FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Senior forward Gerrale Gates totaled 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Sacred Heart 66-62 at the William H. Pitt Center. The Crusaders fall to 3-10 overall, while the Pioneers improve to 6-8 on the year.

Junior guard Joe Octave finished the game with 17 points, while junior guard Bo Montgomery added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Sacred Heart was led by Nico Gallette with 12 points and eight boards.

The Pioneers opened the game by jumping out to a 12-3 lead after the first 5:10 of action. Holy Cross cut the deficit to five (20-15) with 7:08 left in the half, before Sacred Heart scored seven straight to make it a 12-point game (27-15). The Pioneers eventually took a 31-23 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Sacred Heart was up by 11 (42-31) with 15:59 left in regulation, when the Crusaders used a 12-0 run to pull in front, including nine points from Octave. The Pioneers responded with an 11-4 spurt to regain the lead, and later went in front by nine (63-54) with 3:23 remaining. Holy Cross came back by scoring eight straight points to make it a one-point game (63-62) with less than a minute to play. But the Crusaders would not score again, as Sacred Heart held on for the win.

Holy Cross made 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts on the day, but only hit 23.1 percent of its shots from three-point range. The Pioneers connected on 47.1 percent of their shots from the floor and 84.6 percent of their free throws.

The Crusaders return to action on Friday, Dec. 30, when they play host to Bucknell in their Patriot League opener at 2:00 p.m.

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