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Sader's Season Ends
in Philadelphia
at
St. Joseph's 68, Holy Cross 60, March 21 2005
On Monday March 21, the Holy
Cross Crusaders lost to St. Josephs in the second
round of the NIT, 68-60. The first half of the
ball game opened up with St. Josephs going on an
8-2 run, and the first deuce for the Saders was
scored by Greg Kinsey. St. Josephs then responded
by going on a 7-0 run to increased their score to
15-4 with 15:36 remaining in the half. The Saders
began to pick up the pace and within the next
three minutes they were able to reduce St.
Joseph's score to four, 16-12. During this run
points were scored by Kevin Hamilton (3), Keith
Simmons (4), and Kevin Hyland (1). St. Josephs
responded by going on a 11-2 run, which increased
their lead to 27-14. At this point I commented to
the TV, "Slow it down. Do your thing." My brother
answered back with, "Annie, you should coach." The
closest the Saders got to gaining the lead in the
first half was when they were down by eight, 33-25
at the half.
In the beginning of the second
half the Saders went on an 8-0 run. The first four
points were scored by Greg Kinsey and after he
scored them I shouted, "I love Greg!" Then Chet
Stachitas of St. Josephs went to the line. While
he was at the line my Mom began to shout, "You're
gonna miss! Miss! Miss!" Unfortunately for the
Saders sake, he connected on all three of the foul
shots. John Hurley then went on a 6-0 run and was
able to reduce St. Joseph's lead to one, 40-39
with 11:59 remaining in the ball game. Then Dwayne
Lee of St. Joseph's was fouled on a play. While he
was at the line my Mom yelled, "Miss!! Hit the
rim! He never misses!" On the next play, Greg
Kinsey reduced St. Joseph's lead to one after he
drained a deuce with 9:57 left on the clock. Jim
Carroll of St. Joseph's responded by pouring in a
trey. The closest the Saders got in trying to gain
the lead was when they were down by four, 51-47,
but St. Josephs would not allow the Saders to
sneak past them. The last six points for the
Saders were poured in by John Hurley (4) and Mike
Smiley (2). The Saders ended their season with a
25-7 record.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Greg Kinsey DRAINED 10
points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and snatched 2
steals in 22 minutes.
John Hurley POURED IN 14
points, ripped down 7 rebounds, and snatched 2
steals in 38 minutes.
Nate Lufkin STUFFED 2
blocks, swished in 5 points, and grabbed 5
rebounds in 25 minutes.
Torey Thomas HANDED OUT 7
assists and triggered in 5 points.
Kevin Hamilton DISTRIBUTED 4
assists and banged in 12 points.
Keith Simmons JAMMED IN 10
points in 25 minutes.
Mike Smiley SCORED the last
2 points of the game in 1 minute.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders had 8 steals
compared to St. Joseph's 4.
The Saders outrebounded St.
Joseph's 34-31.
The Saders were called for 22
fouls while St. Joseph's was called for 16.
NEWS
FROM AROUND THE P.L.
Bucknell lost to Wisconsin in
the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday,
March 20th, 71-62.
Former Crusader, Geo Sanchez,
was named an assistant coach to Assumption College
for the 05-06 season.
This game was a tough one for
the Saders to lose. I felt really sad for the
Cross to have their season end, but I had to
overcome my emotions really quick because I had a
chemistry test to cram for the next day. Now that
the end of the season has arrived, I have
reflected on how much fun this season was overall.
There were some great times. My favorite win of
the season was definitely over Notre Dame. That
was the best. I also really enjoyed making the
trips to Boston University, Harvard, Boston
College, and Brown. Those were all really fun
trips, and the Saders won 3 of the 4 away games
that I was present at. There's a nice stat for
you. Now to keep myself occupied I have thrown
myself into the Madness of March. I am presently
winning the pool that I am in, and I am loving it!
I hope I finish up on top, but my Dad is close
behind me. We will have to wait to see what
happens. I don't know what I will do when the
basketball season ends completely. I will be
extremely bored. Once the season ends, I always
realize how much of a life I don't have outside of
the Hart Center. Well that's an exaggeration, but
I do miss being up there in the bleachers during
the off season. All that I can say now is that I
am going to miss the seniors. To John, Greg, Nate,
Mike, and Dan thank you for your hard work. You
made all of the Cross Fans proud.
I would like to apologize for
writing this so late. This week I have been
working on a term project, a research paper
specifically, that I started a bit too late. So I
have been a bit psycho around the house in trying
to complete the tedious paper. Luckily, I just
finished it today, and I only need to worry about
adding the finishing touches to it tomorrow as it
is due on Tuesday. Procrastination is a bad idea.
There's a life lesson for you.
Now I would like to thank
everyone for being subscribers to my column. I
would not be able to write it without your care
and support. To Dana- thank you so much for
allowing me to write for Crossports. I have loved
the experience, and I look forward to doing it
again next season. To all of my Crossports Fans-
thanks for your support as well and I hope you
enjoyed the column just as much as I enjoyed
writing it. To my family- thanks for taking me to
all of the games. Sader Fans it has been great,
and I look forward to writing to you all again
next November! GO CROSS!
**~**This has been Annie, "THE
CRUSADER," with your HC Bball update**~**
Note from CROSSPORTS:
Annie, we thank you for your great coverage and
pictures this year. I know those who cannot
make it to the games especially loved to read your
comments and see your photos. We can't wait
for your next column in November and invite you to
send an off-season update sooner should you be so
moved. Writing this column should be good
experience for a future Sports Editor of The
Crusader and will prepare you well for your
career at the Globe, Herald, Times or where
ever you wind up. To you and your family: THANKS!
Media Coverage of the
St. Joseph's University NIT Game:
HC Recap,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
The Morning Call,
Camden Courier Post,
Delco Daily Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders Step Dance
Around Irish - Make Irishmen Mad
at
Notre Dame 73, Holy Cross 78, March 15 2005
On Tuesday, March 15th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Notre Dame
fighting Irish in the first round of the NIT
78-73. The first half opened up with the Saders
going on a 12-6 run where points were drained by
Greg Kinsey (5), Kevin Hamilton (3), Keith Simmons
(2), and Nate Lufkin (2-dunk). The first tie of
the game occurred at the 11:25 mark when Notre
Dame locked the game at fourteen. Tim Clifford and
Pat Doherty broke the tie by each pouring in a
deuce. Notre Dame eventually decreased the lead to
one, 18-17, but Keith Simmons triggered in a trey
to give the Saders a four point advantage.
Colin Falls of Notre Dame provided the Irish with
a one point lead after he made three foul shots.
Nate Lufkin and Torey Thomas put the Saders back
on top after they each scored a two point field
goal. The next tie of the game occurred at the
3:18 mark after Kevin Hamilton dished the rock
over to Tim Clifford, who nailed a deuce to tie
the game at 27. Notre Dame got in the driver's
seat for awhile and gained the lead, but Tim
Clifford made a two point field goal and one foul
shot to put the Cross down by two, 32-30. On the
next play Pat Doherty snatched the rock away from
an Irishman and handed the rock over to Kevin
Hamilton, who made a lay-up to tie the game at 32
at the half.
The second half started off
with the Cross going on an 18-5 run where points
were swished in by Torey Thomas (2), Nate Lufkin
(4), Kevin Hamilton (10), and Keith Simmons (2) to
provide the Saders with a 50-37 advantage over the
Irishmen with 12:28 remaining in the ball game.
The Irishmen began to creep up on the Saders,
but Torey Thomas would not allow them to as he
scored four points to keep the Saders on top. With
9:09 remaining in the game, the Saders were
leading the way 54-47. With under four and a half
minutes left in the rally, Notre Dame managed to
decrease the Sader's lead to one, 60-59. Nate
Lufkin connected on a foul shot to give the Saders
a two point lead. His shot began the Saders 5-0
run where other points were scored by Kevin
Hamilton (2), and Torey Thomas (2). With 1:23 left
on the clock, the Saders were ahead 69-61 after
Keith Simmons swished in two foul shots. Jordan
Cornette of Norte Dame responded by draining a
trey to cut the Sader's lead to five, 69-64. Torey
Thomas and Kevin Hamilton kept the Saders on top
in the last minute of the ball game as Torey
poured in three free throws and Kevin Hamilton
swished in six foul shots to give the Cross the
first post season win in Patriot League History.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton SWISHED IN a
career-high 26 points, grabbed 7 rebounds,
distributed 2 assists, stuffed 1 block, and
snatched 2 steals in 40 minutes.
Torey Thomas POURED IN 16
points, ripped down 6 rebounds, handed out 2
assists, and snatched 1 steal in 28 minutes.
Nate Lufkin DRAINED 11 points,
grabbed 7 rebounds, and snatched 2 steals in 35
minutes.
SHOCKING
STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders out rebounded the
Irishmen 40-36.
The Irishmen had 19 turnovers
while the Saders only had 9.
The Cross had 9 steals while
the Irishmen had 5.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST ST. JOSEPH'S
On Monday, March 21st, the Holy
Cross Crusaders will be taking on St. Josephs at
7:00 on ESPN2. St. Joseph's record this season
is 21-11 They have defeated Davidson, Fairfield,
U.C Davis, Fordham (2), Rhode Island,
Massachusetts (2), La Salle, Xavier (2), St.
Bonaventure (2), Duquesne, Temple (2), Richmond
(2), George Washington, Hofstra, and Buffalo. They
have lost to Kansas, Drexel, San Francisco, Old
Dominion, Bucknell, Ohio State, Dayton,
Pennsylvania, Villanova, Rhode Island, and George
Washington. Their best scorer is Pat Carroll, who
averages 18 points a ball game. Their center,
Dwayne Jones, is 6'11 and 250 pounds. In St
Joseph's last game he had four blocks and grabbed
18 rebounds. He averages 10 points a ball game.
More information about St. Joseph's can be found
here:
St. Joseph's University Basketball Link
NEWS
FROM AROUND THE P.L.
On Friday, March 18th, the
Bucknell Bison stunned College Basketball Nation
by defeating Kansas in the first round of the NCAA
tournament. Bucknell beat Kansas 64-63. This is
the first time that a Patriot League school ever
beat a team in the NCAA tournament. This marks the
first time Bucknell has ever been to the dance.
You all just remember who they had to beat to get
there though. This means that Holy Cross is
definitely capable of beating Kansas, (not that I
ever doubted them) because Holy Cross beat
Bucknell once. Overall I am happy for Bucknell
even though I picked Kansas to beat them in the
pool that I am in. Their win over Kansas is a
great thing for the league, and with Holy Cross
beating Notre Dame it just shows people that the
Patriot League cannot be over-looked...EVER!
First of all, I want everyone
to know that the reason as to why I decided to
write this so late is because I wanted to wait to
see who Holy Cross would be playing next in the
NIT.
On Tuesday night I went over to
Dave Mahaney's house with my Dad and brother to
watch the game. They have the best TV room ever.
It is just the type of room I want when I am
living on my own. First, they have a big comfy
couch. A must have. Then they have a HUGE flat
screen TV. I definitely need one of those so I can
watch my Saders. Also, they have a mini bar, and
who doesn't want one of those in their basement?
The only difference is that my room will have
royal purple walls with Sader pictures everywhere
because it will be the Sader room! It will be hott!
Everyone can come over to watch the Saders
anytime!
Joining us were a bunch of
people from the Holy Cross Club of Greater
Worcester. One couple there was Kristen and Jim
Dyer, who both attended the Cross. Jim Dyer's
brother was roommates with Pat Doherty's brother,
Jim. Anyway, Kristen's mom, Mami Le Blanc was
there with her husband. As soon as I sat down I
discovered that Mami's favorite player was Pat
Doherty. At the end of the game Mami was going
crazy like everyone in the room, and in the last
final seconds she said, "Chill me!" Not quite sure
what that means...but it was pretty funny. When
the Saders won everyone jumped out of their seats
because they were so excited. I even threw my
notebook in the air. Everyone was so happy and
were eager to find out who the Saders would be
playing next.
I was rooting for Buffalo to
win against St. Josephs because if they had won
the game would be at the Hart Center. My Dad, on
the other hand, wanted St. Josephs to win because
he is going to be out of town Monday night, and
will be close to Philadelphia. So lucky him, he
gets to go. I will be sitting on my leather couch,
rooting hard for the Saders. At least the leather
couch is comfier than a bleacher seat at the
Cross, but still I want the game to be at the
Hart. Oh well. Let's Go Saders!
**~**This has been Annie, "THE
CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL Update**~**
Media Coverage of the
Notre Dame NIT Game:
HC Recap,
CBS Sportsline.com,
Fort Wayne Journal,
Notre Dame Recap
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bucknell Crushes
Saders Dreams of NCAA - Saders advance to NIT
at
Holy Cross 57, Bucknell 61, March 11, 2005
On Friday, March, 11th, the Holy Cross Crusaders
lost to Bucknell in the Patriot League
Championship game, 61-57. In the first half,
Bucknell came out fired up as they went on a 22-7
run. Pat Doherty banged in a trey and Nate Lufkin
poured in two foul shots to decrease Bucknell's
lead in half, 24-12. The Saders would only score
eight more points in the half, while they allowed
Bucknell to score twelve. These other eight points
for the Saders came from Nate Lufkin (1), Pat
Doherty (2), John Hurley (3), and Kevin Hamilton
(2). The score at the half was 38-20.
In the second half the Saders went on a 5-0 run,
where points were swished in by John Hurley (2-a
dunk), Kevin Hamilton (1), and Torey Thomas (2).
Bucknell responded by going on a 6-0 run, and this
run was stopped by John Hurley, who ripped down
the offensive rebound, and poured in a two.
Charles Lee of Bucknell came back and poured in a
trey, but Kevin Hyland poured in a deuce. Kevin
Hamilton came back and poured in a trey to
decrease Bucknell's lead, 47-32. Bucknell scored
four straight points, but the Saders went on a
10-0 run where points were scored by Keith Simmons
(3), Kevin Hamilton (5), and John Hurley (2),
which decreased Bucknell's lead by nine, 51-42.
Charles Lee and Chris McNaughton of Bucknell
scored a combined total of five points to put
Bucknell back on top by fourteen. The Saders then
went on a 13-3 run, which decreased Bucknell's
lead by four, 59-55 with 2:04 remaining on the
clock. Points during this run were drained by
Keith Simmons (1), Torey Thomas (3), and Kevin
Hamilton (7). Hamilton also had two steals during
this run, which enabled him to score. The last
bucket for the Saders was scored by Kevin Hyland,
which put the Cross down by two, 59-57.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
John Hurley GRABBED 6 rebounds, and poured in 11
points in 33 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton SWISHED IN 21 points and snatched 5
steals in 38 minutes.
Greg Kinsey SLICED DOWN 4 rebounds and snatched 1
steal in 15 minutes.
Torey Thomas DISTRIBUTED 4 assists and SWISHED IN
5 points in 27 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders allowed Bucknell to make 52.5% of their
two point field goal shots.
The Saders were held to making only 34.5% of their
two point field goal shots.
The Saders outrebounded the Bison 30-28.
The Saders had 12 steals compared to Bucknell's 7.
Bucknell had 20 turnovers compared to Holy Cross'
13.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST NOTRE DAME
On Tuesday, March 15th, the Holy Cross Crusaders
will be playing the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame
in the first round of the NIT at 7:00 on ESPN2.
Notre Dame finished off their season with a record
of 17-11. They have defeated Harvard, IPFW,
Charleston Southern, Indiana, Army, Marist,
Western Illinois, Stanford, Seton Hall, St.
John's, Villanova, West Virginia,
Connecticut, Boston College, Georgetown,
Providence, Rutgers, They have lost to Michigan,
DePaul Syracuse (2), Georgetown, Villanova,
Pittsburgh (2), Connecticut, UCLA, and Rutgers.
NEWS FROM AROUND
THE P.L.
Bucknell advances to the dance where they will
take on Kansas on Friday, March 18th at 9:50 in
Oklahoma City.
The day of the game I woke up, and recalled a
dream I had. I was up at the Cross the day of the
game, except the campus was different. I can't
explain it, but it was the HC campus, even though
it wasn't the same. Joe got out of his car, and
brought out this big TV camera. Apparently we were
going to go sneak into a press conference before
the big game. I was going in as a Telegram and
Gazette reporter, in my high school sweatshirt,
and jeans, without a press pass. Very official,
but somehow we made it in. Then Joe went away, and
there was this fancy lunch or something, and there
was this old guy, who was just bossing everyone
around. Weird! Then the day flash forwarded to me
walking up to the hill, trying to describe the way
I felt at that moment so I could write it down in
my notebook for my newsletter. I then got to
my seat, and everything became a bit hazy. It was
like I was seeing the game through an old
fashioned color TV. The only part of the game that
I saw was the tip-off where the Cross got the
first possession, and Kyle Cruze, who started,
banged in a trey. The only weird thing was that we
were not playing Bucknell, we were playing
American.
The game that I witnessed on Friday was a bad
dream. This game was so hard to watch. During the
game I sat next to Greg Kinsey's Dad, and in front
of Kyle Cruze's Dad, who was in front of John
Hurley's Dad. During the game I was seriously
praying to God to help the Saders wake up, to make
a run happen..ANYTHING! I have decided maybe God
didn't want Holy Cross to win because he has
better plans for them in the NIT. At halftime I
talked to Brian Wilson, and he said that they need
energy, and if there was something that they
should change it was everything.
Seeing the boys with their heads down on the
bench, was just something that I hated seeing. So
instead I just sat down in the bleachers..and
cried. I did not look at Bucknell celebrating..or
look at them cutting down the net. After the game,
I gave a hug to Nate Lufkin, who was just happy
that the season was not over for him. He was happy
that the women get to go dancin' and he thanked me
for everything that I did for him throughout his
career. That's happy go lucky Nate for ya! I also
talked with Kyle Cruze, who mentioned to his Dad,
Buddy Cruze, that Willard told the team that they
had nothing to be ashamed of, and that he was
proud of them.
We then talked to Greg Kinsey's Dad. Mr.
Kinsey told us how much Greg enjoyed being at my
house after the Army home game, and that he was
just glad that he came. Mr. Kinsey said that the
players like knowing that people out there care.
Well, I am so glad that Greg enjoyed himself, and
as I fan, I like knowing that the players
appreciate myself and all of the other purple fans
out there.
I had to say goodbye to the Hurley family that
day. I gave Mrs. Hurley a hug, it was sad to see
them go. They are a great family. Afterwards I
walked by Keith Simmons, and we just sort of
looked at each other. Without saying anything,
there was a look of understanding, and he knew I
felt so sorry for them. I then told him he did a
good job, and he thanked me.
As far as the fans go, they were just great.
The crowd was awesome, and I loved all of the
purple and the creativity that was shown.
Especially the costume of the banana. That was a
nice touch. Everyone was so loud, and it was just
great.
