WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshman forward Aiden Disu scored a game-high 20 points as the Holy Cross men's basketball team fell by an 86-83 score to Patriot League foe Lafayette Wednesday evening on Bob Cousy '50 Court.  
 
Disu was 9-of-12 (75.0 percent) from the field with two blocks, two rebounds and an assist for the Crusaders (9-19, 4-11 PL). He was joined in double-figures by sophomore guard Tyler Boston (16 points, five assists), junior guard DeAndre Williams (13 points) and junior forward Declan Ryan (11 points).
 
Lafayette (9-19, 6-9 PL) was led by five players in double-digits including Ryan Pettit who scored 19 points with seven rebounds and a trio of trifectas in 25 minutes off the bench.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A hoop and harm for Williams on the right block put the Crusaders in the lead at 3-0 early into the game. Holy Cross' strong start continued when Disu drove the lane for a two handed dunk for the 9-2 edge 2:58 into the game. A post score from Ryan opened up a 16-7 edge at the 15:03 mark. Back-to-back threes from Lafayette pulled them within three, 16-13. From there, a 9-3 Crusader burst reestablished the nine point edge, 25-16 following another floater within close from Ryan. A pair of freebies from junior guard John St. Germain III pushed the margin to 10, 30-20 with 9:25 left before the break.
• Another Disu bucket with a Boston old fashioned three point play moved the edge to 39-24 at the under four media stoppage. Ryan connected on a triple, his 11th point of the half for the 47-29 Holy Cross lead. The Crusaders led 49-33 at the break.
• A 6-2 start of the second half for the Leopards dropped the deficit to 52-39. A catch and shoot three off a Boston feed to Warren on the wing expanded the edge to 19, 58-39 just before the under 16 media. A 15-2 run from the Leopards brought the margin to six 60-54 with 12:02 to go. Boston drilled a step-back three to halt the scoring stretch. The Leopard run grew to 23-7 as Holy Cross hung on to a three point edge, 65-62.  
• An and one off a jump shot from Lafayette pulled them within a pair, 71-69 with under seven minutes to play. Richard countered with a fast break layup. Trailing by four, a four-point play from Lafayette tied the score 77-77 with 3:43 to go. That was part of a 13-6 Lafayette run to close the game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Disu became the first Crusader since Gerrale Gates (Jan. 21, 2021-Jan. 30-2021) to score 20+ in four consecutive games.
• Holy Cross was 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) from the field in the first half while Lafayette shot 18-for-29 (62.1 percent) from the hardwood in the second half.
• After going 0-for-14 over a seven game stretch (Jan. 17-Feb. 7) from three, Disu is 6-for-10 (60.0 percent) from range over his last three games.
• The Crusaders have turned the ball over 12 or fewer times in 18 of the last 20 games.
• Boston has nine games of 5+ assists this season.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross hits the road on Sunday, Feb. 22 for an away contest versus Bucknell (8-19, 5-9 PL) at noon.
• Single-game tickets for Holy Cross men's basketball are on sale through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.

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