WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman forward
Joe Pridgen totaled 22 points and eight rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Boston University 77-68 at Case Gymnasium. The Crusaders fall to to 3-22 on the season and 2-10 in the Patriot League with the loss, while the Terriers improve to 15-10 overall and 9-3 in the conference.
Holy Cross hit 45.6 percent of its field goal attempts and 72.7 percent of its free throws on the afternoon. Boston University was able to connect on 50.0 percent of its shots from the floor, while holding a 28-11 advantage in free throw attempts.
The Crusaders opened the game by jumping out to an early 17-8 lead after the first seven minutes of action, including eight points from Pridgen. Holy Cross was still up by seven (32-25) with 4:58 left before the break, but the Terriers closed out the half with a 9-3 spurt to trim the margin to one (35-34) heading into the locker room.
The score remained close early in the second half, and the Crusaders led 52-48 with 12 minutes left in regulation. Boston University then used an 8-1 run to pull in front, and was later up 58-57 with 6:57 remaining. The Terriers would score the next six points to go ahead by seven, and Holy Cross would get no closer than four points the rest of the way as Boston University went on to win by nine.
Sophomore forward
Blake Verbeek finished the day with a career-high 11 points and five rebounds, while senior guard
Clayton Le Sann added a season-best 11 points and three assists. Javante McCoy led the Terriers with 21 points.
Holy Cross returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 12, when it travels to Lehigh for a 7:00 p.m. game.