All in all, I am sad for the Saders, but I
am so thankful that they have the opportunity to
play in the NIT. There hard work paid off for
them, and they are very fortunate to have this
opportunity to play again. Many teams season's
ended this weekend, and the Saders are lucky that
there's did not. Hopefully they will use their
anger and frustration from Friday's game to do
some serious damage in the NIT. It is a whole new
season for them now. Their sixteen game winning
streak is over, and hopefully they can get out of
their tentative funk. They need to step it up in
the NIT because they will be facing teams that
feel just as crappy as they do, and if they don't
come out fired and ready, they will be eaten
alive, and their season will be over.
**~**This is Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC
bball update**~**
Media Coverage of the
Bucknell PL Championship Game:
HC Recap,
Boston Herald, Boston Globe:
Shaughnessy,
Game Story,
Bucknell Recap,
The Daily Item
Lehigh Scares Saders
in the Attack of the Hart - Saders advance to
Championship
On Sunday, March 6th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Lehigh in a
thrilling overtime victory, 57-53. The ball game
started off with Lehigh taking the lead, 2-0.
The Saders did not gain the lead until Torey
Thomas poured in a trey to provide the Saders
with a two point lead, 9-7. Joe Knight of Lehigh
provided the Mountain Hawks with a one point
lead after he drained a trey. Kevin Hamilton
fired back by draining a trifecta to provide the
Saders with a two point lead, 12-10 with 10:25
remaining in the half. Lehigh responded by going
on a 9-4 run to provide them with a 21-16
advantage over the Saders. Nate Lufkin and Torey
Thomas quickly scored a combined total of four
points to decrease Lehigh's lead to one, 21-20
with 4:09 remaining in the half. Kevin Hamilton
then provided the Saders with the lead after he
snatched the rock away from a Mountain Hawk and
was fouled. At the line he scored both of his
shots to give the Saders a 22-21 advantage.
Lehigh responded to this by going on a 6-0 run,
which was quickly put to a halt by John Hurley,
who drained a deuce to decrease Lehigh's score
to three, 27-24. The last three buckets for the
Saders were scored by John Hurley (2) and Nate
Lufkin (1), which helped to lower Lehigh's
advantage to two, 29-27.
In the second half, Sader
Fans began cheering, "Let's go Saders!" This
helped motivate Greg Kinsey, who came right out
and poured in a trey to give the Saders a one
point lead of 30-29. Lehigh responded by going
on a 16-8 run, which provided them with a 45-38
lead over the Cross. One of the shots during
Lehigh's run was a dunk made by Earl Nurse. When
this occurred Pat Doherty's Father said, "Major
Trouble." Keith Simmons came through for the
Saders and scored six points in a row, four of
the points came from "slamma jamma for ya mama,"
dunks! This helped to decrease Lehigh's lead to
three, 47-44 with 4:44 remaining in the ball
game. Kevin Hamilton came back and fired a trey
with 2:30 remaining in the game, which decreased
Lehigh's lead to two, 49-47. Keith Simmons was
later fouled in the last seconds of the game. At
the line he connected on both of his foul shots
to lock the game at 49. Back on defense Nate
Lufkin had a huge block in the last five seconds
to prevent Lehigh from taking the lead, and the
opportunity to play in the championship.
In overtime, Torey Thomas
fouled out in the first few seconds of the game.
Nick Monserez of Lehigh drained both of his foul
shots to provide the Mountain Hawks with the two
point lead. Nate Lufkin quickly locked the game
at 51 after he was fouled and he swished in both
of his free throws. On Lehigh's next possession
they were unable to get a shot off, but Keith
Simmons later fouled Joe Knight. At the line,
Knight poured in both of his charity stripe
shots to give the Mountain Hawks the 53-51
advantage. Kevin Hamilton tied the game at 53
after he made two foul shots. Back on defense
Nate Lufkin snatched the rock away from a
Mountain Hawk, which later lead to Kevin
Hamilton getting fouled in the last 55 seconds
of the game. At the line, Hamilton made both
foul shots. Hamilton was once again fouled with
9.4 seconds remaining, which provided the Saders
with a 57-53 lead. Lehigh's inbound pass
went out of bounds and that was the game.
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
John Hurley RIPPED DOWN 9
rebounds, drained 11 points, and stuffed 1 block
in 40 minutes.
Nate Lufkin SWATTED AWAY 4
blocks, swished in 7 points, grabbed 7 rebounds,
and snatched 2 steals in 34 minutes.
Torey Thomas DISTRIBUTED 4
assists, soared for 5 rebounds, and poured in 7
points in 29 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton TRIGGERED IN
16 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 42 minutes.
Keith Simmons FIRED IN 11
points in 28 minutes.
SHOCKING
STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders were outrebounded
40-38.
The Saders had 6 blocks
compared to Lehigh's 3.
The Saders made 89% of their
free throws in overtime.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST BUCKNELL
Last season Bucknell finished
off the season with a 14-15 record, and finished
third in the Patriot League after finishing off
league play 9-5. Their top returning player is
Kevin Bettencourt who averaged 14.9 points a
game last season, and grabbed 5.5 rebounds a
game last season. Bucknell is returning all five
of their starters from last season. This season
their record is 21-8. They have defeated
Northern Colorado, Rider, Stephen F. Cyclone,
Yale, Robert Morris, Cornell, Niagara, St.
Joseph's, Pittsburgh, Holy Cross, Colgate (2),
Army (2), Lafayette (2), Lehigh, American (2),
and Navy .They have lost to Princeton, St.
Francis, Iowa State, Penn State, American,
Navy, Lehigh, and Villanova. More information
can be found by visiting here:
Bucknell Link
On Sunday, March 6th, the
Bucknell Bison defeated American University
53-35. This means that Holy Cross will be facing
Bucknell at the Hart Center on Friday, March
11th at 4:30. This game is also expected to air
on ESPN2.
As I was driving to this game
with my brother, Patrick, I had a bad feeling. I
was extremely nervous before this game began,
and I had a right to feel this way. CROSSPORTS
webmaster, Dana St. James, came over to me
before the game, and asked me whether I thought
this game was going to be close or not. I
responded with, "Yes, it will be close. Till the
end." Unfortunately, I was right. During the
first half I was a nervous wreck, yet I was
still thinking, "This is just like the first
half of the Army game. Everything will be fine.
They will pull through." During the first half I
felt so restless. I kept chewing on my gum to
relieve the stress that I was feeling and
running my hands through my hair, letting a few
expletives slip here and there.
At the start of the second
half, I thought that the Saders would come out
and start a run. Time was ticking off of the
scoreboard...and still no run. Lehigh would not
allow the Saders to take off. They had a
championship title to defend. With ten minutes
left in the second half, I grew a bit
pessimistic. My horrible feelings about this
game were growing worse each second. I just sat
there and took the whole atmosphere in. I looked
across the stands, and saw purple fans feeling
just as nervous as I was. I glanced at Greg,
Nate, Mike, John, and Dan thinking this cannot
be the last time that I see them in this gym. I
thought if this does not end well I will just
pull my jersey over my face and sit and cry a
river for the next hour. After thinking all of
this I thought I was crazy. There was still ten
minutes left in this game, and I could not give
up on my team because they were still in this
game. Lehigh was not destroying us, the purple
still had a chance.
By the time the Saders were
in overtime, I grew calmer. Then the Saders
clinched the win. I was so relieved after the
game. I felt like rubber and my hands were still
all tense. After the game I talked with Mrs.
Hurley and we were saying just how nerve
wracking the game was. Mr. Doherty introduced me
to Father McFarland. It was a great pleasure to
meet him. I then went over and sat with Joe, who
was talking with Kyle Cruze. Joe made some CDs
for Kyle because they like the same kind of
music. My Dad told Kyle that he thought that one
of the hardest things about basketball is coming
off the bench after sitting for a majority of
the game and being expected to make some
buckets. Kyle responded with, "Thank you! I feel
the same way. I mean, I am a shooter, but it is
hard coming off of the bench after sitting for a
long time and being expected to score." Hang in
there Kyle, you will be able to shine soon.
As for the game against
Bucknell, I am hoping for a huge crowd to
come wearing lots of purple. I am just thankful
the Saders are going to be in the Championship
game. Anything can happen in the Patriot
League...I just hope God is on our side on
Friday. Offer up those prayers this week
purple fans!
**~**This has been Annie, THE
CRUSADER, with your HC Bball update**~**
Media Coverage of the
Lehigh Game:
HC Recap,
ESPN,
Lehigh Recap
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Madness Begins:
Saders Tank Army 76-42
at
Holy Cross 76, Army 42, March 4, 2005
On Friday, March 4th, the Holy
Cross Crusaders defeated Army in the first round
of the Patriot League Tournament 76-42. The first
half began with the Saders going on a 10-2 run
where points were poured in by Torey Thomas (2),
John Hurley (2), Greg Kinsey (4), and Nate Lufkin
(2). Army responded by going on a 8-0 run, which
decreased the Cross' lead by three, 13-10. Army
was down by one on two occasions. The first time
was after Cory Sinning drained a trey to make the
score 16-15 with 9:30 remaining in the first half
of action. Pat Doherty fired in a trey to put the
Saders ahead by four, but Matt Bell of Army
followed through by triggering in a trifecta as
well. Bell quickly came right back for Army and
locked the game at 21. The game was tied once
again with 4:33 remaining in the first half after
Torey Thomas drained a deuce. The next huge play
of the half came from Keith Simmons, who soared
through the air, enabling him to have the biggest
stuff of the seasons. The half ended with Keith
Hamilton swishing in a trey to give the Saders a
two point advantage at the half, 29-27.
The second half began with the
Saders going on a 8-1 run where points were scored
by Greg Kinsey (2), Kevin Hamilton (4), and John
Hurley (1). From there the Saders were able
to dominate the game. The Cross went on a 13-8 run
where points were tossed in by Keith Simmons (7),
Kevin Hamilton (3), Kevin Hyland (1), and Pat
Doherty (2), which provided the Saders with a
51-36 lead. The game ended with Army only scoring
six more points while the Saders poured in
twenty-five more points. These twenty-five points
were rolled in by Keith Simmons (3), John Hurley
(2), Torey Thomas (8), Greg Kinsey (5), Mike
Smiley (4), and Tim Clifford (3).
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Greg Kinsey POURED IN 13
points, grabbed 3 rebounds, distributed 2 assists,
and snatched 1 steal in 22 minutes.
Nate Lufkin RIPPED DOWN 8
rebounds and swatted at 3 blocks in 31 minutes.
John Hurley GRABBED 5 rebounds
and stuffed 3 blocks in 31 minutes.
Torey Thomas DRAINED 12
points, ripped down 6 rebounds, and handed out 4
assists in 23 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton TOSSED IN 16
points, distributed 3 assists, and snatched 2
steals in 32 minutes.
Keith Simmons JAMMED IN 11
points in 21 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders had 9 blocks
compared to Army's 1.
The Saders held Army to
making 33% of their two point field goals.
The Cross out rebounded Army
35-27.
UPCOMING
GAME AGAINST LEHIGH
On Sunday, March 6th, the Holy
Cross Crusaders will be taking on Lehigh in the
second round of the Patriot League Tournament at
1:00 at the Hart Center. Last season Lehigh
finished off with a 20-11 record and placed first
in Patriot League action with a record of 10-4.
This season they return four starters while they
have last one. Their top returning player, Austen
Rowland, averaged 15 points per game last season
and grabbed 5 rebounds a game last season. This
year Lehigh's record is 14-14. They have defeated
Sacred Heart, Dartmouth, Albany, Eastern, Towson,
Wagner, American, Lafayette, Navy, Army (2),
Colgate (2), and Bucknell. They have lost to Penn
State, Long Island, Stony Brooke, Columbia,
Harvard, Xavier, Cornell, Colgate, Bucknell, Holy
Cross (2), Navy, American, and Lafayette. More
information can be found here:
Lehigh Link
On Friday, March 4th, American
(3rd in the Patriot League) defeated Navy (6th in
the Patriot League) in overtime 85-83. Lehigh (4th
in the Patriot League) beat Colgate (5th in the
Patriot League) 77-60. Bucknell (2nd in the
Patriot League) crushed Lafayette (7th in the
Patriot League) 70-34. This means that not only
will Holy Cross be playing against Lehigh on
Sunday, but Bucknell and American will be playing
against each other at 1:00 on Sunday, March 6th at
Bucknell.
This week four of our fellow
Saders won awards in the Patriot League. Coach
Willard won Coach of the Year, Kevin Hamilton was
named Patriot League Player of the Year, Pat
Doherty was named Patriot League Rookie of the
Year, and Keith Simmons was named to the first
team in the Patriot League. Congrats to all of
them and to the entire Sader team!
Last night I drove to the Hart
Center with my Dad and brother, Patrick. In the
car Bon Jovi's song, Living on a Prayer, came on.
Some of the lyrics I thought related to last
night's game. Granted Jovi's song is really about
love, but who cares.
Whooah We're Half Way There
Livin' On A Prayer
Take My Hand And We'll Make It I Swear
Livin' On A Prayer
We've Got To Hold On Ready Or
Not
You Live For The Fight When It's All That You've
Got
Whooah We're Half Way There
Livin' On A Prayer
Take My Hand And We'll Make It I Swear
Livin' On A Prayer
This related to last night's
game because Holy Cross was living on a prayer
during the first half. I was nervous about the
Saders playing Army. I don't care how many games
Army has won and lost this season, anything can
happen in the Patriot League. I had a feeling Army
was going to come into this game with a totally
different mentality than before. I knew they would
not allow the Saders to dominate the game like
they did the previous two times. Unfortunately I
was right, but luckily the game only stayed close
during the first half. Now Holy Cross is half way
there to the Patriot League Championship. They
just have to make it past Lehigh.
Anyway, before the game began I
talked with Jon and Dave. I was telling them about
how I might have a shot at landing an internship
at the Telegram and Gazette this summer, and I am
hoping I will be able to get one. After we were
done talking, I returned to my seat where Joe said
something hilarious. He asked me if I had seen
Napoleon Dynamite yet. I told him that I had not
seen it yet, unfortunately, but all of my friends
love the movie. So Joe quoted a line from the
movie, except he replaced Napoleon's name with
mine. Joe said, "Hey Annie, what are you writing
about? Whatever I feel like, gosh!" Gotta love it!
There's your Joe comment of the day.
After the game I talked quite a
bit with Pat Doherty's parents. Pat's Mom was
quite nervous during the first half, just like all
of the purple fans. She thought that Army might
have planned this all season. Since individuals
who are in the Army are always figuring out
different strategies she thought that Army's plan
could have been to not do that well during the
season and come out and win the entire Patriot
League. Nate then passed by and thanked me for
coming. Then Pat came by and said to me, "Two
more, right." I said, "No, three!" Let's just hope
it will be three or more!
**~**This has been Annie, "THE
CRUSADER," with your HC BBall update**~**
Media Coverage of the
Army Game:
Pre-Game
Herald Article,
Boston Herald Post-Game Article,
Boston Globe,
Army Recap,
HC Recap,
Times Herald Record
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders
Sweep by Army, win 14th Consecutive
Game
On Saturday, February 26th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Army 66-49. This
matchup took place on Senior Day, and in
celebration of this day, seniors John Hurley, Mike
Smiley, Dan Brault, Greg Kinsey, and Nate Lufkin
were all starters. The first bucket for the Saders
was scored by Mike Smiley, which was a trey. This
put the Saders ahead by one, 3-2, and sparked the
Cross' 12-2 run. During this run points were also
scored by John Hurley (5), Greg Kinsey (2), and
Kevin Hamilton (2). One of the exciting plays that
occurred during this run was when John Hurley made
his first three ball of the season. The Saders
then went on a 11-3 run where points were swished
in by Greg Kinsey (3), Keith Simmons (5), and
Kevin Hamilton (3), which put the Saders ahead
23-5. The Saders closed the first half leading the
way by eighteen, 38-14.
The second half began with
Army going on a 13-4 run, which helped to decrease
the Cross' lead to thirteen, 40-27. Keith Simmons
picked up the momentum for the Saders as he scored
five straight points to put the Saders ahead 47-29
with 10:32 remaining in the contest. Nate Lufkin
then added three more points onto the scoreboard
for the Saders after he drained a deuce and after
he was fouled he poured in his extra bonus shot.
The next big play of the half was when Mike Smiley
drained his second trey of the ball game, which
provided the Saders with a nineteen point lead,
66-47. One more shot for the Saders went in, which
was made by Dan Brault. This shot was not counted
by the refs because they called the play as an
offensive foul. I disagree and therefore I am
counting the shot, which ultimately changes the
final score to 68-49.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Keith Simmons POURED IN 18
points, ripped down 6 rebounds, and snatched 3
steals in 22 minutes.
Greg Kinsey SWISHED IN 5
points, handed out 3 assists, and snatched 2
steals in 24 minutes.
Nate Lufkin RIPPED DOWN 6
rebounds, drained 6 points, and stuffed 3 blocks
in 26 minutes.
Mike Smiley TRIGGERED IN 6
points in 6 minutes.
Dan Brault NAILED 2
points..even though the refs didn't count
it, grabbed 1 rebound, and snatched 1 steal in 4
minutes.
John Hurley JAMMED IN 7 points,
grabbed 4 rebounds, stuffed 1 block, and
distributed 1 assist in 26 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders outrebounded Army
38-27.
The Cross snatched 12 steals
compared to Army's 3.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST ARMY
On Friday, March 4th, Holy
Cross will be playing Army in the first round of
the Patriot League Tournament at the Hart Center
at 8:00. Last season Army finished off the year
with a 6-21 record and a 3-11 record in conference
play. They placed seventh in Patriot League play.
This season Army is returning two of their
starters from last season while they have lost
three. Their top returning players is Josh Wilson
who averaged 11 points a game last season and
grabbed 3.4 rebounds a game last season. Army's
record this season is 3-23 They have defeated
Polytechnic, New York Martime, and Navy. They have
lost to The Citadel, Sacred Heart, Stony Brooke,
New Hampshire, St. Francis, Albany, Notre Dame,
Farleigh Dickinson, Cornell, Columbia, Colgate,
Holy Cross (2), Bucknell (2), American (2), Lehigh
(2), Lafayette (2), and Navy. Click here for more
information about Army Basketball: Army
Link
On Saturday, February 26th,
Lafayette defeated Lehigh 81-76. American beat
Navy 84-77 while Bucknell barely defeated Colgate
60-59. Therefore on Friday, March 4th, American,
who finished in 3rd place, will be playing Navy,
who finished in sixth place, at Bucknell at 5:30.
Lehigh, who finished in fourth place, will be
playing Colgate, who finished in fifth place, at
Holy Cross at 5:30. Bucknell, who finished in
second place, will be playing Lafayette, who
finished in seventh place, at Bucknell at 8:00.
Congrats to the Saders who finished in first
place!
This game was fun, but not very
exciting. The Saders had a great crowd, but no one
really got that into the game because it was so
one sided. The Senior Ceremony started about nine
minutes before the tip off, which was weird to me.
