WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior forward Gerrale Gates totaled 25 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Siena 75-68 at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders open the season at 0-1 overall, while the Saints begin the year 1-0.

Holy Cross made 47.5 percent of its field goal attempts on the night, but was only able to connect on 20.0 percent of its shots from three-point range and 43.5 percent of its free throws. Siena was able to hit 51.9 percent of its shots from the floor, 41.2 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc and 57.1 percent of its foul shots.

The Crusaders opened the game with an early 6-5 lead after the first six minutes of play, before the Saints went on an 11-1 run to pull ahead by nine (16-7). It was later a seven-point game (25-18), when Siena scored 10 straight points to go up by 17 (35-18). Holy Cross netted the next eight points to close the gap, and would trail by 11 (37-26) at halftime.

The Crusaders started the second half strong, using a 10-1 spurt to close to within two (38-36). Holy Cross eventually made it a one-point game (44-43) with 13 minutes left to play, before the Saints went on a 12-3 run to go back up by 10 (56-46). The Crusaders were able to trim the margin down to five points (63-58) with four minutes remaining, but would get no closer as Siena held on for the win.

Junior guard Joe Octave totaled 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists in his Holy Cross debut. Junior guard Bo Montgomery posted 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while sophomore forward Caleb Kenney added 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. The Saints were led by Javian McCollum with 20 points and five assists.

The Crusaders return to action on Thursday, Nov. 10, when they play host to Dean at 7:00 p.m.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Holy Cross falls to 71-33 all-time in season openers, and 80-21 all-time in home openers.
• Freshman guard Will Batchelder made his first career start, scoring seven points.

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