WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman forward Caleb Kenney scored a career-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Boston University 78-65 at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders fall to 8-18 overall and 6-8 in the Patriot League, while the Terriers improve to 19-9 on the season and 10-5 in the conference.

Holy Cross had just eight turnovers on the night, but only made 38.7 percent of its field goal attempts and 64.7 percent of its free throws. Boston University was able to connect on 52.5 percent of its shots from the floor while holding a 42-33 rebounding advantage.

The score was tied at 9-9 early on, before the Terriers used a 17-7 spurt to take a 10-point advantage (26-16) with eight minutes left in the half. The Crusaders responded with a 10-2 run to make it a two-point game (28-26), before Boston University eventually took a 41-34 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The Terriers held onto a small lead early in the second half until Holy Cross tied up the score at 50-50 with 13:02 left to play on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Kyrell Luc. But Boston University then went on a 10-1 run to go in front by nine (60-51) with 9:28 remaining. The Crusaders would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way, with the Terriers going on to post a 13-point victory. 

Luc finished the game with 16 points and five assists, while senior forward Gerrale Gates added 11 points and nine rebounds. Boston University was led by Sukhmail Mathon with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

The Crusaders will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 19, when they travel to Navy for a 12:00 p.m. game.