I was glad that I did not miss it. This year the
parents were not announced with their son either,
which I really did not like. I preferred the way
the ceremony was done in previous years with the
parents and their son going onto the court
together. The Senior Ceremony always makes me a
bit sad because it is a sign that the season is
coming to an end...way too soon. At halftime
Brian Hurley, John Hurley's younger brother, was
awarded a Holy Cross basketball jersey after being
a ball boy for four consecutive seasons. That was
a really nice thing for the athletic department to
do. Keith Simmons won MVP for the game, and Tom
Mahon, who goes to my church, presented the award
to him from the Holy Cross Club of Greater
Worcester. After the game, my family held an end
of the regular season party at my house for some
of the fans that we have gotten to know well this
season. We also invited some of the senior parents
that we have gotten to know well over the years.
Mr. Kinsey came along with Greg and Mrs. Lufkin
also attended along with Nate. John Hurley's
parents were invited as well, but their daughter,
Caitlin, had a play that evening and they could
not attend. All in all the party was a blast and
everyone had a great time. We even watched the
championship game from the '02-'03 season, and
that was a fun time. Now it is the playoff time.
Bring it on!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders
are #1, Patriot League Tournament
Comes to Hart
at
Holy Cross 69, Bucknell 54, February 23, 2005
On Wednesday, February 23rd,
the Holy Cross Crusaders clenched the Patriot
League Title as they defeated Bucknell
69-54.Before the game started, Senior Nate Lufkin,
received a special ball in honor of him becoming
the all time blocker in Holy Cross Basketball
History. The first half began with the crowd
chanting "Let's go Saders," which motivated the
Cross to go on a 13-4 run. During this run points
were swished in by John Hurley (7), Kevin Hamilton
(2), Torey Thomas, (2), and Nate Lufkin (2). One
of the great plays that was made during this run
was by John Hurley, who dunked the rock with one
hand. The greatest lead the Saders had over
Bucknell during this half was when they were ahead
by twelve, 24-12. This lead was quickly decreased
by Bucknell as they went on a 12-0 run to lock the
game at 24 with 2:51 remaining in the first half.
Seniors Greg Kinsey and Nate Lufkin responded by
scoring a combined total of five points to make
the Saders have a five point lead at halftime
(29-24).
In the second half, Bucknell
came close to regaining the lead as they managed
to decrease the Cross' lead to one, 32-31. The
Saders answered back by going on a 11-2 run where
shots were drained by Keith Simmons (3), Torey
Thomas (4), Greg Kinsey (2), and Kevin Hyland (2).
The Saders continued to gain momentum from this
point on during the second half and did not allow
Bucknell to come close to gaining the lead. One
sweet play that occurred was after Kevin Hamilton
triggered in a trey to provide the Saders with a
thirteen point lead, 55-42. After this happened
the crowd started chanting, "MVP!" Greg Kinsey
then fired back by scoring five points for the
Saders, which provided Holy Cross with a sixteen
point lead, 60-44. The last four points of the
ball game were poured in by Keith Simmons, which
led the crowd to cheer, "It's all over!"
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Greg Kinsey JAMMED IN 10 points
in 24 minutes. He also won Crusader of the Week by
the Holiday Inn Express! Congrats to Greg!
John Hurley POURED IN 11 points
and ripped down 9 rebounds in 33 minutes.
Torey Thomas DISTRIBUTED 7
assists, snatched 4 steals, and drained in 12
points in 32 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton SWISHED IN 16
points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 32 minutes.
Keith Simmons TRIGGERED IN 14
points in 23 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders made 91% of their
free throws! That's an A! :)
The Cross outrebounded the
Bison 39-28.
UPCOMING
GAME AGAINST ARMY
On Saturday February 26th, Holy
Cross will be playing Army in their last regular
season home game for Winter Homecoming at 3:00.
Last season Army finished off the year with a 6-21
record and a 3-11 record in conference play.
They placed seventh in Patriot League play. This
season Army is returning two of their starters
from last season while they have lost three. Their
top returning players is Josh Wilson who averaged
11 points a game last season and grabbed 3.4
rebounds a game last season. Army's record this
season is 3-22 They have defeated Polytechnic, New
York Maritime, and Navy. They have lost to The
Citadel, Sacred Heart, Stony Brooke, New
Hampshire, St. Francis, Albany, Notre Dame,
Farleigh Dickinson, Cornell, Columbia, Colgate,
Holy Cross, Bucknell (2), American (2), Lehigh
(2), Lafayette (2), and Navy. Click here for more
information about Army Basketball:
Army Link
NEWS FROM AROUND
THE P.L.
On Wednesday, February 23rd,
American defeated Lehigh 65-61 while Colgate beat
Army 66-59. Navy defeated Lafayette 76-57. On
Saturday, February 26th, Lehigh travels to
Lafayette to play them at 1:00. Navy journeys to
American to play them at 2:00 and Colgate heads
off to Bucknell to play them at 7:00. So who is
winning? Holy Cross is number one with a record of
12-1 and they will be hosting the Patriot League
Tournament along with Bucknell, who finished
second with a record of 9-4. American, Lehigh, and
Colgate are all tied for third with a 7-6 record.
Navy is in sixth place with a 5-8 record.
Lafayette finished in seventh with a record of 4-9
and Army finished in eighth place with a record of
1-12. Tune in this Saturday to see who wins third
place in Patriot League Roundball Action.
I loved the crowd at this game!
They really got into it, and they even did the
"Holy" - "Cross" cheer! Gotta love it! I
arrived at the game an hour early because I did
not want to get a bad parking spot because I did
not want to walk up that hill in the cold. : )
During the first half, whenever John Hurley did
something amazing, Mrs. Hurley would say, "That
was Hurley," just to make sure I got it down in my
notebook. Speaking of my notebook, there is no
more paper in it. It has been with me since the
02-03 campaign. I bought another one exactly like
it. I guess it is for good luck. Speaking of good
luck, I usually always wear my Tim Szatko jersey
to every game. I just didn't feel like wearing it
to this game, I mean I wear it all the time. Well
I think I am stuck wearing it for the rest of my
life because people missed it. I got ridiculed so
bad for not wearing it. People were saying that it
got retired. I am officially un-retiring the #35.
It will be back on Saturday for Winter Homecoming.
At halftime I went over and visited my Crossports
buddies. I told them that this game was going down
to the wire and that they better buckle their seat
belts. Jon shot back with, "Why, are you driving?"
HAHA funny! Lucky I was wrong (for once) and the
Saders did not allow the game to go down to the
wire! Also during halftime, they played Joe's
favorite song, Sweet Caroline! : )
I also cannot say enough about
Greg Kinsey! He was on fire during this game. He
reminded me so much of the great Jared Curry!
Curry was a member of the 00-01 campaign and in
his last five games as a senior he exploded on the
court with passion.
Saturday's game will be a fun
one since it is Winter Homecoming, but it is
always a bit sad to see the seniors play in their
last regular season home game. I will hold back
the tears...j/k. The Saders should not go into
this game thinking it will be an easy win. That is
just asking for trouble so hopefully they will
take this game as serious as every other game
because it would be a shame to lose on Senior Day.
I'm sure they will not allow that to happen
though! : )
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders
Edge Raiders, Win 20th Game of the
Season
Holy Cross 59, at Colgate 46, February 19, 2005
On Saturday, February 19th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Colgate 59-46. The
first half began with Colgate going on a 5-0 run.
The Crusaders responded by going on a 23-4 run
where points were swished in by Nate Lufkin (2),
Kevin Hamilton (7), Pat Doherty (2), Greg Kinsey
(5), Keith Simmons (1), Torey Thomas (2), and Tim
Clifford (2). Colgate eventually decreased the
Saders lead to one, 25-24, after they went on a
16-0 run, however the Saders did not allow them to
recapture their lead. The Saders ended the half
ahead by two, 28-26.
In the second half, Andrew
Zidar of Colgate locked the game at 28. The Saders
answered back by going on a 8-1 run where points
were scored by Greg Kinsey (4), Nate Lufkin (2),
John Hurley (1), and Kevin Hyland (1) to make the
score 36-29. Colgate later cut the Saders lead
down to three, 43-40 with 9:07 remaining in the
ball game. The Cross responded by going on a 7-0
run to give them a ten point lead, 50-40. Points
during this run were drained in by Kevin Hamilton
(5) and Nate Lufkin (2). The ball game ended with
the Cross going on a 9-6 run. The last nine points
for the Saders were poured in by Greg Kinsey (1),
Torey Thomas (2), Nate Lufkin (2), Keith Simmons
(2), and Kevin Hamilton (2).
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Nate Lufkin DRAINED 10 points
and grabbed 5 rebounds in 26 minutes. Also, here's
a big congrats to Nate for becoming the number one
blocker of all time at Holy Cross as of the Lehigh
game!!
Kevin Hamilton POURED IN 14
points and ripped down 9 rebounds in 33 minutes.
Greg Kinsey SWISHED IN 14
points in 29 minutes.
John Hurley SWATTED AT 4 blocks
and grabbed 7 rebounds in 34 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
Both teams only had 5 assists.
The Saders made only 31% of
their field goals while Colgate only made 27%.
The Saders outrebounded Colgate
by one, 44-43.
Colgate was called for 22
personal fouls while the Saders were only called
for 14.
The Saders only had a total
of 6 turnovers while Colgate had 14.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST BUCKNELL
On Wednesday, February 23rd,
the Holy Cross Crusaders will take on Bucknell at
the Hart Center. Last season Bucknell finished off
the season with a 14-15 record, and finished third
in the Patriot League after finishing off league
play 9-5. Their top returning player is Kevin
Bettencourt who averaged 14.9 points a game last
season, and grabbed 5.5 rebounds a game last
season. Bucknell is returning all five of their
starters from last season. This season their
record is 18-8. They have defeated Northern
Colorado, Rider, Stephen F. Austin, Yale, Robert
Morris, Cornell, Niagara, St. Joseph's,
Pittsburgh, Holy Cross, Colgate, Army (2),
Lafayette (2), Lehigh, American, and Navy .They
have lost to Princeton, St. Francis, Iowa State,
Penn State, American, Navy, Lehigh,
and Villanova. More information can be found by
visiting here: Bucknell
Link
NEWS FROM AROUND
THE P.L.
On Saturday February 19th,
Lafayette defeated American 93-89. Bucknell beat
Army 69-55 and Navy swept by Lehigh 76-75. On
Wednesday, February 23rd, American travels to
Lehigh to play them at 7:00. Colgate will journey
to Army to take them on at 7:00. Lafayette
will travel to Navy to battle them out at 7:00. So
who is winning? Holy Cross is still leading the
way with a record of 11-1. Bucknell is in second
place with a 9-3 record. Lehigh is in third with a
7-5 record. American and Colgate are tied for
fourth with a 6-6 record. Lafayette is tied with
Navy for sixth with a 4-8 record while Army is in
eighth place with a 1-11 record. Stay tuned to
find out who stays on top and who will sink in the
pressure of Patriot League Play.
It is nice to have the Colgate
game over with and under our belts. Colgate is a
tough team, especially when you play them at home,
and luckily the Saders gutted it out and came home
with a win. It is obvious that both teams played
tenacious defense. It appears as if the Saders
were not rotating the ball on offense much. Five
assists is a tremendously low number, especially
for the Saders. As for the upcoming game against
Bucknell, I am looking forward to the event. I am
hoping that there will be a lot of students there
to cheer on the Saders. Hopefully the Saders are
hungry for revenge! Bring it Bucknell!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crusaders Hawked
Lehigh, Win 11th in a Row
On Sunday, February 13th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Lehigh Mountain
Hawks 73-53. In the first half the Saders jumped
ahead as they went on an 19-6 run. During this run
points were contributed by Kevin Hamilton (3),
Nate Lufkin (2), Greg Kinsey (2), Torey Thomas
(2), Kevin Hyland (2), Keith Simmons (6), and Pat
Doherty (2). During this run Lehigh came close to
gaining the lead after Jason Mgebroft drained a
trey to cut down the Cross' lead to one, 7-6, but
the Saders quickly responded by putting some
points up on the scoreboard. The largest advantage
Holy Cross had during the first half was when they
were ahead 36-18. They headed into the locker room
at halftime with a seventeen point advantage,
36-19.
The second half started off
with Kevin Hamilton banging in a trey and John
Hurley draining one free throw. With 15:23
remaining in the ball game, the Saders were ahead
42-25 after Kevin Hyland poured in a deuce. Lehigh
decreased the Cross' lead to nine two times. The
first time the score was 43-34 and the second time
the score was 45-36. The Saders responded by going
on a 16-7 run where points were rolled in by Nate
Lufkin (4), Kevin Hamilton (7), Torey Thomas (4),
and Greg Kinsey (3). The half ended with the
Saders scoring ten more points, which were swished
in by Nate Lufkin (2), Tim Clifford (2), John
Hurley (2), Keith Simmons (2), and Mike Smiley
(2).
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Greg Kinsey POURED IN 11 points
in 29 minutes.
Nate Lufkin JAMMED IN 10
points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and stuffed 3 blocks
in 25 minutes.
Torey Thomas HANDED OUT 11
assists, rolled in 8 points, and snatched 5 steals
in 29 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton TRIGGERED IN 20
points and ripped down 6 rebounds.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders had 23 assists
compared to Lehigh's 9. Torey Thomas alone had
more assists than Lehigh's entire team.
Lehigh had 16 turnovers
compared to Holy Cross' 9.
The Saders had 8 blocks
compared to Lehigh's 1.
Both teams had the grabbed
19 rebounds and were called for 19 personal fouls.
Lehigh only made 30% of their
shots.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST COLGATE
On Saturday, February 19, the
Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on Colgate at
Colgate at 2:00. Last season Colgate finished off
with a 15-14 overall record, and finished in sixth
place in the Patriot League with a record of 6-8.
This season Colgate returns three of their
starters while they have lost two. Their top
scorer this season is Alvin Reed, who is averaging
13 points a ball game. Their top rebounder is
Andre Zidar, who is grabbing 7 rebounds a
game. This season Colgate's record is 11-14. They
have defeated Cornell, Juniata, Hobart, Florida
Atlantic, Army, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Lafayette (2),
Navy, and American. They have lost to Central
Connecticut, Cal-State Fullerton, Buffalo,
Syracuse, Harvard, Loyola Marymount, Florida
International, Binghamton, Bucknell, Holy Cross,
Navy, American, and Lehigh. Check out
Colgate at
Colgate Basketball Link
On Sunday, February 13th,
Lafayette defeated Army 76-73. Colgate beat
American 67-57. Bucknell defeated Navy 71-60. So
who is winning? Holy Cross is still leading the
way with a record of 10-1. Bucknell is in second
place with a record of 8-3. Lehigh is in third
place with a record of 7-4. American and
Colgate are tied for fourth place with a 6-5
record. Lafayette is tied with Navy for sixth
place with a 3-8 record. Army is in last place
with a record of 1-10. On Tuesday, February 15th,
Bucknell will be playing Villanova at Villanove at
7:30. On Saturday, Febraury 19th, American travels
to Lafayette tp play them at 1:00. Bucknell
journeys to Army to play them at 1:00. Navy
travels to Lehigh to play them at 7:00. Tune in
next weekend to see who is on top and who is
sinking in the pressure in Patriot League
Roundball action.
Today was a great day because
not only did the Saders do a fine job on the
court, but the crowd was great. There was jots of
cheering and everyone was enjoying the game. Well,
maybe not the Lehigh fans, but I can't speak for
them. Today I received a lot of compliments about
my column on Crossports and I would just like to
thank everyone for their support! I'm glad you are
enjoying the column! As far as the Colgate game
goes, this is one game that cannot be over looked.
Colgate is team that has defeated American, and
they are capable of doing damage to our record.
The Saders cannot head into this game thinking it
is going to be a breeze. They must stay focused
and be prepared mentally for this rally! Bring
home a win Saders!
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Saders Pounce Over
Leopards, Win 10th in a Row
On Friday, February 11th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Lafayette
Leopards 81-60. In the first half the Saders came
onto the court fired up as they went on an 13-3
run to start off the game. Points during this run
were drained in by Kevin Hamilton (4), John Hurley
(4), Kevin Hyland (3), and Tim Clifford (2). The
closest Lafayette got to catching up with the
Saders was when they were down by seven, 17-10.
The Saders responded to this as John Hurley scored
one free throw, and Greg Kinsey banged in a trey,
came right back and stole the rock away from a
leopard and poured in the deuce, which provided
the Saders with a 23-10 lead. The Leopards went on
a 6-0 run to cut the Cross' lead down to seven,
23-16. The Saders responded by going on a 18-10
run where Keith Simmons triggered in one trey
and slam dunked the rock twice, Kevin Hamilton
rolled in four points, and John Hurley swished in
a couple to give the purple a 38-26 advantage at
the half.
The second half began with
Lafayette going on a 7-2 run, which decreased the
Sader's lead by seven, 40-33. Greg Kinsey
responded by swishing in four free throws to
increase the Cross' lead to eleven, 44-33.
Lafayette answered back by going on a 7-0 run to
cut the Sader's lead down to four, 44-40. The
Crusaders fired back by going on a 11-5 run where
points were poured in by Greg Kinsey (2), Kevin
Hyland (2), John Hurley (2), Tim Clifford (2), and
Keith Simmons (3) which provided the Cross with a
ten point lead, 57-47. With 5:27 remaining in the
ball game, the Saders were leading the way by 17,
70-53. The game ended with John Hurley, Pat
Doherty, and Kevin Hyland all rolling in two
points, and Kevin Hamilton swishing in five points
to give the Saders their tenth win in a row.
HOT PLAYERS
OF THE BALL
GAME
Greg Kinsey POURED IN 13 points
and dished out 3 assists in 19 minutes.
John Hurley RIPPED DOWN 11
rebounds and rolled in 11 points in 37 minutes.
Kevin Hyland JAMMED in 15
points in 22 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton HANDED OUT 5
assists, snatched 5 steals, and drained 16 points
in 28 minutes.
Keith Simmons GRABBED
10 rebounds and swished in 16 points in 28
minutes.
Tim Clifford STUFFED 6 blocks
in 20 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders out rebounded the
Leopards 37-29.
Both teams had 18 turnovers
and had a total of 15 personal fouls.
The Saders had 9 blocks while
Lafayette had 2.
The Cross had 12 steals while
Lafayette had 8.
The Saders made 89% of their
free throws!! YES!
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST LEHIGH
On Saturday, February 13th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on Lehigh at
the Hart Center at 2:00 [NOTE: some schedules are
printed with the wrong time]. Last season Lehigh
finished off with a 20-11 record and placed first
in Patriot League action with a record of 10-4.
