BRONX, N.Y. – Junior guard/forward
Gabe Warren scored a career-high 25 points as the Holy Cross men's basketball team rallied from a 16 point second half deficit to steal a 70-69 victory against Fordham on the road at the Tom Konchalski Classic Saturday afternoon.
Holy Cross slowly chipped away at the deficit as they trailed by 12 with 4:42 left in the game. The Crusaders (4-6) went on a 15-2 run over the final moments of the contest. Junior guard
DeAndre Williams had a massive hoop and harm with 2:09 to play making it a two possession 68-63 score. Warren responded with a layup on the next trip down the court and sophomore guard
Tyler Boston canned a wing three to tie the score 68 all with 47 seconds left.
Fordham (6-4) was fouled while trying to secure an offensive rebound with under 20 seconds to go, but split one of two at the line setting the stage for the Crusaders to try and drill a game winning shot. Holy Cross' three-point attempt was off the mark, but junior guard/forward
Joe Nugent corralled the rock and was fouled on a shot attempt. Nugent went to the line and hit both freebies. A last second Fordham three was off the mark as the Crusaders clinched the comeback victory.
Warren finished the game 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from the field going 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) from deep with a personal-best eight rebounds, to go with three steals and two assists en route to Tom Konchalski Classic MVP honors. 16 of his 25 points came in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Sophomore forward Aidan Richard knocked down a three from the right wing for the opening points of the game. Back-to-back threes from Fordham, gave them a 6-3 edge. Warren was fouled after making a three, but missed the freebie as the game was tied 6-6 3:03 into the battle. Two straight sophomore forward Chuck Hare post scores tied the contest at 10 all.
- Holy Cross again tied the contest 13-13 when junior guard John St. Germain III drilled a three as the shot clock was winding down. He knocked down another triple for the 16-15 Crusader edge. Eight straight points from Fordham put them in the lead at 23-16 with 7:16 left. The Rams sixth three of the first half expanded the lead to 10, 33-23 with 1:29 in the stanza. A great skip pass from Nugent to Warren in the corner trimmed the deficit to 35-28.
- The Rams started the second half on a 7-2 mini run to lead 44-30 at the first media timeout. A St. Germain III hoop and harm with 14:23 to play kept the deficit at 14. Down 16, Warren went on a personal 7-0 run bringing his team within nine, 52-43, with 10:30 left posting four points at the line and a three-pointer.
- A Richard baseline cut off a Boston feed kept the Crusaders within nine at 63-54 with 5:34 left to play. Boston started off the game clinching run with two free throws before Nugent capped it off.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Holy Cross led for only 58 seconds over the entire game and for three seconds in the second half.
- This was the first win for the Crusaders when they trailed by more than 15 points since a 96-95 win over Lehigh (trailed 59-42) on Jan. 22, 2020.
- The Crusaders made double-digit threes for the third time this season and the 11 three-pointers also match a season team best.
- This was Holy Cross' first win over Fordham since Dec. 4, 2005.
- St. Germain III scored a season-high 10 points in nine minutes off the bench.
- Hare made his first collegiate start in the game.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross is back home to take on Regis (Mass.) (6-3) on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m.
- Single-game tickets for Holy Cross men's basketball are on sale through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS:
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