FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Holy Cross men's basketball team fell by a 79-66 score to nonconference foe Sacred Heart Friday evening in the Pitt Center.

Sophomore guard Tyler Boston scored a game-high and team best 22 points for the Crusaders (1-5) going 7-for-10 (70.0 percent) from the field, 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from deep with five assists and three boards.  Junior guard/forward Joe Nugent dropped 12 markers with six caroms and junior forward Will Aljancic added 12 points (5-of-7 shooting, 71.4 percent) in 17 minutes off the bench.

Five players reached double-figures for the Pioneers (2-3) as Anquan Hill double-doubled producing 16 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Nugent knocked down a pair of freebies to crack the scoring column for Holy Cross making it 5-2 with 2:49 into the game. Boston buried a wing three-ball to tie the score 5-5. Boston made a flashy pass to sophomore forward Aidan Richard wide open in the corner for the first Crusader lead at 10-8 at the 13:44 mark. An 11-0 Scared Heart run put them ahead nine, 19-10 just under 10 minutes to go.
• Holy Cross dropped the margin to three, 19-16 when Boston dished to junior forward Declan Ryan on the right block for two. The Crusaders trailed by six, 26-20 at the media stoppage. After another Ryan post score, Sacred Heart went on an 14-0 run to build an 18 point 40-22 edge. Holy Cross countered with seven straight markers cutting the deficit to 11, 40-29. Boston drilled a transition three as the Crusaders trailed 43-32 at the break.
• Nugent's first three of the game put Holy Cross behind by 10, 45-35 early in the second stanza. He then connected on a mid-range elbow jumper making it an eight point game, 45-37. The hosts kept attacking and drilled five straight threes as the lead expanded to 20, 62-42.
• Two Aljancic lay-ins with a junior guard DeAndre Williams fast break two and an Aljancic corner three was part of a 9-2 Crusader run to trail 64-51 with 8:28 left. Following the media timeout, Aljancic continued his strong play with a hoop and harm minus the free throw for the 64-53 deficit. The Crusaders could not crack single figures over the final minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Nugent needs one more three-pointer to move to fifth place on the program's all-time list to pass Austin Butler (158, 2017-21) and 65 more to become the program's all-time leader.
• Sacred Heart connected on a season-best 16 three-pointers shooting 40.0 percent from long range.
• The Crusaders won the battle on the boards (34-to-32) and scoring in the paint (24-to-22).
• Holy Cross has gone five straight games without a blocked shot.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross opens their home schedule on Monday, Nov. 24 against Siena (3-2) at 6 p.m.
• Season and single-game tickets for Holy Cross men's basketball are on sale through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.

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