LEWISBURG, Pa. – Senior forward Gerrale Gates totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Holy Cross men's basketball team to a 78-72 victory over Bucknell at Sojka Pavilion. The Crusaders improve to 8-16 overall and 6-6 in the Patriot League with the win, while the Bison fall to 6-20 on the season and 3-11 in the conference.

Holy Cross made 44.4 percent of its three-pointers and 85.7 percent of its foul shots on the afternoon, while holding a 37-33 rebounding advantage and committing just nine turnovers. Bucknell was able to connect on 47.4 percent of its shots from the floor and 47.1 percent of its attempts from three-point range.

The game was close early on, and the Bison held a 15-11 advantage after the first 8:18 of play. The Crusaders scored the next four points to tie things up, and the game was later tied at 28-28 with four minutes left in the half. Holy Cross then scored 11 straight points to take its biggest lead of the day (39-28), before eventually leading 39-33 at the break.

The Crusaders went back up 10 (49-39) early in the second half, before Bucknell used a 10-2 to run close to within two (51-49). Holy Cross responded with a 10-2 spurt of its own, and would lead by 11 (66-55) with 8:42 remaining. The Bison scored the next seven points to close the gap, and the Crusaders would lead by just two (68-66) with less than three minutes to go. Gates and freshman forward Caleb Kenney would add key baskets on two of Holy Cross' next three possessions, then the Crusaders hit all six of their free throws in the final 30 seconds to pull out the win.

Freshman guard Kyrell Luc finished the day with 14 points, six assists and four rebounds, while sophomore guard Bo Montgomery recorded 13 points and five boards. Kenney added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, and sophomore guard Judson Martindale totaled 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

The Crusaders will return to action on Monday, Feb. 14, when they play host to American at 7:00 p.m.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Holy Cross recorded its first win at Sojka Pavilion since March 3, 2016, when it downed the Bison 77-72 in double overtime in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
• Gates' double-double was his 10th of the season and his sixth in Patriot League play.
• Luc set a new career high with his six assists, while scoring in double digits for a team-leading 18th time.
• The Crusaders posted single-digit turnovers for the sixth time this year.