This season they return four starters while they
have last one. This season they return four
starters while they have lost one but the one they
lost, Austen Rowland, averaged 15 points and 5
rebounds a game last season. This year Lehigh's
record is 14-9. They have defeated Sacred Heart,
Dartmouth, Albany, Eastern, Towson, Wagner,
American, Lafayette, Navy, Army (2), Colgate, and
Bucknell. They have lost to Penn State, Long
Island, Stony Brooke, Columbia, Harvard, Xavier,
Cornell, Colgate, and Bucknell. More information
can be found here:
Lehigh Link
On Friday, February 11th,
Bucknell defeated American 65-52. Lehigh beat Army
69-64 and Colgate defeated Navy 72-67. On Sunday,
February 13th, Lafayette travels to Army to play
them at 1:00. American journeys to Colgate to take
them on at 2:00, and Navy will play Bucknell at
2:00. So who is winning? Holy Cross is still
number one with a record of 9-1. Bucknell and
Lehigh are tied for second with a record of 7-3.
American is in fourth place with a record of 6-4.
Colgate is in fifth with a record of 5-5. Navy is
in sixth with a 3-7 record. Lafayette is in
seventh place with a record of 2-8. Army is in
eighth place with a record of 1-9. Tune in on
Sunday to see who remains on top and who will sink
into the pressure in Patriot League action.
Former Assistant Coach Roger
Breslin watched the game.
Former Crusader Brian Wilson
came to cheer on the Saders.
This game was just so much fun!
When I walked in I saw Brian Wilson and we talked
for about an hour before the game. He is still
playing in a basketball league, but he is working
in the finance department for a company. I forgot
the name of the company. Whoops. :) Then during
the game I sat with Joe and Mr. Hurley and my Dad
because they were sitting up higher than Brian and
I need to be up higher to take my pictures. Brian
said that my column on Crossports is like a movie
because of the write-up and pictures. He said that
I will probably make a movie about the Saders
someday. It was funny because I have actually
thought about this. I think my movie will start
out in the locker room at the end of the 99-00
season and then will carry on to show the success
the Saders had during the 00-01 season. At the end
there will be an afterward about their great
success during the 01-02, and 02-03 seasons, and
possibly this season. This project will not happen
for a very long time, but I have thought about
it. I think it would be a great film. Definitely
Oscar worthy.
I will have to say that I am
sorry that I didn't get a picture of any of Keith
Simmons dunks. That is because Greg Kinsey's old
high school teammates, who came to the game to
cheer him on, stood up and got in my way. So sorry
about that. My goal is to get a good dunk picture
before the end of the season. During the second
half I sat with Crossports posters, Jon and Dave,
and the creator of Crossports, Dana. Dana gave me
this awesome Crusader t-shirt that has a cape on
it. It is the deal. During the game Dave and Jon
tried to get the crowd to do the Holy.....Cross
cheer, but they were not successful. They put
forth great effort! Next time guys!
Anyway, I thought the guys
played great! John Hurley was feeling under the
weather, and he played an excellent game! Nate
Lufkin did not play in the game because his ankle
is still bothering him. As far as the Lehigh game
goes, I think the guys will be ready! I know I am!
It will be a fun purple time!
This has been Annie, "THE
CRUSADER," Hussey with your HC BBall update**~**
Media Coverage of the
Lafayette Game:
ESPN,
Boston Herald,
Boston Globe,
HC Recap,
Lafayette Recap
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Victory is Sweet
After Eating Eagle Meat-Saders Win
Holy Cross 76, at American 67, February 6, 2005
On Sunday, February 6th, the Holy Cross Crusaders
won their ninth game in a row after they defeated
the American Eagles 76-67 in overtime. In the
first half Jason Thomas of American opened up the
ball game by triggering a trey to give the Eagles
a 3-0 lead. The Saders responded by going on an
8-0 run where points were contributed by Kevin
Hamilton (2), and John Hurley (6). With 14:56
remaining in the first half of action, Patrick
Okpwae decreased the Sader's lead to two after he
poured in two foul shots. Kevin Hyland and Kevin
Hamilton answered back by scoring a combined total
of five points to give the Cross a 13-9 lead.
Andre Ingram of American locked the game at
thirteen with 11:52 remaining in the first half.
The game was quickly locked at fifteen and
afterwards the Eagles drained eight points to
provide them with an 23-15 lead. The Cross was
able to cut their lead down to four after Pat
Doherty rolled in a three to cause the score to be
25-21. The closest the Saders got to regaining the
lead was after Greg Kinsey drained a deuce to cut
down American's advantage to three, 30-27. The
score at the half was 36-29.
The second half opened up with Kevin Hyland
pouring in a couple to decrease American's lead to
five, 36-31. American fired back by pouring in
four more points to increase their advantage by
nine. With 14:04 remaining in action, Kevin
Hamilton made a lay-up, which cut down American's
lead to three, 42-39. Jason Thomas fired back by
triggering a trifecta. With 8:18 remaining in the
half, Kevin Hyland made a jump shot after John
Hurley dished the rock out to him to break down
American's lead to two, 48-46. Torey Thomas
followed through by locking the game at 48, and
Keith Simmons provided the Cross with the lead
again after he swished in a jumper. Andre Ingram
then locked the game at 50, but Torey Thomas fired
back by rolling in a three. Before the end of the
second half the game was tied three more times at
53, 54, and 57. Matej Cresnik of American tied the
game at 53 and later provided the Eagles with a
one point lead after he made two free throws. John
Hurley was later fouled and he provided the Saders
with a one point lead after he made two free
throws (55-54). After he made his foul shots John
Hurley made a lay-up to provide the Saders with a
57-54 lead, but Andre Ingram made a lay-up
and one foul shot to tie the game at 57 to send
the game into overtime.
In overtime the game was tied once at 59 after
Keith Simmons swished in a two pointer and Patrick
Okpwae made two foul shots. Afterwards the Saders
went on a 17-8 run where points were drained in by
Tim Clifford (5), Torey Thomas (10), and Kevin
Hamilton (1) in order to provide the Saders with a
76-67 victory.
HOT PLAYERS
OF THE BALL GAME
John Hurley POURED IN 15 points and ripped down 6
rebounds in 43 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton SWISHED IN 14 points, fought for 10
rebounds, and handed out 5 assists in 45 minutes.
Kevin was almost named Patriot League Player of
the Week for the week of the 24th-30th. Pat
Doherty also received rookie honors for the same
week.
Tim Clifford GRABBED 13 rebounds, rolled in 13
points, and stuffed 5 shots in 25 minutes.
Torey Thomas JAMMED IN 15 points and grabbed 6
rebounds in 32 minutes.
SHOCKING
STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Cross grabbed 48 rebounds compared to
American's 38.
American only had 2 blocks while Holy Cross had 9.
American had 6 steals while Holy Cross had 2.
American was called for 24 fouls while Holy Cross
was called for 17.
The Saders made 70% of their free throws...a great
79% in overtime.
American did not make any of their free throws
in overtime.
The Saders made 80% of their two point field goals
in overtime.
American made only 33% of their two point field
goals in overtime.
UPCOMING
GAME AGAINST LAFAYETTE
On Friday, February 11th, the Holy Cross Crusaders
return to the Hart Center to take on the Lafayette
Leopards at 7:00. Last season the Leopards
finished off with a 18-10 record and finished in
3rd place in the Patriot League with a record of
9-5. This season they have lost one starter while
they are returning four. Their top returning
player is Sean Knitter who is averaging 10 points
a ball game and is grabbing 5 rebounds a game.
This year Lafayette's record is 6-18. They have
defeated Duquesne, Cal State Northbridge,
Moravian, Columbia, Navy, and Army. They have lost
to St. Peter's, Princeton, Drexel, Louisville,
Cornell, Marist, Georgia Tech, St. Francis,
Lehigh, American, Penn, Bucknell (2), Colgate (2),
and Holy Cross. More information on the Leopards
can be found here:
Lafayette Link.
NEWS FROM
AROUND THE P.L
On Sunday, February 6th, Navy defeated Army 84-69
while Lehigh defeated Bucknell 57-54. Colgate also
defeated Lafayette 62-61. So who is winning? THE
SADERS! They have a record of 8-1. Bucknell,
American, and Lehigh are now tied for second with
a record of 6-3. Colgate is in fifth place with a
4-5 record. Navy is in sixth with a record of 3-6.
Lafayette is in seventh with a 2-7 record. Army is
in last with a 1-8 record. On Friday, February
11th, American travels to Bucknell to play them at
5. Lehigh will journey to Army to play them at
7:00. Navy will play Colgate at Colgate at 7:00.
Stay tuned in to see who will stay on top and who
will fall in the pressure in Patriot League
Roundball Action!
SOME
THOUGHTS
The Saders won because they have my birthday luck,
which carries throughout the week of my birthday.
Therefore they will still have this luck on Friday
when they play Lafayette! I could not be more
proud of the boys. Even though they were down in
the first half, they stayed tough and fought their
way back in what I'm guessing was a hostile
environment. When American is at home, the
environment is known to be pretty brutal. It is
great to see that Torey is starting to play like
his old self. Tim Clifford and Kevin Hyland also
did a great job stepping in for Nate Lufkin, who
is out with an ankle injury! I hope he gets better
soon! I'm so excited for the Lafayette game this
week. It seems like I haven't stepped foot in
the Hart Center since the 23rd of January. Oh
right, that was the last time I was there. Seems
like ages ago!
This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC
bball update
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders
Slip by Midshipmen
Holy Cross 68, at Navt 66, February 4, 2005
On Friday, February 4th, the Holy Cross Crusaders
defeated Navy 68-66. On Friday night I was not
listening to the game because I was out with my
friends getting some things together for my 18th
birthday party. The game was not even broadcasted on
WTAG anyway, and as a result listeners had to tune
in on Navy's broadcast. I can just say that you
can't be mad at me because I am the birthday girl on
February 8th so there! You can find media coverage
links by at the end of this article.
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
Keith Simmons DRAINED 22 points in 28 minutes.
John Hurley RIPPED DOWN 9 rebounds, stuffed 2
blocks, and swished in 13 points in 36 minutes.
Pat Doherty HANDED OUT 5 assists, poured in
9 points, and snatched 2 steals in 32 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS
OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders were outrebounded 38-34.
The Midshipmen had one more assist than the Cross,
16-15.
The Saders shot a low 45% from the free throw line.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST AMERICAN
On Sunday, February 6th, the Holy Cross Crusaders
will be playing the American Eagles at 2:00 at
American. American finished off last season with an
18-13 record and finished off in first place with a
10-4 record in Patriot League action. This year they
return two starters while they have lost three.
Their top returning player is Andre Ingram who
averaged 13.6 points a ball game last season and
grabbed 6.5 rebounds a ball game last season. This
season American's record is 13-7 and 6-1 in Patriot
League Play. They have defeated Wagner, St. Francis,
Vermont, Towson, Ohio, Delaware, Yale, Navy,
Lafayette, Army (2), Bucknell, and Colgate. They
have lost to Virginia Commonwealth, Niagara,
Maryland, La Salle, Missouri, Lehigh, and Holy
Cross. More information can be found be visiting
here:
American University Link
NEWS FROM
AROUND THE P.L.
On Friday, February 4th, American defeated Army
86-58 while Bucknell defeated Lafayette 89-69.
Lehigh came away with a win over Colgate, 63-53. So
who is winning? Holy Cross still leads the way with
a record of 7-1. American and Bucknell follow close
behind as they are tied for second with a record of
6-2. Lehigh is in fourth with a 5-3 record. Colgate
is in fifth with a 3-5 record. Lafayette and Navy
are tied for sixth place with a 2-6 record and Army
is in eighth place with a record of 1-7. On Sunday,
February 6th, Army is playing at Navy at 1:00. This
game is televised on CBS. Colgate is taking on
Lafayette at Lafayette at 1:00. Bucknell is playing
Lehigh at Lehigh at 1:00. Stay tuned in to see who
will stay on top and who will drown in the pressure.
SOME
THOUGHTS
While I was at my friends house getting some
things ready for the party tomorrow, my Dad called
me cell phone. He wanted to know how the Saders
were doing. I was like, good question. I totally
forgot about the game! I am a bad Sader Fan lol!
My Dad couldn't get the game because he was on the
road driving back from a business trip. Even
though the Cross did not wipe out Navy, at least
they won. Smart, good, and lucky teams win close
games like this towards the end of the season. All
I can say is I hope the Saders play smart, good,
and have some luck in order to win today. American
always plays brutal on their home court. Hopefully
the Saders are mentally prepared for this one!
Unfortunately this game is also not broadcasted on
the radio and I will not be able to do a write-up,
but I will send another short newsletter later
today.
This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC
BBALL update
On Sunday, January 30th, the
Holy Cross Crusaders extended their winning streak
to seven games after they defeated the Lehigh
Mountain Hawks in a close match-up, 58-56. In the
first half the Saders opened up the rally by going
on a 12-4 run where points were jammed in by Kevin
Hamilton (6), Pat Doherty (2), John Hurley (2),
and Keith Simmons (2). The Saders eventually
increased their lead by ten, 22-12 after an almost
healthy Torey Thomas tossed in Nate Lufkin's
missed shot, and Keith Simmons scored eight
points. The Sader's up-tempo play came to a halt
and Lehigh went on a 14-0 run, which provided them
with a four point lead, 26-22. The Cross
eventually regained the lead seconds before
halftime after John Hurley drained a couple and
Pat Doherty triggered a trifecta to provide the
Saders with a 27-26 advantage.
The second half began with Holy
Cross jumping over Lehigh by eighteen points,
44-28, where Kevin Hamilton drained six points,
Keith Simmons banged in two free throws, and Pat
Doherty drained a trey. With 9:09 remaining in
the ball game the Mountain Hawks managed to
decrease the Cross' lead to six, 46-40. Lehigh
continued to score away, and they eventually cut
the Crusader's lead to one, 48-47 after they went
on an 19-4 run. Nate Lufkin put a halt to this run
after he poured in two free throws with 5:00
remaining in action. Kevin Hamilton fired in a
trey to put the Saders ahead by six, 53-47.
Lehigh's Jose Olivero responded by draining in a
three and Jason Mgebroff immediately swished in
two foul shots which decreased the Sader's lead to
one, 53-52. Nate Lufkin was fouled again, and at
the line he connected on one out of two attempts.
This was not enough as Jose Olivero was sent to
the line again after Kevin Hamilton fouled him.
Olivero made two out of his three attempts to lock
the game at 54 with 1:50 remaining in the rally.
Pat Doherty and Kevin Hamilton were each fouled
and at the stripe Doherty poured in both of his
shots while Hamilton drained one, which gave the
purple a 57-54 lead over Lehigh. Olivero decreased
the Cross' lead to one, 57-56, after he made a two
point field goal. Kevin Hamilton was once again
sent to the line with 14.4 seconds remaining in
action, and at the line he made one of his foul
shots to provide the Saders with their 58-56
victory. This win almost did not go to the Saders
as after Hamilton missed his second free throw
Mitch Gilfillan of Lehigh rebounded the rock. On
defense Nate Lufkin blocked a shot from going in,
and Kevin Hamilton deflected a pass. Keith Simmons
then snatched the rock away to seal the Sader's
victory.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton SWISHED IN 17
points, ripped down 5 rebounds, and snatched 3
steals in 39 minutes.
Pat Doherty TRIGGERED IN 14
points, and distributed 3 assists while not
causing any turnovers in 30 minutes.
Keith Simmons POURED IN 14
points in 31 minutes.
John Hurley GRABBED 9 rebounds
in 31 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders connected on 74% of
their free throws.
The Cross had 11 steals
compared to Lehigh's 5.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST NAVY
On February 4th, the Holy Cross
Crusaders will travel to Annapolis to take on the
Navy Midshipmen at 7:00. Last season Navy finished
off with a 5-23 record and finished off in eighth
place in the Patriot League with a 2-12 record.
This season Navy returns 3 starters while they
have lost two. Their top returning player is
Carlton Baldwin who drained 8 points a game last
season and grabbed 4 boards a game last season.
This season Navy's record is 6-14. They have
defeated Loyola, Merchant Marine, Morgan State,
Mount Saint Mary's MD, Colgate, and Bucknell. They
have lost to UMBC, VMI, Ohio, Belmont, Stony
Brook, Gettysburg, Citadel, Air Force, Lafayette,
American, Lehigh, Columbia, Holy Cross, and Army.
More information can be found by clicking here:
Navy BBall Link
NEWS FROM AROUND
THE P.L.
On Sunday, January
30th, Lafayette defeated Army 66-49 while
American defeated Colgate 78-59. The biggest
upset in the league was Navy defeating Bucknell
66-62. So who is winning? Holy Cross is leading
the way with a record of 6-1. American and
Bucknell are tied for second place with a record
of 5-2. Lehigh is in fourth place with a record
of 4-3. Colgate is in fifth with a record of
3-4. Lafayette and Navy are tied for sixth place
with a record of 2-5. Army is in eighth place
with a record of 1-6. This Friday Army will be
taking on American at American. Bucknell will be
playing Lafayette at Lafayette, and Colgate with
be battling Lehigh at Lehigh. All games are
scheduled to play at 7:00. Tune in next Saturday
to see who is surviving on top and who is
sinking into the pressure.
In the early part of the
first half the Saders seemed to be playing
awesome. Everything Lehigh was throwing at them
they responded quickly with a shot. As the half
wore on, they allowed Lehigh to catch up with
them. The second half was pretty much the same
story. All I can say is that I am glad the
Saders were able to come away with the win. It
is also great to hear that Torey Thomas is
beginning to feel better. I think that in order
for the Cross to do well this weekend they are
going to have to be there 100% mentally. Navy is
a team that just defeated Bucknell and Colgate.
This shows that they are becoming better as a
team, and the Cross cannot overlook playing
them. Right after the Saders play Navy they are
off to take on American. Even though the Cross
defeated American pretty easily last week, Coach
Willard even stated that American did not play
their best against them. The Cross is certainly
going to have to bring their best game to
American in order to be victorious.
This has been Annie, "THE
CRUSADER," with your HC bball update
Media Coverage of the
Lehigh Game:
ESPN,
Worcester
Telegram,
Lehigh Recap,
HC Recap
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders
Leap Over Leopards
Holy Cross 74, Lafayette 57, January 28, 2005
On Friday, January 28th, the Holy
Cross Crusaders defeated the Lafayette Leopards
74-57. The first half began with the Saders going on
an 13-3 run where points were contributed by John
Hurley (2), Kevin Hamilton (7), Greg Kinsey (2), and
Torey Thomas (2). The Saders continued to dominate
the floor as they scored nine points to provide them
with a 22-9 lead. Kevin Hamilton poured in five of
these nine points while the other four were
triggered in by Keith Simmons and John Hurley. The
half ended with the Crusaders swishing in seven more
points. Kevin Hyland scored two of these seven
points after he received the rock from John Hurley.
John Hurley then came right back for the Saders and
laid the rock in the hoop to give the Saders a 26-11
lead. Keith Simmons tickled the twine after he made
one free throw and Pat Doherty closed the half after
he rolled in two deuces to provide the Cross with a
31-14 advantage.
