LEWISBURG, Pa. – Freshman forward
Joe Pridgen totaled 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Bucknell 65-62 in the first round on the Patriot League Tournament at Sojka Pavilion. The Bison improve to 13-19 overall with the win, while the Crusaders conclude the season with a 3-29 record.
Holy Cross hit 50.0 percent of its field goal attempts on the night and held a 36-26 rebounding advantage, but also committed 24 turnovers and made just 27.8 percent of its shots from three-point range. Bucknell was able to connect on 44.6 percent of its shots from the floor and 38.9 percent of its attempts from three-point range.
The Bison led 17-14 after the first 10 minutes of play, before scoring seven straight points to take a 24-14 advantage. Bucknell would lead by as many as 12 points late in the half, eventually taking a 37-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Bison lead stayed between six and 11 points early in the second half, and stood at 56-46 with eight minutes left to play. The Crusaders then used an 8-1 run over the next three minutes to close to within three (57-54), with junior forward
Matt Faw scoring four points during that spurt. Holy Cross went on to make it a two-point game (62-60) with just under a minute to go, but Avi Toomer would hit a three-pointer on Bucknell's next possession and the Bison were able to escape with the win.
Faw finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals. Andrew Funk led Bucknell with 17 points, three rebounds and three assists.
The 2019-20 season is now complete for the Crusaders.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Pridgen finished the year with 521 points, the second-most ever by a freshman in both Holy Cross and Patriot League history.
• Junior forward
Connor Niego tied his career-high with 11 rebounds.
• Pridgen posted his third career double-double, while scoring at least 20 points for the 14th time this season.
