WEST POINT, N.Y. – Senior guard Austin Butler posted the 12th double-double of his collegiate career with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Army West Point 69-65 at Christl Arena. The Crusaders fall to 3-11 overall and 3-11 in the Patriot League with the loss, while the Black Knights improve to 10-6 on the season and 6-5 in the conference.

Holy Cross made just 36.5 percent of its field goal attempts on the day, but was able to hit 80.0 percent of its free throws. Army connected on 42.9 percent of its shots from the floor and 43.8 percent of its attempts from three-point range.

The Crusaders opened the game by jumping out to an early 9-2 lead after the first five minutes of play. Holy Cross was later up by five (14-9), when the Black Knights scored 12 straight points to pull in front. Army went on to lead by as many as 19 points late in the half, before taking a 41-24 advantage into the locker room.

The Black Knights built their lead back up to 19 points (47-28) with 16:21 left in regulation, before the Crusaders used an 18-4 run to get back into the game. Senior forward Matt Faw scored seven points during that spurt, and Holy Cross trailed 51-46 with 10 minutes remaining. The Crusaders eventually closed the gap to three points (64-61) on a three-pointer by Faw with less than two minutes to play, but Army would make five of eight free throws in the final minute to pull out the win.

Faw finished the game with 19 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. The Black Knights were led by Josh Caldwell with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Holy Cross returns to action tomorrow, Feb. 21, when it faces the Black Knights in Worcester at 3:00 p.m.