WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior guard Joe Octave totaled 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Quinnipiac 77-57 at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders fall to 2-9 overall, while the Bobcats improve to 8-3 on the year.
 
 INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Freshman guard Kahlil Singleton finished the game with a career-best 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. 
• Freshman guard A.J. Wills tied his career-high with 11 points, while freshman forward Declan Ryan added 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.
• Holy Cross hit just 32.3 percent of its field goal attempts and 25.9 percent of its three-pointers on the night.
• Quinnipiac connected on 50.0 of its shots from the floor and 83.3 percent of it free throws, while holding a 43-33 rebounding advantage.
• Matt Balanc led the Bobcats with 23 points and eight rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The game was tied at 6-6 early on, before Quinnipiac used a 9-2 spurt to go in front by seven (15-8).
• The Bobcats were later up 23-17, when the Crusaders scored seven straight points to claim the lead (24-23). 
• Holy Cross was still up by one (26-25) with 2:39 to go before the break, but Quinnipiac closed out the half with 10 unanswered points to take a nine-point lead (35-26) into the locker room.
• The margin was still nine points (43-34) with 16 minutes left in regulation, before the Bobcats used a 12-4 spurt to extend their lead to 17 (55-38).
• The Crusaders would get no closer than 15 the rest of the way, and Quinnipiac pulled away in the closing minutes to win by 20.

 BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Holy Cross started four freshmen in the same game for the first time since Feb. 7, 2018, against Navy.
 
UP NEXT:
• The Crusaders will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 21, when they travel to Harvard for a 2 p.m. game.

BE PART OF THE ACTION:
• Tickets to see the Crusaders in action can be purchased online at GoHolyCross.com/tickets or by calling or texting 1-844-GOCROSS.

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