WEST POINT, N.Y. – Junior guard Joe Octave scored a game-high 17 points, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Army West Point at 66-55 Christl Arena. The Crusaders fall to 7-16 overall and 4-6 in the Patriot League, while the Black Knights improve to 12-11 on the year and 6-4 in the conference.

Holy Cross was able to hold Army to 41.7 percent shooting from the field and 28.0 percent shooting from three-point range, but the Black Knights held a 39-28 rebounding advantage while committing just 10 turnovers. The Crusaders connected on 43.1 percent of their shots from the floor and 23.1 percent of their attempts from three-point range.

Army opened the game by scoring the first six points, and later held a 10-point lead (19-9) with 12:26 left in the first half. The Black Knights then went on a 13-5 run to extend their advantage to 18 points (32-14), and eventually took a 39-22 edge into the locker room at half time.

Army was still up by 15 (51-36) with 11:45 remaining, when Holy Cross used an 11-3 spurt to make it a seven-point game (54-47 with 7:36 to play). But the Black Knights responded by scoring the next eight points to regain control, and went on to post an 11-point victory. 

Senior forward Gerrale Gates finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, for his fifth double-double in the last six games and his 11th overall this season. Sophomore forward Caleb Kenney added 11 points, three assists and two rebounds, while hitting all five of his field goal attempts. Army was led by Ethan Roberts with 16 points. 

The Crusaders return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 1, when they travel to Boston University for a 7:00 p.m. game.

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