DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Freshman guard Kyrell Luc totaled 15 points and four rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Air Force 72-53 at the Ocean Center in the Sunshine Slam. The Crusaders fall to 1-3 overall, while the Falcons improve to 3-1 on the year.

Holy Cross finished the day with a 41-25 rebounding advantage, but only made 37.5 percent of its field goal attempts while committing 21 turnovers. Air Force was able to connect on 47.5 percent of its shots from the floor and had only nine turnovers.

The Falcons opened the game with an early 10-2 lead, before the Crusaders went on an 8-0 run to tie the score at 10-10 with 11:00 left in the first half. Air Force was able to extend its lead back to six points (26-20) with 2:52 remaining before the break, but senior forward Gerrale Gates scored a pair of baskets in the closing minutes to trim the margin to two (26-24) at the break.

The Falcons started the second half with an 18-5 run to extend their lead to 15 points (44-29) with 12:28 remaining. The Crusaders would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way, as Air Force went on to post a 19-point victory. 

Senior forward Gerrale Gates finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Louth-M Coulibaly added 10 points and seven boards. The Falcons were led by A.J. Walker with 27 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

Holy Cross returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 21, when it plays Bryant at 12:00 p.m. in its final game of the Sunshine Slam.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• The +16 rebound margin was the Crusaders' largest against a Division I opponent since outrebounding Lafayette 40-21 on Feb. 10, 2016.
• Coulibaly recorded career highs in both points (10) and rebounds (seven), while scoring in double figures for the first time in his collegiate career.
• Freshman forward Caleb Kenney tied his career high by pulling down a team-best nine rebounds.