 points to make the score 52-40.
• Holy Cross would later close to within eight points (57-49) with 16:14 left to play, before Bucknell scored the next 10 points to regain control of the game.
• The Crusaders would get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way, as the Bison eventually pulled away for a 27-point victory.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 13, when they travel to Lafayette for a 7:00 p.m. game.

BE PART OF THE ACTION:

• Single-game 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.