The second half started off with
the Leopards pouring in the first two couples, but
the Saders shot back by going on a 6-0 run where
John Hurley (2), Kevin Hamilton (3), and Nate Lufkin
(2) each contributed some points. The Saders
continued to soar by the Leopards and with ten
minutes remaining until the end of the ball game
the Cross was leading the way by nineteen, 53-34.
Over the next few minutes, the Leopards began to go
on a shooting streak as they went on a 10-5 run,
which decreased the Sader's lead to fourteen, 58-44.
Nate Lufkin immediately responded for the Cross as
he drained a two pointer to give the Cross a 60-44
lead. Jamaal Douglas of Lafayette triggered a
trifecta to decrease the Sader's lead to thirteen,
60-47. Nate Lufkin reacted by slam dunking the rock
into the hoop with 5:05 remaining in the half.
Douglas fired in a trey for the Leopards, but it
simply was not enough. Kevin Hamilton, scored five
more points, and Keith Simmons had four final points
to provide the Cross with a 72-57 lead over the
Leopards. Kyle Cruze ended the game as he scored his
first two points of his career to provide the Saders
with their fifth win in Patriot League action, which
tied them up for first place in the league with
Bucknell.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton ROLLED IN 22
points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Keith Simmons POURED IN 18
points, and ripped down 6 rebounds.
Nate Lufkin STUFFED 2 blocks and
swished in 11 points.
John Hurley CRASHED 7 rebounds
off of the boards, and banged in 9 points.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders out rebounded the
Leopards 32-26.
The Cross were only called for 13
personal fouls while Lafayette was called for 19.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST LEHIGH
On January 30th the Holy Cross
Crusaders will be taking on the Lehigh Mountain
Hawks at 2:00 at the Stabler Arena. Last season
Lehigh finished off with a 20-11 record and placed
first in Patriot League action with a record of
10-4. This season they return four starters while
they have lost one but the one they lost, Austen
Rowland, averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds a game
last season. This year Lehigh's record is 10-9. They
have defeated Sacred Heart, Dartmouth, Albany,
Eastern, Towson, Wagner, American, Lafayette, Navy,
and Army. They have lost to Penn State, Long Island,
Stony Brooke, Columbia, Harvard, Xavier, Cornell,
Colgate, and Bucknell. More information can be found
here:
Lehigh Basketball Link
On Friday, January 28th, American
defeated Bucknell 68-59 while Lehigh defeated Army
63-45. Navy also upset Colgate 82-71. So who is
winning? Bucknell and Holy Cross are now tied for
first place in Patriot League action. Lehigh and
American are now tied for third with a record of
4-2. Colgate is in fifth with a record of 3-3.
Lafayette, Army, and Navy are now tied for sixth
with a record of 1-5. Tune in this Sunday to see who
is still surviving on top and who is sinking in the
pressure in Patriot League Roundball Action.
This was a great win for the
Saders. Now that the Crusaders are tied with
Bucknell for first it is important for them to keep
up their mental toughness. That is key for this
weekend and especially next weekend when they take
on Navy and American. If they stay on top than the
Patriot League playoffs will be coming to Worcester!
Keep up the hard work Saders!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders Devour Eagles
for Lunch
On Monday, January 24th, the Holy
Cross Crusaders defeated the American Eagles 80-56.
The first half started with Raimonda Pertrauskas of
American pouring in the first bucket of the ball
game. The game was quickly locked at two after Kevin
Hamilton handed the rock over to John Hurley, who
scored a deuce after he made a lay-up. This sparked
the Sader's 21-5 run where points were drained by
John Hurley (2), Kevin Hamilton (7), Nate
Lufkin (2), Greg Kinsey (2), Pat Doherty (3), and
Keith Simmons (3). The Cross then scored ten more
points while American rolled in eleven to make the
score 31-16 with 8:00 remaining in the first half of
action. The half ended with the Cross pouring in
another ten points while American triggered in nine.
Kevin Hamilton scored one free throw, Pat Doherty
triggered in a trey and two free throws, Tim
Clifford made two foul shots, and Nate Lufkin made
one two point field goal to help make the score at
the half 41-26.
The second half began with John
Hurley snatching the rock away and handing it over
to Kevin Hamilton. Hamilton was fouled on the play
and at the line he drained both shots. Pat Doherty
followed in Hamilton's footsteps as he also made
both of his shots at the foul line. Doherty quickly
came back and triggered a trey to provide the Cross
with a 48-33 lead. Kevin Hamilton had three great
plays in a row to help contribute to the Sader's
win. First he handed out the rock to John Hurley,
who laid in a deuce. Hamilton fired right back and
scored five points for the Saders, one being a two
point field goal and the other was a three pointer.
After Hamilton scored this trey, a Sader Fan
shouted, "How do you like that Jeff?" because Coach
Jeff Jones of American was starting to complain to
the refs about the calls that were being made. The
Cross then poured in ten points. Six of these nine
points were swished in by Kevin Hyland while three
were scored by Keith Simmons, who rolled in one free
throw and jammed in one fantastic dunk. The last
point was scored by Nate Lufkin at the line to make
the score 65-42. Keith Simmons and Kevin Hamilton
came right back up for the Cross and began
triggering treys. Keith Simmons fired in two while
Hamilton scored one to make the score 74-50. Kevin
Hamilton then handed the rock over to Pat Doherty,
who went in for a sweet reverse lay up. The last
four points of the ball game were scored by Mike
Smiley (3) and Dan Brault (1) to provide the Saders
with their fourth win in Patriot League action.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton TRIGGERED IN 23
points, distributed 7 assists, grabbed 4
rebounds, and snatched 5 steals in 34 minutes. Kevin
now ranks 5th in the nation in steals per game and
first in total steals.
Keith Simmons POURED IN 17
points, and ripped down 8 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Pat Doherty FIRED IN 15 points
and snatched 5 steals in 34 minutes. Pat was named
Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the week of
January 17th to the 23rd.
SHOCKING
STATS
OF THE BALL GAME
Holy Cross held American to
making a low 38% of their two point field goals.
Holy Cross had 25 assists while
American only had 9.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST LAFAYETTE
On January 28th the Holy Cross
Crusaders will be taking on the Lafayette Leopards
at 7:00 at Cotterell Court. Last season the Leopards
finished off with a 18-10 record and finished in 3rd
place in the Patriot League with a record of 9-5.
This season they have lost one starter while they
are returning four. Their top returning player is
Justin DeBerry who averaged 15 points a ball game
last season and grabbed 6 rebounds a game last
season. This year Lafayette's record is 5-13. They
have defeated Duquesne, Cal State Northbridge,
Moravian, Columbia, and Navy. They have lost to St.
Peter's, Princeton, Drexel, Louisville, Cornell,
Marist, Georgia Tech, St. Francis, Lehigh, American,
Penn, Bucknell, and Colgate. More information on the
Leopards can be found here:
Leopard's Basketball Link
NEWS
FROM AROUND THE P.L.
On Sunday January 23rd Colgate
defeated Lafayette 80-72. Navy lost to Army 63-43.
Bucknell barely defeated Lehigh 65-63. So who is
winning? Bucknell still is leading the way with an
undefeated record of 5-0. Holy Cross is now in
second place with a 4-1 record. American, Lehigh,
and Colgate are now tied for third with a 3-2
record. Lafayette and Army are tied for fourth with
a record of 1-4. Navy is in last with a record of
0-5. This Friday Bucknell will play American at
American. Army will be taking on Lehigh at
Lehigh while Colgate will be battling Navy at Navy.
Tomorrow the Bucknell Men's Basketball team is going
to be featured on ESPN2's Cold Pizza beginning at
9:20. This show will be replayed from 10:00 AM
till noon. Tune in if you want to check out
assistant coach Nathan Davis and junior co-captain
Kevin Bettencourt.
On Sunday around 11:00 I went
outside to shovel the two feet of snow on my
driveway so my Dad could get out of the garage to
drive me to the Sader game. About an hour after I
finished I discovered that the game had been
rescheduled to Monday at 3:00. So I technically
shoveled for nothing. For the rest of the day I
prayed and hoped for a snow day. Well, the
superintendent of Wachusett sent us to school. Even
when the governor declared a state of emergency, he
sent us to school. Even when all of but ten schools
in Massachusetts closed, he sent us to school. Even
when the boilers were not working in the school and
we did not have heat for four hours, he sent us to
school. Have I vented enough? No, not yet. Even
when practically all of the colleges closed, he
still sent us to school I mean come on! If colleges
close, high schools should. I mean the students even
live at the colleges. OK, I am finished now.
So as you can see the spirits at
Wachusett were quite low on Monday. Then I arrived
at the Sader game with seven minutes remaining in
the first half because my Mom had to drive my
brother and I to meet my Dad at the Showcase Cinemas
so we could go to the game. Time was limited since
we are dismissed from school at 2:15. In the first
half a lot of mistakes were being made, such as
throwing the ball away and bad passes. The Saders were
not on top of their game mentally speaking. In the
second half they picked things up, and they were too
much to handle for American. The Eagles are
certainly not the team they used to be. They
really are hurting since the graduation of Miles and
Rodriguez.
During the game I was made fun of
by Mr. Hurley and Joe. When Keith Simmons went to go
dunk the ball, I actually missed it because I was
writing down a play that occurred before the dunk.
This prevented me from getting a picture of the
dunk. Joe said, "You coulda ran out and bought film
you had so much time." Mr. Hurley said, "Next time
we'll make an announcement." Joe then shot back, "I
was looking forward to seeing that on the internet,
but no now it is going to be Keith at the foul line
after the dunk. You should have Keith come out after
the game and just hang on the rim so you can get the
shot. I can see you telling Keith to just hang up
there until you finish chewing on your pretzel!"
Funny times! After the game I saw Mr. Fouracre and
he is recovering well and should be back in action
next week. Also, former Holy Cross Basketball
player, Gordon Scott Hamilton, died in a car
accident. More information can be found at
goholycross.com. May he rest in peace.
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Midshipmen Drown
Against Saders
On January 21, 2004, the Holy
Cross Crusaders defeated the Navy Midshipmen 79-56.
In the first half, Navy started off the ball game by
going on a 4-0 run, but Senior John Hurley quickly
put the Cross back on top (5-4) after he drained a
deuce and triggered a trey. Corey Johnson of Navy
responded by scoring a two point field goal,
and Senior Greg Kinsey quickly tied the game at
seven with 16:14 remaining in the first half. The
game was tied up again after George O' Garro of
Navy dunked the ball to put Navy ahead by two, but
Senior Nate Lufkin tied the game at nine and
scored another couple to put the Cross ahead by two,
11-9. This two pointer sparked the Crusader's
15-2 run to provide them with a 26-11 lead. Points
were banged in by Kevin Hamilton (2), Greg Kinsey
(2), Kevin Hyland (2), Keith Simmons (4), and John
Hurley (5). One outstanding play that occurred
during this run was when Pat Doherty handed the ball
over to Greg Kinsey, who went coast to coast down
the court and dunked it home. George O' Garro
eventually ended the Saders run after he rolled in a
deuce. The half ended with the Saders scoring twelve
more points, which were scored by Kevin Hyland (2),
Keith Simmons (3), Kevin Hamilton (2), and Pat
Doherty (5) to make the Cross have a
38-26 advantage.
In the second half, Holy Cross
went on a 8-2 run to make them have a 46-28 lead.
Navy responded by going on a 9-0 run, which was put
to a halt by Pat Doherty after he made two free
throws and one two point field goal to put the Cross
on top 50-37. On the next play, Doherty snatched the
rock away from a Midshipmen and handed it over to
Nate Lufkin who distributed it to Kevin Hamilton who
poured in the trey. This three sparked the Sader's
13-5 run to provide them with a 68-42 lead. The game
ended with the Saders jamming in eleven more points,
which were made by Nate Lufkin (1), John Hurley (2)
Pat Doherty (2), Kevin Hyland (2), Tim Clifford (3),
and Dan Brault, with his first career point (1).
HOT PLAYERS OF THE
BALL GAME
Pat Doherty who POURED IN 16
points, distributed 6 assists, snatched 5 steals,
and committed only 1 turnover in 34 minutes.
Keith Simmons who TRIGGERED IN 13
points and handed out 3 assists in 26 minutes.
Kevin Hamilton who ROLLED IN 12
points, ripped down 6 rebounds, and picked up 6
steals in 33 minutes.
John Hurley who JAMMED IN 12
points and pulled down 7 rebounds in 18 minutes.
Nate Lufkin who STUFFED 5 blocks
and tossed in 10 points in 28 minutes.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
The Saders made 73% of their free
throws...an improvement!
Navy outrebounded the Cross
31-29.
Navy did not have any blocks
while the Cross had 7.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST AMERICAN
On Sunday, January 23rd, the
Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on American at
3:00 at the Hart Center. American finished off last
season with an 18-13 record and finished off in
first place with a 10-4 record in Patriot League
action. This year they return two starters while
they have lost three. Their top returning player is
Andre Ingram who averaged 13.6 points a ball game
last season and grabbed 6.5 rebounds a ball game
last season. This season American's record is 10-6
and 3-1 in Patriot League Play. They have defeated
Wagner, St. Francis, Vermont, Towson, Ohio,
Delaware, Yale, Navy, Lafayette, and Army. They have
lost to Virginia Commonwealth, Niagara, Maryland, La
Salle, Missouri, and Lehigh. More information can be
found be visiting here:
American University Link
On Friday January 21, the
American Eagles defeated Army 72-37, Bucknell
defeated Lafayette 71-54, and Colgate defeated
Lehigh 61-54. So who is winning? Bucknell is leading
the pack with a 4-0 record while Holy Cross,
American, and Leigh are tied for second with a 3-1
record. This weekend will change that tie up!
Lafayette is in third with a 1-3 record while Army
and Navy are tied for fourth with a 0-4 record.
Tomorrow Lafayette will be taking on Colgate at
Colgate at 1:00. Navy will be at Army at 1:00 and
Lehigh will be at Bucknell at 2:00.
Coach Willard's 100th win at Holy
Cross came after the Saders defeated Iona! Congrats
to Coach Willard! Keep up the great work!
The Cross played an overall good
game. Pat Doherty did a good job filling in for
Torey Thomas, who is still out with his shoulder
injury. Torey is not expected to play tomorrow
against American. The Saders will have to bring
their all tomorrow in order to defeat American. They
will not surrender easily. It was also great to see
such a stellar crowd arrive to cheer on the Cross
for Purple Pride Day! What do we eat? Eagle Meat!
This has been Annie, "THE
CRUSADER," with your HC bball update**~**
Media Coverage of the
Navy Game:
ESPN,
Navy Story,
Boston Herald,
Boston Globe,
The Annapolis Capital,
The Baltimore Sun
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Saders
Rock DCU Center in Win Against Iona
Holy Cross 78, Iona 53, January 18, 2005
See
Annie's Photos of the Game
|
On Tuesday, January 18th, the Holy Cross
Crusaders defeated Iona 78-53. The first half
began with Holy Cross going on an 13-4 run where
points were poured in by Kevin Hamilton (4), Pat
Doherty (3), John Hurley (4), and Kevin Hyland
(2). The Saders continued to rock the DCU center
as they scored fourteen more points to make the
score 27-16. Points were swished in by Nate
Lufkin (4), Kevin Hyland (2), Kevin Hamilton
(2), and Keith Simmons (6). The half ended with
the Cross draining eight more points, which were
tossed in by Tim Clifford (2), and Keith Simmons
(6). The half ended with the Saders ahead
35-22.
The second half started with
the Saders going on an 11-4 run to make the
score 46-26. Nine of these eleven points were
threes drained by Kevin Hamilton and the other
points were banged in by Nate Lufkin. The Saders
continued to dominate the court in the second
half as they went on a 17-4 run to provide them
with a 63-32 advantage. Points were triggered in
by John Hurley (2), Kevin Hyland (3), Kevin
Hamilton (9), and Keith Simmons (3). One great
play was made between Kevin Hamilton, who passed
the ball behind his head, and distributed it
over to Keith Simmons, who poured in the three.
The ball game ended with the Cross draining
fifteen more points to give them a 78-53
lead where points were rolled in by Pat Doherty
(4), Kevin Hyland (5), Tim Clifford (3), and
Mike Smiley (3).
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton POURED IN 24
points and snatched 5 steals.
Keith Simmons DRAINED 14
points, and snatched 3 steals.
Kevin Hyland ROLLED IN 12
points and grabbed 4 rebounds.
Pat Doherty HANDED OUT 8
assists and swished in 7 points.
SHOCKING STATS
OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders were outrebounded
28-23.
The Cross had 18 steals
compared to Iona's 10.
Kevin Hamilton had a career
high 24 points.
The Saders made all 8 of
their free throws in the second half.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST NAVY
On January 21st, the
Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on Navy at
7:00 for Purple Pride Day. Last season Navy
finished off with a 5-23 record and finished off
in eighth place in the Patriot League with a
2-12 record. This season Navy returns 3 starters
while they have lost two. Their top returning
player is Carlton Baldwin who drained 8 points a
game last season and grabbed 4 boards a game
last season. This year Navy's record is 4-11 and
they are 0-3 in the Patriot League. They have
defeated Loyola, Merchant Marine, Morgan State,
and Mount Saint Mary's MD. They have lost to
UMBC, VMI, Ohio, Belmont, Stony Brook,
Gettysburg, Citadel, Air Force, Lafayette,
American, Lehigh, and Columbia. More information
can be found by clicking here:
Navy Link
Going to this game was quite
a trip, as it usually is with my family. We got
into Worcester with fifteen minutes till game
time. Then my Dad drove past the DCU center
about three times trying to find a free parking
space. Pretty soon we were all the way on the
other side of Worcester, which is ridiculous. I
did not want to walk eighteen blocks in the
freezing cold so finally I handed a ten over and
told him to get us into a lot. I did not want to
be a minute late for the game, and luckily I
wasn't.
The Saders brought down the
house! They did a great job both on offense and
defense! This will hopefully keep their momentum
up going into this weekend with games against
Navy and American. Torey Thomas seemed
to still be in pain with his shoulder injury,
but Pat Doherty did a great job at the point to
fill in. Whether or not Torey will be able to
contribute many minutes is still questionable,
but with Pat at the point the Saders will still
be in good hands. It also was great to see all
the players get some minutes, and the best three
of the night was scored by Smiley! Way to be!
Kevin Hamilton is just on fire, and hopefully
that will continue throughout the season. Also,
thanks for being so patient with this write-up
fans. The midterms went well!
**~**This has been Annie,
"THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL update**~**
Media
Coverage of the Iona Game:
ESPN,
NY Times
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Saders
Raid Colgate, Come away with Win
On Saturday, January 15th,
the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Colgate 74-64.
