THE BASICS:

• Score:  Holy Cross 72, Loyola (Md.) 67
• Records: Holy Cross 11-19; Loyola 9-21
• Location: Reitz Arena, Baltimore, Md.
• Date: March 1, 2016
• The Lead: Junior guard Anthony Thompson hit a three-point field goal with 9.3 seconds remaining, to break a 67-67 tie and lift the Holy Cross men's basketball team to a 72-67 victory over Loyola (Md.) in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament at Reitz Arena.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Junior forward Malachi Alexander led the Crusaders with 24 points and six rebounds, while hitting nine of 13 field goal attempts.
• Freshman forward Karl Charles posted career highs of 23 points and six steals, to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
• Holy Cross made 49.0 percent of its field goal attempts (25 of 51), 42.9 percent of its three-pointers (nine of 21) and 76.5 percent of its free throws (13 of 17) on the night.
• The Greyhounds connected on 50.0 percent of their shots from the floor (22 of 44), but only made 30.4 percent in the second half (seven of 23).
• Eric Laster led Loyola with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.

 HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Greyhounds held a 50-45 lead with 15 minutes left to play, before the Crusaders went on a 10-0 run to pull in front.
• Laster scored on a put-back for Loyola on its next possession, but then senior guard Eric Green hit a jump shot and junior guard Robert Champion drained a three-point field goal to put Holy Cross up 60-52 with 7:11 remaining.
• The Crusaders were still up by eight (65-57) with 4:21 on the clock, when the Greyhounds used a 10-2 spurt to tie the game at 67-67 with 52.4 seconds left.
• But on Holy Cross' next possession, Thompson grabbed an offensive rebound before hitting the game-winning shot.
• Loyola had another possession, but the Crusaders fouled Andre Walker before he was able to get a shot off with 3.3 seconds to go.
• After Walker missed both free throws, junior center Matt Husek grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit two shots at the charity stripe to put the game away.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Charles' six steals tied the Holy Cross single-game record for a Patriot League Tournament contest (Jave Meade had six steals against Bucknell on March 6, 2004).
• The Crusaders improve to 2-0 all-time against the Greyhounds in Patriot League Tournament games.
• Holy Cross snapped a four-game losing streak in Patriot League Tournament road games, and now stands 4-9 all-time on the opposing team's home court during the conference tournament.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders return to action on Thursday, March 3, when they travel to Bucknell for a 7:00 p.m. game in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.

KEEP CONNECTED:

• To stay updated on the Holy Cross men's basketball team, follow the Crusaders on Twitter @HCrossMBB and on Facebook at HolyCrossBasketball.
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