WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman guard Will Batchelder totaled 24 points and four assists to lead the Holy Cross men's basketball team to an 85-71 victory over Dean at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders improve to 1-1 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 1-1 on the year.

Senior forward Gerrale Gates turned in a strong performance with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Sophomore forward Caleb Kenney added 12 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and three steals, while junior guard Nolan Dorsey finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. 

The game was close early on, and Dean held a 17-13 lead after the first nine minutes of play. Holy Cross responded with a 14-5 to claim the lead, but was up by just one (30-29) with 2:54 remaining before the break. The Crusaders then closed out the half with a 14-4 spurt, including eight points from Batchelder, to take an 11-point lead (44-33) into the locker room.

The Bulldogs were able to close to within eight points (54-46) with 14 minutes left in regulation, before Holy Cross scored six straight points to take control of the game. The Crusaders went on to lead by as many as 17 (76-59 with 4:44 remaining) and eventually posted a 14-point victory. 

Holy Cross made 53.3 percent of its field goal attempts and 50.0 percent of its three-pointers on the night, while totaling 11 steals and eight blocked shots. Dean connected on just 36.1 percent of its shots from the floor, but did hit 53.3 percent of their attempts from beyond the three-point line.

The Crusaders return to action on Monday, Nov. 14, when they travel to No. 9 Creighton for a 9:00 p.m. (EST) game on the CBS Sports Network.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Holy Cross made at least 50 percent of its three-point attempts for the first time since Feb. 13, 2021, when it drained nine of 17 shots from long range against Boston University (52.9 percent).
• Kenney tied his career highs for points scored (12), blocked shots (five) and steals (three).
• Dorsey set new career best for rebounds (eight) and steals (four), while tying his career high for assists (five).

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