WEST POINT, N.Y. — Freshman guard Max Green scored 18 points and tied his career high with nine rebounds, but the Holy Cross men's basketball team was defeated by Army West Point 68-65 at Christl Arena. The Crusaders fall to 11-13 on the year and 3-8 in the Patriot League, while the Black Knights improve to 13-10 overall and 7-4 in the conference.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Holy Cross made just 40.3 percent of its field goal attempts and 29.6 percent of its three-pointers on the night.
• Army only connected on 40.8 percent of its shots from the floor and 25.0 percent of its attempts from three-point range, but held a 48-39 rebounding advantage.
• Sophomore forward Joe Nugent totaled 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Caleb Kenney added 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
• The Black Knights were led by Jalen Rucker with 19 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Army started the game hot, jumping out to a 17-4 lead after the first seven minutes of action.
• The Crusaders closed to within eight points (31-23) at the five-minute mark, before the Black Knights closed out the half with an 11-5 spurt to take a 42-28 advantage into the locker room.
• Army maintained the lead early in the second half, expanding the margin to 22 points (56-34) with 14 minutes left to play.
• Holy Cross then scored 19 of the next 21 points, making it a five-point game (58-53) with 5:40 to go.
• The Crusaders trimmed the margin to three points multiple times down the stretch, and had the ball trailing 68-65 with less than 10 seconds to play.
• But a three-point attempt by Green was just of the mark in the closing seconds and the Black Knights held on for the win.

UP NEXT:
• Holy Cross returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when it plays host to Boston University at 12 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.

Be the Power of Purple and celebrate Holy Cross' 10th Giving Day on February 7 & 8 — because when you make a gift, you make an impact!
  
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