The first half began with Holy Cross going on a
10-0 run where points were contributed by Kevin
Hamilton (6), Greg Kinsey (2), and Nate Lufkin
(2). Kyle Romer and Alvin Reed of Colgate broke
the Saders run after they scored a combined
total of five points to reduce the Sader's lead
by five. With 7:51 remaining in the first half,
Colgate reduced the Cross' lead by four, 20-16.
Keith Simmons and Kevin Hamilton swished in a
combined total of six points to increase the
Sader's lead by ten, 26-16. The final three
shots of the half were made by Pat Doherty and
Greg Kinsey, all of which were threes, to make
the score at halftime 35-30.
The second half opened up
with Greg Kinsey pouring in a deuce to put the
Cross ahead by seven, 37-30. Colgate quickly
decreased the Saders lead by four, 39-35, after
Alex Woodhouse rolled in a couple. John Hurley
responded by draining a deuce. Kyle Roemer fired
back by draining a trey to cut the Cross' lead
by three, 41-38. Greg Kinsey, Keith Simmons, and
Pat Doherty each poured in two points to make
the Crusaders ahead by nine, 47-38. Colgate cut
the Sader's lead to five, 49-44, after Andrew
Zidar of Colgate triggered a three. The Cross
answered back by going on a 10-4 run where
points were poured in by Pat Doherty (2), Kevin
Hamilton (3), and Keith Simmons (5) to provide
the Crusaders with a 60-49 advantage. Colgate
fired back by going on a 6-0 run to cut the
Saders lead down to five, 60-55, with 6:29
remaining in the ball game. Keith Simmons and
Pat Doherty scored a combined total of five
points to put the Cross ahead by seven, 65-58.
Colgate quickly reduced the Saders lead to two
after Alvin Reed banged in a deuce to make the
score 66-64. The Saders answered back by going
on a 8-0 run to provided them with their tenth
win of the season.
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
Greg Kinsey SWISHED IN 9
points.
Kevin Hamilton BANGED IN 19
points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and snatched 6
steals.
Pat Doherty ROLLED IN 14
points, ripped down 4 rebounds, handed out 5
assists, and snatched 3 steals.
Keith Simmons POURED IN 18
points, and sliced down 6 rebounds.
SHOCKING STATS
OF THE BALL GAME
Both teams grabbed a total of
28 rebounds.
Colgate committed 20 fouls
while Holy Cross committed only 10.
Colgate had 21 turnovers
compared to Holy Cross' 11.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST IONA
On Tuesday, January 18th,
Holy Cross will be taking on Iona at the DCU
Center at 7:00 not 7:30. For those who have
already purchased tickets you many have noticed
that the time on the tickets says 7:30. Please
ignore this time as the tip-off is going to
occur at 7:00. I found this information out from
athletic director, Dick Regan. Last season Iona
finished off with an 11-18 record. They finished
off in seventh place in the MAAC with a
conference record of 8-10. This season they
return three of their starters while they have
lost two. Their top returning player is Steve
Buritt who averaged 13.5 points a ball game and
grabbed 3.1 rebounds a ball game last season.
This season Iona's record is 5-10, and 1-5 in
the MAAC. They have defeated Northern Arizona,
St. Bonaventure, Virginia Commonwealth, Rhode
Island, and Manhattan. They have lost to
Creighton, Vermont, Fordham, Rider, George
Mason, Siena, Northeastern, Fairfield, Niagara,
and Canisius. Holy Cross has played four of the
same teams as Iona-Rhode Island, Vermont,
Fordham, and Northeastern. Holy Cross defeated
Rhode Island 51-50 whereas Iona defeated them
77-62. Holy Cross also lost to Vermont,
64-59, and Iona lost to them 79-57. Holy Cross
defeated Fordham 53-39 and defeated Northeastern
82-76. Iona lost to Fordham 64-59 and lost to
Northeastern 76-61.
When I arrived at the game on
Saturday I wanted to know the number of Howard
Blue so I could take a picture of him to post on
Crossports. When I asked my Dad what number
Howard Blue was he said that he was not listed
on the roster. I turned and asked Mrs. Hurley if
he had graduated, she did not know, and
she asked Mr. Hurley, who said that he graduated
last year. This was surprising to me because I
recalled the media guide listing Howard Blue
as Colgate's top returning player. At halftime I
asked Crossports posters Dave and Jon if they
had a media guide with them because I wanted to
see if I misread the media guide. Unfortunately
they didn't have one. When I arrived home from
the game, I immediately looked in the media
guide to see if I did misread the media guide. I
discovered that Howard Blue was listed as
Colgate's top returning player. Now I know that
I have to double check on the opponents website
to make sure that the media guide is correct.
Anyway, at the end of the
game I met Pat Doherty, his Dad, and his
brother, Jim, who graduated in 2001. My Dad met
Mr. Doherty at the Bucknell game last weekend.
We talked about the championship game against
Navy, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Doherty
recommended going on a tour of the coal mines,
which are half a mile under ground. Being half a
mile underground sounds a bit freaky to me, but
I think I will be going on a coal mine tour in
the near future.
Also, during the game, Torey
Thomas dislocated his shoulder. According to
Coach Hilliard, Torey was going to the hospital
to find out more details.
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Saders Annihilate
Army
Holy Cross 66, Army 29, January 12, 2005
On Wednesday, January 12, the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Army 66-29. In the
first half, Jimmy Sewell of Army opened up the
game by draining a trey, but Kevin Hamilton
quickly locked the game at three after he poured
in a three. Nate Lufkin put the Saders ahead by
four after he swished in two shots. Torey Thomas
poured in another deuce to provide the Cross
with a 9-6 lead with 13:30 remaining till
halftime. The Army Black Knights caught up with
the Saders and tied the game at nine. Keith
Simmons broke the tie after he swished in a two
pointer, however, Matt Bell of Army put the
Black Knights on top after he triggered the
three. With 8:20 remaining till the end of the
half, Kevin Hamilton provided the Saders with
the lead again after he made a three. This
sparked the Saders 14-3 run, which provided them
with a 26-15 lead at halftime.
Kevin Hamilton opened up the
second half by triggering a trey to continue the
Sader's run. Jimmy Sewell fired back by draining
a three in for Army to decrease the Cross' score
to eleven, 29-18. Kevin Hamilton and Torey
Thomas responded by swishing in a three pointer
each to increase the Sader's lead 35-20. The
Cross then went on a 13-5 run, which increased
their lead by 21, 48-25. Points during this run
were swished in by Kevin Hamilton (2), Nate
Lufkin (2), Tim Clifford (2), Keith Simmons
(7), The game ended with the Cross going on an
18-4 run to provide the Saders with the win.
Points during this run were contributed by Keith
Simmons (6), Pat Doherty (8), Kevin
Hamilton (3), and Mike Smiley (1)
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
KEVIN HAMILTON banged in 18
points.
KEITH SIMMONS swished in 18
points, and sliced down 5 rebounds.
GREG KINSEY ripped down 6
rebounds.
SHOCKING STATS
OF THE BALL GAME
Holy Cross held Army to
scoring only 29 points.
The Saders grabbed 40
rebounds compared to Army's 5.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST COLGATE
On Saturday, January 15th,
the Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on the
Colgate Red Raiders at the Hart Center at 3:00
p.m. Last season Colgate finished off with a
15-14 overall record, and finished in sixth
place in the Patriot League with a record of
6-8. This season Colgate returns three of their
starters while they have lost two and
Colgate's record is 5-9. They have defeated
Cornell, Juniata, Hobart, Florida Atlantic, and
Army. They have lost to Central Connecticut,
Cal-State Fullerton, Buffalo, Syracuse, Harvard,
Loyola Marymount, Florida International,
Binghamton, and Bucknell. Holy Cross has
defeated one of the teams Colgate lost to, which
is Harvard. Colgate lost to Harvard in overtime,
85-82.
In the first half, the Saders
struggled to keep Army down, however, at
halftime, Willard must have said something great
to motivate the Saders, as they blew Army away
in the second half. This game was a
frustrating one to listen to because during
halftime, Sportsjuice, the website that WTAG
uses to broadcast the games, suddenly stopped
working. This was very annoying and frustrating.
All I can say is thank God they make play by
play box scores because otherwise I would not
have been able to do my write-up.
I am going to now talk a bit
about my Dad's trip to Bucknell. First, I was
unable to attend this away game. If I were to
attend I would have had to take a bus to
Pennsylvania by myself for six hours....not a
brilliant plan to say the least. I am just
not as tough as Kyle Cruze's parents, who made
the long drive up to Pennsylvania from
Tennessee. My Dad said that Bucknell's
crowd was great. He went with one of his
friends, who attended Holy Cross with him,
Dominic Keating. Dominic takes great pictures,
and luckily he sent some of them to my family. I
shall post them on Crossports.com so everyone
can see them this weekend! BEAT COLGATE SADERS!!
Also, WTAG broadcaster, Bob Fouracre, recently
had surgery. He is recovering well, and well be
away from the mic at least for the rest of
January. If anyone would like to send him a
letter to make him feel better please mail it
to:
WTAG
58 Stereo Lane
Paxton, MA 01612
**~**This has been Annie,
"THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL update**~**
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Saders
Blown Away by Bison
at
Bucknell 59, Holy Cross 43, January 8, 2005
On Saturday, January 8th, the Holy
Cross Crusaders lost to Bucknell University 59-43. In the
first half Charles Lee of Bucknell drained the first two
points of the ball game after being fouled by Nate Lufkin.
John Hurley locked the game at two with 16:28 remaining in
the half. Seconds later Kevin Bettencourt of Bucknell
provided the Bisons with a two point lead after he was
fouled by Kevin Hamilton. Keith Simmons fired back by
locking the game at four. Darren Mastropaolo swished in
another couple to give Bucknell a four point lead. Nate
Lufkin tied the game at six after making two free throws.
Bucknell responded by going on a 11-0 run to give them a
17-6 lead with 9:45 remaining till the half. Kevin
Hamilton and Keith Simmons stopped the run by tossing in a
deuce each. Kevin Bettencourt responded by triggering a
trey. Kevin Hamilton came back and poured in a trey to
decrease the Bison's score by seven, 20-13. Abe Badmus
stole the rock away from Pat Doherty, and poured in a
deuce. Doherty made up for his mistake by swishing the
trey to decrease Bucknell's lead by eight, 24-16. Bucknell
responded by going on a 6-2 run to cause the score at the
half to be 30-18.
In the second half, the Saders went on a
6-3 run to decrease Bucknell's lead by nine, 33-24, where
points were contributed by Nate Lufkin (4) and John Hurley
(2). Kevin Hamilton triggered a trey to cut Bucknell's lead to
six, 33-27. Bucknell responded by going on a 5-0 run to make
the score 38-27 with 13:52 left in the game. The Saders went
on a ten point run to minimize Bucknell's lead to one, 38-37.
Unfortunately four fouls were committed by the Saders causing
the Bison to increase their lead by five, 43-37. Donald Brown
drained four points to increase Bucknell's advantage
by eleven, 48-37. Kevin Hamilton and Kevin Hyland stopped
Bucknell's run by scoring a combined total of three free
throws to cause the score to be 49-40. After Bettencourt
drained two free throws, Bucknell had their highest lead of
the ball game by fifteen, 55-40. Keith Simmons responded by
swishing a trey to decrease the Bison's advantage to thirteen,
55-43. The last bucket was scored by Charles Lee to provided
Bucknell with the 59-43 win.
HOT
PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton who DRAINED 17 points.
SHOCKING
STATS OF THE BALL GAME
Holy Cross committed 24 personal fouls
compared to Bucknell's 13.
The Saders shot a low 28% from the field.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST ARMY
On January 12th at 7:00 the Holy Cross
Crusaders will be taking on the Army Cadets at the Christl
Arena. Last season Army finished off the year with a 6-21
record and a 3-11 record in conference play. They placed
seventh in Patriot League play. This season Army is returning
two of their starters from last season while they have lost
three. Their top returning players is Josh Wilson who averaged
11 points a game last season and grabbed 3.4 rebounds a game
last season. Army's record this season is 2-11. They
have defeated Polytechnic and New York Martime. They have lost
to The Citadel, Sacred Heart, Stony Brooke, New Hampshire, St.
Francis, Albany, Notre Dame, Farleigh Dickinson, Cornell,
Columbia, and Colgate. Click here for more information about
Army Basketball:
Army Basketball Link.
SOME
THOUGHTS
The Saders did not arrive at Bucknell ready
to play. The Cross committed too many fouls, and because of
this it made Bucknell get away with some easy buckets. The
Saders did not seem to be focused, and they did not resonpnd
quick enough to Bucknell's runs. Maybe the crowd of 4,000
caused their mentality to wander, however, that it a poor
excuse. Hopefully the game at Army will go better. All I can
say is it must have been one quiet six hour bus ride home.
**~**This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER,"
with your HC BBALL update**~**
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Saders Cause
Dartmouth to Turn Green
On Wednesday, January 5, the Holy
Cross Crusaders defeated the Dartmouth Big Green 73-52.
The first half began with John Hurley and Kevin Hamilton
each scoring two points to give the Saders a 4-0 lead.
Mike Lang of Dartmouth quickly drained a trey to
decrease the Sader's lead to one. The Saders responded
by going on a 12-2 run where points were contributed by
Kevin Hamilton (2), Torey Thomas (5), Greg Kinsey (3),
and Keith Simmons (2) to provide the Saders with an 16-5
lead with 12:56 remaining in the first half. Over the
next six minutes, the Big Green minimized the Cross'
lead to three, 18-15. The Sader's responded by going on
an 10-2 run to provide them with a 28-17 lead where
points were swished in by Nate Lufkin (3), Kevin
Hamilton (5), and John Hurley (2). The last three
points of the half were drained by Kevin Hamilton to
provide the Saders with a 34-27 lead at the half. In the
first half the Saders sliced down 16 rebounds compared
to Dartmouth's 12, and they handed out 10 assists
compared to Dartmouth's 6.
The second half opened up with Torey
Thomas and Nate Lufkin, who each poured in a deuce to
give the Sader's a 38-32 lead. Patrick Cuttica of
Dartmouth drained a trey to decrease the Cross' lead to
three, 40-37. Torey Thomas responded by draining a trey,
and Nate Lufkin scored four points to put the Cross
ahead 47-40. The Crusaders then went on a 12-6 run,
which put them ahead 59-46. The game ended after the
Cross went on a 14-3 run where points were scored by
Kevin Hamilton (2), Nate Lufkin (1), Torey Thomas (3),
John Hurley (3), Tim Clifford (2), and Mike Smiley (3)
HOT
PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
KEVIN HAMILTON SWISHED IN 16 points,
grabbed 8 rebounds, distributed 4 assists, and snatched
four steals.
TOREY THOMAS JAMMED IN 15 points and
handed out four assists.
NATE LUFKIN DRAINED 12 points.
SHOCKING STATS OF THE
BALL GAME
The Saders had a total of 32
rebounds compared to Dartmouth's 24.
The Cross had 19 assists compared to
Dartmouth's 12.
The Cross snatched 12 steals
compared to Dartmouth's 6.
UPCOMING
GAME AGAINST BUCKNELL
On
Saturday, January 8, the Holy Cross Crusaders will open
up their Patriot League play at Bucknell. Last season
Bucknell finished off the season with a 14-15 record,
and finished third in the Patriot League after finishing
off league play 9-5. Their top returning player is Kevin
Bettencourt who averaged 14.9 points a game last season,
and grabbed 5.5 rebounds a game last season. Bucknell is
returning all five of their starters from last season.
This season their record is 9-4, and they have won their
last six games. They have defeated Northern Colorado,
Rider, Stephen F. Cyclone, Yale, Robert Morris, Cornell,
Niagara, St. Joseph's, and Pittsburgh .They have lost to
Princeton, St. Francis, Iowa State, and Penn State. You
can read more about Bucknell at
Bison Basketball.
Holy Cross played a good game, and whenever Dartmouth
tried to sneak up behind them to gain the lead, Holy
Cross immediately responded by going on a run. The team
did lack fire though, but with the students being away
and a very poor attendance at the game last night, that
is somewhat understandable. It was great to see everyone
have the opportunity to play, and I was especially glad
to see Kyle Cruze, Mike Smiley, and Dan Brault have some
minutes. Bucknell is a team that obviously has a lot of
momentum right now, especially after they defeated
nationally ranked Pittsburgh. Playing Bucknell will not
be an easy win, especially on the road, so the Saders
must arrive at the Sokja Pavilion mentally prepared for
Bison Battle. Buckle your seat belts everyone, this one
is going to be a rough ride.
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Saders Escape With Win Against Rams
Holy Cross 51, at
RI 50, January 2, 2005
On Sunday,
January 2nd, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the University of Rhode
Island Rams 51-50. The first half was a see-saw affair. The half began
with a two pointer scored by Scott Hazleton of Rhode Island. John
Hurley put the Saders ahead for the first time of the game after he
drained a deuce and swished in a foul shot. The Cross applied some
full court pressure and as a result Kevin Hamilton snatched the rock
away from a Ram, and Nate Lufkin swished in a couple. The Rams
eventually regained the lead after Marcel Momplaisir poured in a two
point field goal to provide the Rams with a one point advantage, 8-7.
The Saders regained the lead after Keith Simmons triggered a trey, but
the game was quickly locked at ten with 11:24 remaining in the first
half after Jon Lucky nailed a two pointer. The second tie of the game
came after Torey Thomas locked the game at 12. Thomas fired back and
provided the Cross with a two point advantage after he swished in a
deuce with 8:40 remaining in the first half of action. Terrence Mack
swished in five points for the Rams to put them back on top, but Kevin
Hamilton quickly put in a couple to give the Saders a one point lead.
The biggest lead of the half came after Kevin Hamilton swished in a
trey to give the Cross a 23-19 lead. Terrence Mack locked the game at
23, but Torey Thomas fired in a trey to give the Cross a three point
lead, 26-23, at halftime.
In the second
half Tyrese Sullivan of URI drained a three to lock the game at 26.
Nate Lufkin and Kevin Hamilton each scored a deuce to give the Cross a
four point lead, 30-26. Rhode Island regained the lead after Tyrese
Sullivan drained a couple to provide the Rams with a one point lead,
34-33. The Saders then went on a 13-2 run to provide them with a 10
point lead, 46-36. Unfortunately Rhode Island went on a 8-0 run
to reduce the Sader's lead to two, 46-44. With four minutes remaining
in action, the Saders were ahead by four, 50-46, after Torey Thomas
went coast to coast to pour in a two point field goal. With less than
two minutes remaining in the game, Terrance Mack drained two foul
shots to reduce the Cross' lead to two, 51-49. He fired back with
1:10 left in the ball game by draining one foul shot to reduce the
Sader's lead to one, 51-50. John Hurley and Kevin Hamilton were
brought to the line three times combined and both failed to make a
shot. Luckily, this time the Saders were able to sneak away with the
"W".
