WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior guard Joe Octave posted 11 points and five rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Army West Point 59-53 at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex. The Crusaders fall to 8-19 overall and 5-9 in the Patriot League, while the Black Knights improve to 10-17 on the season and 6-8 in the conference.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Holy Cross hit just 32.8 percent of its field goal attempts and 16.7 percent of its three-pointers on the afternoon.
• Army was able to connect on 40.8 percent of its shots from the floor and 42.9 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc.
• Senior guard Bo Montgomery tallied nine points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Will Batchelder added nine points and four boards.
• T.J. Small led the Black Knights with 19 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Army opened the game by jumping out to an early 17-8 lead after the first 11 minutes of play. 
• The Crusaders scored the next eight points to close the gap, and eventually tied the score at 19-19 on a three-pointer by Octave with 4:13 left before the break.
• But the Black Knights came back to close out the half with a 13-3 run and took a 32-22 advantage into the locker room.
• Army was able to extend its lead to 13 points (44-31) early in the second half, before Holy Cross used an 11-1 spurt to make it a three-point game (45-42) with 10 minutes to play.
• The Crusaders were later down by four (52-48) with 3:53 on the clock, but were unable to score on their next four possessions.
• The Black Knights then made five of six free throws in the final minute to pull out the win.

SENIOR DAY:
• Prior to the contest, senior members of the program who will be concluding their Holy Cross careers at the end of the 2023-24 season were honored in a pregame ceremony.
• Montgomery, Octave and senior forward Michael Rabinovich were all recognized.

UP NEXT:
• Holy Cross returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 21, when it plays host to Bucknell at 7 p.m.

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.

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS:
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross men's basketball team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
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