THE BASICS:

• Score:  American 58, Holy Cross 45
• Records: Holy Cross 9-13, 4-7 PL; American 6-15, 4-6 PL
• Location: Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.
• Date: February 1, 2016
• The Lead: Senior guard Cullen Hamilton scored a game-high 18 points, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by American 58-45 at Bender Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Crusaders struggled to shoot the ball for most of the first half, hitting just four of their first 20 shots as American built a 14-8 lead with five minutes left before the break.
• Holy Cross came back to close out the half on a 7-2 run, and trailed by just one point (16-15) heading into the locker room.
• After the Crusaders tied the score at 18-18 early in the second half, the Eagles scored 10 straight points to claim a 28-18 advantage with 14:17 left to play.
• But Holy Cross responded with an 11-0 run of its own, to take a 29-28 lead with 11:27 on the clock.
• American came back with three-point field goals on each of its next two possessions to pull in front, and would later lead 34-32 with 9:45 remaining.
• An 8-2 run then allowed the Eagles to extend the margin to eight points (42-34), and Holy Cross would get no closer than seven the rest of the night.
• American went on to hit nine of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to pull away for a 13-point victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Junior guard Robert Champion finished with nine points and four rebounds, while junior guard Anthony Thompson added six points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• The Crusaders made just 36.0 percent of their field goal attempts (18 of 50), 14.3 percent of their three-pointers (two of 14) and 46.7 percent of their free throws (seven of 15) on the night.
• The Eagles were able to connect on 42.2 percent of their shots from the floor (19 of 45) and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe (15 of 18).
• American was led by Jesse Reed with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 6, when it plays host to Bucknell at 1:05 p.m. on Winter Homecoming weekend.

BE PART OF THE ACTION:

• Single-game tickets 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.