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton
SWISHED IN 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
Torey Thomas
DRAINED 11 points, ripped down 5 rebounds, distributed 5 assists,
snatched 2 steals.
SURPRISING STATS OF THE BALL
GAME
In the first
half, a total of five fouls were called. Three were called on HC and 2
on URI.
The Saders were
out-rebounded 38-35.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST DARTMOUTH
On Wednesday,
January 5th, the Holy Cross Crusaders will be battling Dartmouth at
the Hart Center. Last season Dartmouth finished off with a 3-25 record
and finished in eighth place in their conference. This season
Dartmouth returns all of their starters. Their top returning player is
Leo Pattman who averaged 13.2 points a game last season and grabbed
4.4 rebounds a game last season. This year Dartmouth's record is
3-5. They have defeated Quinnipiac, Keene State, and New Hampshire.
They have lost to Lehigh, Maine, Hartford, Hofstra, UC Davis, and
Stanford. More information can be found here:
Dartmouth Basketball Link
SOME THOUGHTS
A win is a win,
7-4 baby! The last minutes of the game were not pretty as the Sader's
were missing foul shots and going out of bounds. Mistakes such as
these should be avoided in a close game, but at least the Cross pulled
through with a win. Now lets not allow Dartmouth to get its fourth win
of the season over us! Let's go Saders!
This has been
Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL update**~**
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Sader's Mooooed Over By Vermont
Vermont 64, at Holy
Cross 59, December 30, 2004
On Thursday the Holy Cross Crusaders lost to Vermont 64-59. In the
first half, John Hurley drained the first two points to put the Saders
ahead by two. Taylor Coppenrath quickly locked the game at two, but Greg
Kinsey put the Cross back on top after pouring in a deuce. With 14:51
remaining in the game, John Hurley swished in a couple to put the Cross
ahead by three, 8-5. The game was eventually tied at 12 after Keith
Simmons banged in a deuce. Simmons afterwards poured in four more points
to put the Cross ahead by six, 16-10. With 4:25 remaining in the first
half, Nate Lufkin nailed a deuce to put the Saders ahead by two, 24-22
to spark the Cross' 10-2 run where other points were contributed
by Kevin Hamilton (2), and Keith Simmons (9), which gave the Saders an
32-24 advantage. The half ended with the Catamounts scoring four more
points to cause the score to be 32-28.
The second half began with Taylor Coppenrath scoring four points to
decrease the Sader's lead by two, 34-32 with 17:20 remaining in the ball
game. Kevin Hamilton fired back by scoring five points to increase the
Cross' lead. With 14:46 remaining in the game, Former Holy Cross
Basketball Player, Juan Pegues, noticed that the Cross began to grow
lazy on defense, he commented, "You gotta commit defensively."
Eventually the game was locked at 40 with 13:00 minutes left in the
game, and Torey Thomas broke the tie after he swished in a two point
field goal. The Catamounts took the lead after Germain Mopa Njilla
triggered a trey. After this shot was made, Pegues said, "Where's the
fire?" After Kevin Hyland and Torey Thomas scored a deuce each, they
reduced the Catamounts lead to one, 47-46. T.J Sorrentine then drained a
trey to put the Catamounts up by five, 51-46. The Saders kept plugging
away, and with 4:01 left in the rally, Keith Simmons poured in two foul
shots to decrease the Catamounts lead by one, 53-52. The Catamounts
responded by going on a 5-0 run. The Saders once again tried to come
back, after Kevin Hamilton triggered a trey to make the Saders down by
two, 58-56. Within a few seconds, the rock was stolen from Kevin
Hamilton, forcing Torey Thomas to foul David Hehn. Hehn made his free
throws, making the Cross down by five, 61-56. Thomas fired back by
scoring a trey and later two foul shots, however it simply was not
enough to put the Saders back on top.
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
KEITH SIMMONS drained 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Keith also was
recently named Patriot League player of the week after scoring 30 points
against Brown!
TOREY THOMAS poured in 14 points and snatched 3 steals.
SHOCKING STATS OF THE BALL
GAME
The Saders had a low 9 assists compared to Vermont's 16.
The Saders had 21 personal fouls compared to Vermont's 14.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST
RHODE ISLAND
This season Rhode Island returns 3 of their starters from last season
while they have lost two. Their top returning player is Dawan Robinson
who averaged 15.1 points a game last season and grabbed 3.9 boards a
game. Last season they finished off the year with a record of 22-9 and
finished ranked second in their conference. This season their record is
2-8. They have defeated Brown and Stony Brook. They have lost to
Manhattan, Maine, Seton Hall, Boston University, Providence, Rutgers,
Iona, and De Paul. Learn more about the Rams at
GoRhody.com. Also check out their excellent pre-game write up
of HC at
Preview Link. Finally, take a look at the
URI Message Board.
I arrived early to the game so I could have time to practice using my
new digital camera, which takes much better pictures. Right before the
singing of the national anthem the Hurley's friend, Joe commented, "I
mean, what is there to do in Vermont besides get maple syrup?" It was
wicked funny, and even a native of Vermont could laugh at that one.
Right before the Sader's were ready to do the tip off, water started
pouring down one of the walls. Apparently Vermont brought Lake Champlain
with them. Where's Champ? Then I met Alex Vander Baan's Dad. Alex will
be joining the Saders next season! In the second half of the game I
joined Juan Pegues and Coach Eaton. At the half, Juan said that the
Cross needed to play harder on defense, and that the Saders were lucky
they were making their shots. He was surprised that Coppenrath was not
making more outside shots. He suspected that Vermont would develop plays
to get him open, which they did because in the first half he scored six
points and in the second half he scored sixteen.
Anyway, it was great to see Juan and he is doing awesome. After the game
we talked about the game at BU a couple years back when he and
Jared Curry were wicked sick. The Saders did not beat BU that year, but
Juan said that because he was so sick he just physically could not keep
up with them even though he was mentally there.
As far as our ball club goes, the Cross needed to box out more on
defense in order to prevent the Catamounts gaining extra opportunities.
They also needed to value the basketball better because they were not
rotating the ball on offense well, which was shown through the amount of
assists they had. The Saders will have to improve on these things before
they play Iona. First things first though, they gotta defeat Rhode
Island. Let's come back Cross!
**~**This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL
update**~**
Boston Herald,
Burlington Free Press,
U. Vermont,
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Saders Pound Huskies
at Holy Cross 82,
Northeastern 76, December 27
See
Annie's Photos of the GameOn
Monday the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Northeastern Huskies 82-76 to
increase their record to 6-3. The first half began with Northeastern
scoring the first four points of the ball game, but the Saders recovered
by going on a 10-4 run where points were contributed by John Hurley (4),
and Nate Lufkin (6). The Huskies bounced back and soon were down by three,
20-17, with 9:32 remaining in the first half. The Saders responded by
going on a 13-5 run to increase their lead by nine, 31-22. The Huskies
caught up with the Cross after they went on a 6-2 run to decrease the
Crusader's lead by three, 33-30, and with two minutes remaining in the
first half the Huskies locked the score at 36. John Hurley drained four
points to give the Cross a four point advantage at the half, 40-36.
In
the second half the Cross went on a 13-2 run to increase their lead by
fifteen, 53-38. The Huskies quickly caught up with the Saders with 9:16
remaining in the ball game where they decreased the Sader's lead by two,
57-55. The Saders did not allow the Huskies to regain the lead, and
with 4:00 minutes left in the match-up, the Saders were ahead
by ten, 70-60. The closest the Huskies got to regaining the lead was
after Jose Juan Barea of the Huskies drained a trey to make the Sader's
lead decrease by six, 77-71.
HOT PLAYERS OF
THE BALL GAME
JOHN HURLEY who DRAINED 18 points, and pulled down 5 rebounds.
TOREY THOMAS who SWISHED IN 12 points and sliced down 7 rebounds, dished
out 4 assists, and snatched four steals.
KEVIN HAMILTON who handed out 5 assists, poured in 13 points, and ripped
down 6 rebounds.
KEITH SIMMONS who STUFFED 2 blocks, distributed 3 assists, and jammed in
12 points.
NATE
LUFKIN who GRABBED 6 rebounds and rolled in 14 points.
SHOCKING STATS OF
THE BALL GAME
In
the first half the Saders made 60% of their field goals and in the second
half they made 70% of their free throws.
The Cross held Jose Juan Barea, one of the top scorers in the country, to
12 points.
The Crusaders grabbed 35 rebounds compared to the Huskies 26.
The Saders distributed 22 assists compared to the Huskies 14.
UPCOMING GAME
AGAINST VERMONT
On December 30 at
7:00 the Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on Vermont at the Hart
Center. Last season Vermont finished off with a 22-9 record and placed
second in their conference. This year they are returning four starters.
Their top returning player is Taylor Coppenrath who averaged 24 points a
game last season and grabbed 7 rebounds a game. This season Vermont's
record is 3-3. They have defeated Marist, Iona, and Binghamton. They have
lost to Kansas, American, and North Carolina. More information on Vermont
can be found by visiting here:
Vermont basketball site
It felt great to be back at the Hart Center after being away for the last
few weeks, and the Saders played a pretty good ball game. When
Northeastern tried to get close to gaining the lead, the Cross responded
immediately by going on a run, showing that mentally their head was in the
game. I sat with the Hurleys during the game, and they received a
great Christmas present from their friend, Joe. Joe made t-shirts that had
written in purple "Hurley" with the number "24". They are awesome!
The rally against Vermont is always special for me. I am a "true
Vermonter" meaning I was born there, and I lived there for six years. The
first game I attended five years and nine days ago (yes, my five year
Sader anniversary was celebrated on December 19th of this year!) was
against Vermont. Going into the Hart Center five years ago, I didn't
really know who I was supposed to cheer for. Three minutes into the ball
game I knew I was a Sader Fan, and I turned against my hometown bringing
shame to all of the other natives of Vermont. Oh well, what can I say....I
have purple blood! This game will also be a test at how well the Cross
will perform against Iona. If the Saders defeat Vermont than they should
not have any problem defeating Iona. Let's go Saders!
**~**This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL Update**~**
Media Coverage of the Northeastern Game:
ESPN AP Story,
Boston Herald,
Boston Globe,
Northeastern University Story
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Saders Eat Up the Brown Bears
Holy Cross 84 at
Brown 71, December 21, 2004
See Annie's Photos of the Game
Last Tuesday the
Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Brown Bears 84-71 to make their record be
5-3. The first half began with Brown going on a 4-0 run, but the Saders
quickly caught up after buckets were made by Torey Thomas and John Hurley.
Their first lead of the rally came after Kevin Hamilton slam dunked the ball
to provide the Cross with a two point advantage, 6-4. The Brown Bear went on
a 7-0 run to increased their lead to 13-6. The Saders quickly caught up with
12:02 remaining in the first half as they locked the game at 18. With 2:54
remaining till halftime, the Saders went on a 11-2 run where points were
contributed by Keith Simmons (3), Kevin Hyland (2), Pat Doherty (4), and
Kevin Hamilton (2) to provide the Cross with an eleven point advantage,
44-33. The score at halftime was 50-42.
The second half started off with the Cross going on a 6-3 run, and as a
result the Brown Bears responded by going on a 6-0 run to decrease the
Sader's lead by five, 56-51. The closest the Brown Bears got to regaining
the lead was after Damon Huffman drained a trey to make the Bears down by
two, 58-56. Keith Simmons responded by swishing in a three, which sparked
the Saders 15-4 run to provide them with a fourteen point lead, 76-62.
Shortly after this run, Senior John Hurley came out of the ball game because
he hurt his ankle. The last four points were scored by Torey Thomas, who
went coast to coast all the way down the court to go for an easy lay-up, and
Keith Simmons, who had a powerful slam dunk to finish off the ball game.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
Keith Simmons who
SLAMMED in 30 points, and sliced down 5 rebounds.
Kevin Hyland who JAMMED IN 14 points.
Kevin Hamilton who handed out 7 assists, and snatched four steals.
SHOCKING STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders had a
total of 22 fouls compared to Brown's 17. In my opinion, the Refs were not
calling the fouls fairly, and Brown got away with quite a lot of fouls. One
of the refs also refereed at the Princeton game, where fouls were not called
evenly either.
The Saders had 20
assists compared to Brown's 13.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST
NORTHEASTERN
On Monday,
December 27th, the Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on Northeastern
University at the Hart Center at 7:00 P.M. Presently the Northeastern
Huskies have a 4-4 record. They have defeated Cornell, Massachusetts,
Detroit, and Stony Brook. They have lost to Birmingham Southern, Harvard,
who the Cross defeated early in the year, Wright State, and Connecticut.
Jose Juan Barea presently averages 24 points a game, and Marcus Barnes
averages 17. More information on Northeastern can be found here:
Northeastern Basketball Link
SOME THOUGHTS
On Tuesday,
I departed from my house with my Dad at about 5:30 and went to the high
school to pick up my brother. From there we headed to Brown, however, we
made a stop at McDonalds after we were a little over halfway there. The stop
at McDonalds took fifteen minutes because their whole system was shut down.
Talk about "Fast Food." As a result we missed about eight minutes of the
first half, but at least I wasn't hungry. Throughout the first and the
beginning of the second half, the Crusaders focus seemed to be fading in and
out, however, they made up for that on offense, and by the middle of the
second half their focus was completely present. Their shooting was awesome,
especially from Keith Simmons and Kevin Hyland, I think Kevin Hyland had the
greatest game of his career so far! Congrats to him! Hope you all have a
Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!
This has
been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC bball update**~**
Media Coverage of Brown Game:
ESPN AP
Article,
Providence Journal,
Brown University
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Saders Eaten by Eagles
in Overtime
at
Boston College 63, Holy
Cross 60 in Over Time, December 9, 2004
See Annie's Photos of the Game
On
Tuesday the Holy Cross Crusaders lost to Boston College 63-60. The first
half began with the Crusaders taking a two point lead after sophomore Torey
Thomas swished in the rock. With 17:34 remaining in the half, Craig Smith
put the Boston College Eagles on top after he poured in one deuce and one
foul shot. Senior John Hurley locked the game at 3-3, and later at 5-5 with
15:20 left till halftime. Junior Kevin Hyland eventually gave the Cross a
two point advantage, 7-5, but this lead was quickly squashed after Nate
Doornekamp of Boston College drained a trey to provide the Eagles with the
three point lead. John Hurley responded by draining a deuce, but
Doornekamp poured in another three to provide the Eagles with a 13-9 lead.
The Eagles increased their lead by eight, 17-9. Their run was stopped after
Torey Thomas rolled in a two point field goal. The Saders remained trailing
after the Eagles, and the closest they came in this half was after John
Hurley scored a two to reduce the Eagle's lead by four, 24-20. The score at
the half was 27-22 with the Eagles leading the way.
The second half began with John Hurley and junior Kevin
Hamilton each scoring two points to put the Cross down by one, 27-26 with
18:15 left in the game. The Eagles fired back by scoring four more points to
increased their lead by five points, 31-26. Torey Thomas and Kevin Hyland
responded by scoring a combined total of five points, to minimize the Eagles
lead by two, 33-31. The Saders continued to trail closely behind the Eagles,
and with 10:17 until the end of the game, Greg Kinsey tied the game at 41.
Kevin Hyland gave the Saders their first lead since the first half after the
scored two points. The Eagles responded by scoring five more points.With
5:56 left in the game, Keith Simmons scored five pints to put the Saders
back on top (51-48). Craig Smith tied the game at 51, and Jared Dudley of BC
scored two more points to put the Eagles ahead by two. Kevin Hyland locked
the game at 53 to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, Nate Lufkin scored a total of four points in the first two
minutes of the game to keep the Cross ahead by two, 57-55. Steve Hailey of
Boston College tied the game at 57, and later scored two points to provide
the Eagles with the lead for the remainder of the ball game. The last bucket
scored for the Saders was by Keith Simmons, who banged in a trey.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
NATE LUFKIN who scored 12 points and ripped down 9 rebounds.
KEVIN HYLAND who scored 11 points.
TOREY THOMAS who distributed 8 assists and poured in 10 points.
SHOCKING STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders made a low 36% of their shots.
The Saders had 13 steals compared to BC's 4.
The Saders had 12 turnovers compared to BC's 18.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST BROWN
On December 21 the Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on Brown University
at Brown. Brown's record this season is 4-4. They have defeated Wagner,
Binghamton, Hartford, and New Hampshire while losing to Missouri, Sam
Houston St, Rhode Island, and Wright State. Last season the Brown Bears
finished off with a 14-13 record. This season their top returning players
are Jason Forte, who averaged 16 points a ball game, Patrick Powers,
who averaged 15 points a ball game, and Jaime Kilburn, who averaged 13. More
information about the Brown Bears can be found here:
Brown Link
SOME THOUGHTS
The experience of going to this game was one that I technically should not
have taken. I have been sick with the worst sinus infection imaginable since
Wednesday. I attended school Thursday because I had a chemistry lab, and I
swear I am never going to make a chem. lab up by myself after school because
most of the time I don't really understand 100% of what is going on in
chemistry. I also decided to go because I had a quiz in math about all the
different ways to factor polynomials, and I didn't want to have to make that
up either. All day in school I felt miserable because my head felt like it
weighed about 1000 pounds. After my tough day at school, I decided I
deserved to go to this game. If I can handle a six hour day at school, which
included a polynomial quiz, then I most definitely deserve to go to this
game. My Dad drove to his friend's house, who was a classmate of his at the
Cross, and from there we drove to BC. On the way I was thinking about the
last time I was in the Conte Forum a few years back, and how during the game
the Boston College Eagle was stalking me. I was hoping that did not happen
again, and luckily it didn't. Then my Dad and his friend were talking about
the time when a few students at HC painted the BC Eagle statue purple. My
Dad claimed he was not in on the action, however, he wouldn't tell me if he
really was involved or not anyway because that would just give me ideas. We
sat in the nosebleed section. I guess purple fans sometimes get the shaft,
although my brother didn't get shafted. He is friends with John Hurley's
younger brother, so my brother sat with him during the game. Oh, I forgot to
mention that Hurley's younger brother had court side seats. My brother
really isn't into basketball as much as I am, so it was slightly frustrating
seeing him down in the court side seats. On the way home we joked that if I
had been sitting down there I could have coughed on the BC players to try to
make them sick with my sinus infection.
Anyway, statistically it appears that the Cross gave it their
best shot. No, not really. A spectator noted that the Saders throw the ball
away a lot. During this game they did because they were not valuing
the basketball enough. The Saders were at times rushing things too
quickly on offense causing them to make poor shots and awful passes that
would go right through the hands of their teammates. Also, they were not
making their easy buckets, which definitely played quite a factor in this
game. If the Saders made their easy shots and valued the basketball more
than they could have defeated Boston College. It was a frustrating game for
the Saders to lose, but hopefully this will make them hungrier for a win
against Brown.
