BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Holy Cross men's basketball team suffered a 66-58 defeat at the hands of Patriot League foe Lehigh Wednesday evening in Stabler Arena.
The Crusaders (6-10, 1-2 PL) were led by junior guard/forward
Gabe Warren who scored a team-high 15 points on 6-for-8 (75.0 percent) shooting with four rebounds. He was joined in double-figures by classmate, guard/forward
Joe Nugent who dropped 12 points. Edouard Benoit paced the Mountain Hawks (5-11, 1-2 PL) with a game-best 22 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nugent banked in a three off a Warren pass for the early 3-2 Crusader edge. A Mountain Hawk post score doubled up the lead at 10-5 with 16:21 left. A sophomore guard Tyler Boston pull-up jumper from the elbow put Holy Cross down 10-9. Lehigh countered with an and1 for the 13-9 margin.
- The Crusaders turned a seven point deficit into a two point lead using a 12-3 burst over 6:48 with Warren slashing through traffic to tie the score and junior forward Declan Ryan using a nifty post move for the advantage at 26-24. Lehigh jumped back ahead and led 33-30 at halftime.
- Warren got a kind roll on a floater making it 35-34 Lehigh with 18:24 left. 10 straight from the Mountain Hawks put them ahead 45-34 just under the 16 minute media. Junior guard DeAndre Williams stopped the run briefly burying a baseline jumper. Nugent spun through the right block for a hoop and harm making it 47-38 with 11 minutes to go.
- Seven straight from the Crusaders off a Nugent three, a Warren layup and Boston mid-range jumper trimmed the margin to four, 49-45 with 8:07 remaining. Willams connected on a lay-in as Holy Cross remained down five, 54-49. Two straight Lehigh threes reestablished the 11 point lead, however, the Crusaders kept battling going on a 9-2 burst to trail 62-58 with 35 seconds left. Holy Cross was forced to foul and Lehigh made their free throws to hang on for the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Benoit came into the game 2-for-20 (10.0 percent) from three on the season, but was 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) in the contest.
- The Crusaders had 12 or fewer turnovers for the seventh straight game.
- Sophomore forward Aidan Richard matched his career-high with three steals.
UP NEXT:
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