Holy Cross men's basketball outlasts Bucknell to open Patriot League season
WORCESTER — The new year starts Sunday, but the Holy Cross men’s basketball team’s new season — its Patriot League season — began Friday at the Hart Center.
The Crusaders, looking to snap a four-game losing streak and open PL play with promise, did just that with a rousing 60-58 victory over Bucknell.
“It feels good being able to start in a positive way, and build off this,” said senior forward Gerrale Gates, who was immense with 23 points and 14 rebounds, including two crucial defensive boards in the final minute.
HC, which went 3-10 in its nonconference slate, lost three of its last previous four games by four points or less, including a one-point setback at Northeastern on Dec. 10. The Bison made a late second-half charge and tied the score at 57-57 with just under two minutes left, but the Crusaders withstood the attack with two big defensive stops and a key basket from freshman Will Batchelder.
“I think you have to go through it sometimes,” Holy Cross coach Brett Nelson said. “You have to learn, you have to watch film, you have to go through it. We were so close at Northeastern, at Sacred Heart (a 66-62 loss). When Bucknell made their run, in the past our guys have not responded the way we did. I was proud of the way we responded.”
Gates had his fourth 20-point game of the season and posted his fifth double-double.
“He’s our guy,” Nelson said. “He’s been here longer than anyone. We’re going to have to continue to lean on him. He’s going to play big minutes, and he’s a big part of what we’re doing.”
Senior forward Alex Timmerman led Bucknell (7-7) with 18 points. The Bison have lost three straight.
Nelson tasked junior guard Nolan Dorsey with guarding Bucknell’s Xander Rice, one of the PL’s top players, and Dorsey did a solid job, limiting Rice to 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting.
HC held the Bison to 36% field goal shooting and well below its season scoring average (71.8 ppg).
“I thought we were really active,” Nelson said. “We got a lot of deflections. I thought (junior guard) Joe Octave was physical and made some good plays for us.”
Junior guard Bo Montgomery had three steals.
Gates, who combined with Montgomery for 25 of HC’s 34 first-half points, scored the Crusaders’ first seven points of the second half.
Octave’s basket gave Holy Cross a 49-31 lead with 11:06 left.
From there, Bucknell mounted its run and outscored HC, 21-5, over the next seven minutes.
“We had a few turnovers and a few bad shots on our end,” Gates said. “You have to take care of the ball down the stretch. We have to clean that up, but once we do, we’ll have some things figured out.”
Bucknell senior forward Jake van der Heijden’s layup tied it, and HC went back up, 59-57, on Batchelder’s lay-in.
Gates corralled misses by the 6-foot-10 Timmerman on Bucknell’s next two trips down the floor.
“(No.) 10 (Gates’ uniform number) is going to do what he’s doing to do,” said Montgomery, who fouled out with 4:33 left after scoring 17 points. “Those stops down there at the end were the biggest things I saw him do the whole game. I’m proud of him.”
Gates and Montgomery led a 10-0 run early in the first half, and the Crusaders outscored Bucknell, 15-4, over the final five minutes to take a 34-22 lead at the break.
Gates and Montgomery were a combined 12 of 18 from the floor in the first half.
Holy Cross improved to 18-15 in Patriot League openers, and HC has won its last two games against Bucknell.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Nelson said. “We showed a lot of fight. I knew in second half (Bucknell) was going to come out and play with a lot more energy and play tough, which they did. To our guys credit, we showed a lot of resiliency and made enough plays down the stretch to win.”
Holy Cross, which lost junior forward Mike Rabinovich and Louth Coulibaly for the season to injury, also was without starting sophomore forward Caleb Kenney, who missed the game due to illness.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross men's basketball edges Bucknell to open Patriot season
