WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior forward Gerrale Gates totaled 23 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead the Holy Cross men's basketball team to a 68-64 victory over Loyola (Md.) at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders improve to 7-16 overall and 5-6 in the Patriot League with the win, while the Greyhounds fall to 13-11 on the season and 7-6 in the conference.

Freshman guard Kyrell Luc finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while sophomore guard Bo Montgomery added 13 points and five boards. Loyola was led by Cam Spencer with 27 points, five rebounds and three assists.

The game was tied at 6-6 early on, when the Greyhounds scoring five straight points to pull in front. Loyola had increased its advantage to eight (26-18) with 9:55 left in the first half, before Holy Cross used a 21-5 run to take the lead. Gates scored eight of his points during that spurt, while Montgomery added six. The Crusaders eventually led 39-33 at halftime.

After Holy Cross opened the second half with a three-pointer by Luc to go up by nine (42-33), the Greyhounds scored nine points in a row to tie the score. The game would stay close the rest of the way, and Loyola held a 62-61 advantage with less than three minutes to play. Gates would then hit a free throw and a layup to put the Crusader up by two (64-62), while Holy Cross held the Greyhounds scoreless on five straight possessions. Luc added four key free throws in the final 30 seconds to clinch the win.

The Crusaders hit 51.9 percent of their field goal attempts on the night while committing only 11 turnovers. Holy Cross also held Loyola to 46.3 percent shooting from the floor, including 30.4 percent from three-point range.

The Crusaders will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 12, when they travel to Bucknell for a 2:00 p.m. game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Gates hit the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and the ninth time in his Holy Cross career.
• Holy Cross improved to 5-0 on the season when hitting at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts.
• The Crusaders are 4-1 over their last five contests, their best five-game stretch in Patriot League regular season play since the 2013-2014 season.