The Holy Cross men's basketball team will begin Patriot League Tournament play when it plays host to American on Tuesday, March 1, at 7:00 p.m. The contest between the Crusaders and the Eagles will be shown live by the Patriot League on ESPN+.

The Crusaders stand 9-21 overall this year and finished in a tie for seventh place in the Patriot League with a 7-11 mark in conference games. At the conclusion of the regular season, Holy Cross led the league in blocked shots (3.7 blocks per game), while standing fourth in free throw percentage (70.4 percent).

Senior forward Gerrale Gates has led the team by averaging 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while hitting 73.6 percent of his foul shots. Freshman guard Kyrell Luc has also been playing well, with averages of 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. In addition, sophomore guard Bo Montgomery has averaged 8.8 points and 2.8 boards per game.

American currently has an overall record of 9-21 on the season and finished tied for ninth in the Patriot League standings at 5-13 in conference play. The Eagles stand 3-3 over their last six games, including a 65-55 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Saturday. Senior guard Stacy Beckton has led the team by averaging 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, while hitting 73.9 percent of his free throws. Sophomore guard Colin Smalls has added 10.8 points and 2.6 boards per contest, with sophomore forward Matt Rogers chipping in 9.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

The winner of the Holy Cross-American game will move on to the Patriot League quarterfinals, where it will play at Navy on Thursday, March 3, at 7:00 p.m.