WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior forward Gerrale Gates totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by American 69-63 in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders finish the year at 9-22 overall, while the Eagles improve to 10-21 on the season and move on to face Navy in the quarterfinals.

Holy Cross made 85.7 percent of its free throws on the night, but was only able to connect on 42.6 percent of its shots from the floor and 29.4 percent of its attempts from three-point range. American hit 53.2 percent of its field goal attempts and 76.0 percent of its foul shots, while holding a 32-26 rebounding advantage.

The game was close throughout a first half which featured three ties and seven lead changes. The Crusaders opened the night with an early 11-6 edge, before the Eagles went on an 8-2 run to pull in front (14-13). American later used a 12-2 spurt to go up by nine (26-17), but Holy Cross scored the next seven points to trim the margin to two (26-24). The Eagles eventually led 32-28 at halftime.

American maintained a small lead early in the second half, and was up 45-42 with 11 minutes left to play. The Eagles then scored six straight points to go up by nine, and went on to extend their lead to 12 (63-51) with three minutes remaining. The Crusaders refused to go quietly, responding with a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to three (66-63) with 13.1 seconds left to play. But American would hit three of four free throw attempts in the closing seconds to hold on for the win.

Freshman guard Kyrell Luc finished the night with 14 points and four assists, while sophomore guard Judson Martindale added 13 points. The Eagles were led by Stacy Beckton with 23 points and nine rebounds.