**~**This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL update**~**
Media Coverage of BC Game: Boston
Herald game story,
Boston Herald "BC gives HC Credit",
Boston Herald: "Narrow Loss Crushing to HC",
Boston Herald Pre-Game Article ,
Boston Globe,
ESPN AP
article.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crusaders Ram Fordham
Holy
Cross 53, at Fordham 39, December 6, 2004
On Monday the Holy
Cross Crusaders defeated the Fordham Rams in a 53-39 victory. The Rams came
into the game ready to rumble as they went on a 5-0 run. With 12:43
left until the end of the half, Kevin Hyland locked the game at five after
he swished in a free throw. Keith Simmons provided the Cross with their
first lead of the ball game after he triggered in a trey. The second tie of
the half came after Kevin Anderson of Fordham poured in a deuce to lock the
game at nine. Kevin Hamilton fired back by scoring a trey to put the Cross
on top 12-9. The Rams went on a 8-0 run to give them a five point
advantage, 17-12. Torey Thomas banged in one three point shot, and two foul
shots to tie the game at 17 with 3:00 remaining in the half. The score at
halftime was 19-18 with the Rams ahead by one.
The second half began with Kevin Hamilton rolling in a trey to give the
Cross the three point advantage, but Kevin Anderson of Fordham quickly tied
the game back up at 21. For a brief amount of time, the Cross grew a bit
lazy on defense and allowed some buckets to fall in. They quickly regrouped,
and scored three treys to put them back on top for the remainder of the
game. The largest lead the Cross had over the Rams was at the very end of
the game when John Hurley poured in the last bucket for the Saders, which
was one foul shot to put the Cross ahead 53-36.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
KEVIN HAMILTON who SWISHED IN 17 points, and ripped down 8 rebounds.
TOREY THOMAS who DISTRIBUTED 4 assists, snatched 5 steals, and drained in 10
points.
SHOCKING STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Rams had 25 personal fouls compared to Holy Cross' 13.
The Saders had 16 steals compared to Fordham's 10.
The Crusaders had 36 rebounds while the Rams only had 29.
SADER SPOTTINGS
Chris Spitler who
helped broadcast the game over the radio with Bob Fouracre. Spitler
was a senior on the '99-'00 campaign, and he just passed his bar exam!
Congrats Chris!
UPCOMING RALLY AGAINST BC
On Thursday the Crusaders will be taking on the Boston College Eagles at
7:30 at BC. Last season the Eagles finished off 24-10, and made it to the
second round of the NCAA tournament where they lost to Georgia Tech 57-54.
This season they are 5-0. They have defeated Maine, New Hampshire, Clemson,
LIU, and UCLA. This season the Eagles are returning four starters from
last season (Craig Smith, Jared Dudley, Sean Marshall, and Louis Hinnant),
and they lost one starter from last season (Uka Agbai). Craig Smith is the
leading scorer from last season where he averaged 16 points a ball game, and
he is the leading rebounder as he grabbed about 8 boards a game. The Saders
will have to guard this one tough. More information can be found here:
Boston College Link
SOME THOUGHTS
I was so excited that the Cross won against Fordham. It is great that they
could bounce back from their last two defeats. It is also great that when
they were down in the first half they kept on fighting back, and eventually
they were in the driver's seat for the remainder of the game. It shows their
great will and determination to come out on top. Way to be purple! Boston
College is clearly the most challenging team amongst all of the other teams
that the Cross has played against this season. It will be very difficult to
beat them, but I am happy the Saders are taking the Eagles on before finals.
I remember back in the 01-02 campaign when the Crusaders faced the Eagles
after exams. It was a disaster because the Saders were just too worn out
after the exams. They looked like zombies out there. In order to win, the
Cross has to be fired up from the beginning, and they cannot lose their
momentum. What do Saders and their fans eat? EAGGGGGLLLLLEEEE MEAT!!!
**~**This has been
Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL update**~**
Media Coverage of Fordham Game:
New York Post,
ESPN AP Story,
Fordham Story
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota Steals
Momentum From Saders
at
Minnesota 72,Holy Cross 56, December 3, 2004
On Saturday the
Holy Cross Crusaders lost to the Minnesota Gophers 72-56 in their third away
game of the season. The first bucket of the rally was drained by Kevin
Hamilton, who poured in a trey, and he finished the night by scoring a
career-high 22 points. Nate Lufkin then poured in one free throw to make the
score 4-0, however, the Gophers quickly locked the game up at four. Torey
Thomas put the Cross back on top by swishing in a deuce, but Brent Lawson of
Minnesota tied the game at six. Afterwards a Gopher banged in a couple to
give Minnesota its first lead of the game. Kevin Hamilton triggered in a
three to put the Cross ahead by one, 9-8. Vincent Grier of Minnesota put the
Gophers back on top with 13:32 remaining in the ball game after he rolled in
a two point field goal. Kevin Hamilton hit another three for the Saders
while Keith Simmons and Kevin Hyland each drained a deuce to make the Cross
lead 16-12. The Gophers quickly locked the game at 16, and they went on a
13-2 run to make them lead 29-18. Torey Thomas, John Hurley, and Kevin
Hamilton scored a combined total of seven points to make the Cross down by
eleven, 36-25. The half ended with Pat Doherty scoring a trey to make the
score 39-28.
In the second half the Saders never regained the lead as Minnesota kept
plugging away. The half began with a great play where Hurley blocked the
shot, and Greg Kinsey tossed the rock over to Torey Thomas, who drained it
in with 12:20 remaining in the ball game. Pat Doherty hit a three to make
the deficit decrease by eight points (43-35). Over the next few minutes the
Saders scored ten points, but eventually Minnesota was ahead by fifteen,
their largest lead of the game (60-45). The closest the Cross got to
regaining the lead after the Gophers were ahead by fifteen was when they
were down by ten in the last few minutes of the game.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
Kevin Hamilton who scored 22 points, ripped down 6 rebounds, handed
out 5 assists, and snatched 4 steals.
SHOCKING STATS OF THE BALL GAME
The Saders were outrebounded 32-29.
The Cross were called for 23 fouls while Minnesota was called for 12.
The Gophers had 13 steals while the Saders had 8.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST FORDHAM
On December 6th the Saders will be taking on Fordham at the Rose Hill
Gymnasium at 7:00. Last season Fordham finished off with a 6-22 record, and
finished in fifth place in their conference. This year they are returning
three starters while they lost two. Their top returning player is Derrick
Breland who averaged 8.2 points a game last season. Last year the Saders
defeated Fordham 66-57, and the Saders have won the last four games against
Fordham. This season Fordham has a 2-2 record. They have defeated St.
Francis and Iona, a team that the Cross will be taking on later this season.
They have lost to Boston University (66-51), a team that the Cross defeated
earlier this season, and Manhattan college. More information can be
found here:
Fordham
Link.
SOME THOUGHTS
Well, I took the SAT's yesterday at St. John's, in a bitter cold room, with
a rather grumpy teacher. He needed to lighten up a bit because he said,
"Don't worry about this. It's just your life." I was like, dude, chill out,
I don't need to hear this right now. So by the time the game came around, I
was exhausted, and I was hoping to get really hyper during the game so I
could wake up a bit. Well, the opposite was happening, I was pretty much
falling asleep listening to the game, sad as it is. The Cross lost their
momentum in the game,
they had the Gophers in the first eight minutes of the game, but they lost
it. I think the Cross will be able to come back from this bump in the road
against Fordham. It is early in the season, and I would rather have the
Cross lose now instead of in March. Better for it to happen now then later
because the Cross can learn from all of their mistakes. HERE WE GO SADERS!
**~**This had been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC bball update**~**Annie can be reached at: Annie@Crossports.com
Media Coverage of Minnesota Game:
Boston Globe,
ESPN AP Story,
Gopher Sports
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Curse of the
Tigers Still Lives On
at Holy Cross 53,
Princeton 56, December 1, 2004
See Annie's Photos of the Game
On Wednesday the Princeton Tigers defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders 56-53.
In the first half, Kevin Hamilton drained the first bucket of the ball game
to give the Cross the 2-0 advantage. Noah Savage of Princeton swished in the
first deuce for the Tigers, and their lead later increased by three (5-2).
With 15:30
left till the half, Kevin Hamilton tied up the ball game at seven, and after
Nate Lufkin poured in another couple, the Cross was ahead by two, 9-7.
Princeton quickly locked the game at nine, and Noah Savage rolled in a trey
to put the Tigers in the driver's seat for the remainder of the half.
Princeton eventually increased their lead by nine, 20-11. During a timeout
Coach Willard said, "You are not talking! Talk out there, and stay tough
down low on defense!" The closest the Cross got to regaining the lead was
with 4:22 left until halftime, and John Hurley banged in a two point field
goal to decrease Princeton's lead by five, 22-17. At the half, the score was
27-21 after Kevin Hamilton hit two free throws.
The second half opened up with Nate Lufkin pouring in a deuce. Afterwards
there were numerous terrible calls made by the refs against Holy Cross. One
occurred when the refs did not call a travel on a Princeton player, but
instead claimed that a Holy Cross player fouled. The Saders came back, and
Nate Lufkin was
fouled by a Tiger. Kevin Hamilton's father shouted, "About time! Go back to
reffing school!" The Saders then began to grow sloppy on offense, which
caused some turnovers against them. Nate Lufkin hit a Tiger in the face, and
Torey Thomas lost control of the rock, allowing the Tigers to snatch it
away. John Hurley attempted to get the Saders back on top by going in for a
dunk, however, a Tiger held him down, making it impossible for him to dunk,
and the refs failed to blow their whistles. With 5:08 remaining till the end
of the game, Princeton was ahead by ten, 46-36. The Saders then went on a
9-2 run, which ended after Keith Simmons snatched the rock away from a
Tiger, and drained a two. The fans began shouting "Defense," but the refs
ruined the moment after they called a foul on a Sader. A Crusader fan said,
"You should be reffing
middle school not college basketball!" With 1:04 remaining, the Saders
fought back, and decreased the Tigers lead by two, 52-50. Hart Hysteria
overcame all of the fans after the Saders did not allow the Tigers to shoot,
and with 26 seconds left till the end of the game, Torey Thomas poured in
one foul shot to make the Cross down by one, 52-51. A Tiger was later fouled
by a Sader, and he made both of his free throws. Greg Kinsey fired back a
deuce to make the Cross again down by one, 54-53. John Hurley's Dad shouted,
"Make it happen," while fans shouted "Let's Go Saders!" Unfortunately, Kevin
Hamilton was called for fouling a Tiger in the last six seconds of the game,
and the Saders just could not make it happen.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
Keith Simmons who poured in 12 points.
Torey Thomas, who snatched 5 steals.
Kevin Hamilton, who ripped down 5 rebounds.
SHOCKING STATS
The Cross only had 6 assists compared to Princeton's 14.
The Saders only had 9 steals compared to Princeton's 11.
Princeton had 4 blocks while HC had 1.
SADER SPOTTINGS
Coach Giovino, Coach Eaton , and Josh Kramer were all in attendance to cheer
on the Cross!
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST MINNESOTA
This season Minnesota returns one starter from last season while they
have lost one. Their top returning player is Adam Boone who averaged 8.4
points a game last season. Last season Minnesota's record was 12-18, and
they finished 10th in their conference. Minnesota has a 2-3 record. They
have defeated Lipscomb and Furman. They have lost to Alabama, Oklahoma, and
Florida.
SOME THOUGHTS
Well, I don't like Princeton. I never have since Jared Curry won and later
lost the game back in the 00-01 campaign. I knew it would go down to the
wire like it did, always does with those Tigers. Anyway, the journey to the
game was a good one, because I got to the Cross in twenty minutes during
rush hour. I am a
skilled driver! During the game I obviously sat near Mr. Hamilton, Mr.
Kinsey, and Mr. Hurley! I love their comments! At halftime, with 2:45 left
till the start of the second half, neither team came out to warm up. Usually
not a good sign. Then when Princeton came out everyone booed. During the
half, I just ate lots of Nachos because I knew I would need my energy for
the next half, and boy was I right. At the end of the game, I went over and
talked to former coaches Eric Eaton and Mark Giovino. Coach Eaton says
I'll be writing for Sports Illustrated pretty soon. We will have to see
about that. Then I said hello to Coach Eaton's parents, and I even talked
with a Tiger. No, not a player, but Coach Newsom. He asked me how I
was, and I just gave him a look. lol. He is doing great though, and he is
happy at Princeton.
**~**This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL UPDATE**~**
Media Coverage of Princeton Game:
Boston Herald
Boston Globe
AP story on
ESPN
Princeton Story
The Trenton Times
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders Don't Lock Up
Against Marist
at Holy Cross 79,
Marist 52, November 28, 2004
See Annie's Photos of the Game
On
Sunday, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Marist 79-52, in their first home
game of the season. The Saders came out on top as they opened the game by
going on a 9-0 run where points were contributed by Kevin Hamilton (5), Greg
Kinsey (2), and John Hurley (2). The Saders increased their lead to 30-10
after some amazing plays were made. One occurred when Keith Simmons snatched
the rock away from a Red Fox, bounced the ball behind his back, and passed
it onto Torey Thomas, who drained the deuce. Another was when Keith
Simmons slammed the rock into the hoop for another couple. The last play was
made by John Hurley where he did a fake, did a spin move to the hoop, and
banged in the rock for the couple. With 3:11 remaining in the first
half, the Saders
allowed the Red Foxes to go on a 7-0 run to make the score be 35-17, but
they did not allow them to score anymore buckets before halftime. The score
at the half was 39-17.
The second half began with Greg Kinsey pouring in a
trey with 17:32 remaining in the ball game. The Cross increased their
advantage by 24 (54-30), after junior Kevin Hyland scored 4 out of his 13
career high points. The Saders then had a 5-0 scoring streak, and later an
8-0 scoring run to increase their lead by thirty, 70-40. Freshman Kyle Cruze
saw his first five minutes of action, and within those minutes he swished in
five points. Mike Smiley and Pat Doherty scored the last couple points for
the Saders to make the Cross 3-0 for the first time since the 92-93 season.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE BALL GAME
KEVIN HYLAND who
JAMMED IN 13 points for a stellar career high.
KEVIN HAMILTON who ripped down 9 boards for the Cross.
TIM CLIFFORD who SWATTED 6 blocks.
TOREY THOMAS who DISHED OUT 8 assists.
SHOCKING STATS
The Crusaders had
22 assists compared to Marist's 7, 43 rebounds compared to Marist's 28, and
the Cross had 9 blocks while Marist had none.
SADERS M.I.A
Senior Nate Lufkin
was not able to play in this game due to an ankle injury.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST PRINCETON
On Wednesday the
Holy Cross Crusaders will be taking on the Princeton Tigers. Last season the
Tigers finished off 20-8, and finished in first place in the Ivy League.
This year they return four starters from last season while they lost one
from last season. This season they are 2-2. They have defeated two Patriot
League teams, Bucknell and Lafayette. They have lost to Syracuse and
Wyoming. The Tigers will be gunning for this win because they only need
three more to become the 14th men's basketball division 1 program to win
1,500 games. Here is a bit off 411 of the HC and Princeton series from
the Princeton website: "Princeton senior center Judson Wallace, and
the Tigers, certainly have fond memories of last season's victory over Holy
Cross at Jadwin Gym. Wallace had a career-high 31 points that night, missing
just two of his 13 shots from the field, and hit three three-point shots in
a second-half stretch that helped turn a tie game into a nine-point Tiger
lead. The end result was a 61-55 Tiger win, a bit of an aberration in a
series that has featured extremely tight games in the last five years. Holy
Cross won by one point in Worcester two years ago, 55-54, on a last-second
free throw, and Princeton won by two at Jadwin Gym in 2001 and by one at the
Hart Center in 2000 on two free throws in the final 15 seconds. Both the
Tigers (2-2) and the Crusaders (3-0) have won games thanks to defense in the
early season. Princeton's opponents are shooting just 35% through four
games; Holy Cross opponents are shooting at just 37% through three games.
Both teams are allowing just 51 points per game. Princeton, which gutted out
a 40-38 win at Lafayette Saturday, ends a season-opening five-game stretch
away from home with Wednesday's game. The Tigers finally play at home Dec.
8, when Rutgers visits Jadwin Gym. Holy Cross defeated Marist Sunday night,
79-52, to improve to 3-0. Kevin Hyland, starting for injured center Nate
Lufkin, shot a perfect 5 for 5 from the field and had a team-high 13 points
for the Crusaders."
More information can be found here:
Go Princeton Tigers
SOME THOUGHTS
On Sunday, I
received a call from Coach Jerz at about 1:30 in the afternoon because he
wanted me to make a CD for the game that night because the Saders needed
something to warm up to. Torey Thomas was put on the phone with me, and he
gave me some songs that the team wanted, however, the issue was that the
songs needed to be edited. When I went to try to find the songs, I could not
find anything edited. SO ANNOYING! I was somewhat stressed because I only
had a few hours to figure out what the heck I was going to do about the CD.
I called Jerz to see if he had any suggestions and told him about the
dilemma because I didn't know if I could find enough clean songs to make a
quality CD. Jerz had no idea as to what to do, which really helped.
Eventually I found 10 songs that could work, and I called him back and said
I got something figured out. Jerz was elated because if I didn't figure
something out he was going to put on Jammin 94.5, which would have been kind
of lame. So I am glad I figured it out.
**~**This had been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC bball update**~**
Media Coverage of Marist Game::
Poughkeepsie Journal,
AP story on
ESPN
----------------------------------------------------------------
Crusaders Cruise on by Harvard
Holy Cross 60, at
Harvard 52, November 23, 2004
On Tuesday, the Holy Cross Crusaders traveled to Harvard University, where
they defeated the Crimson 60-52, in their second game of the season. The
Saders were on fire at the beginning of the ball game. John Hurley, Torey
Thomas, and Kevin Hamilton led the Cross on a 12-1 run. Hurley contributed seven of
those points. With 12:25 remaining till the half, the Crimson responded to
the Crusader's run by draining nine points to reduce the Cross' lead to two,
12-10. Eventually the Crimson tied up the ball game at seventeen with 9:23
left in the half. Torey Thomas and Greg Kinsey broke the and tie put the
Saders back on top by each tossing in a deuce, however, Harvard gained a one
point lead (23-22) with 5:53 remaining till halftime. The Saders were able
to stay ahead of the Crimson for the remainder of the half where points were
contributed by John Hurley(2), Tim Clifford (4), Torey Thomas (4), and Greg
Kinsey (2). The score at the half was 34-30. In the second half the
Saders increased their lead by eight. Harvard bounced back by cutting their
lead to four, however, they would not come any closer to regaining the lead
for the rest of the ball game. The Saders eventually increased their lead by
nine, 49-40, after Keith Simmons swished in a couple. With 7:54 remaining
till the end of the ball game, the shot clock stopped working. My Dad
commented, "Harvard's endowment is 22 billion dollars, and they still cannot
get the shot clock to work!" After Kevin Hamilton banged in a two-point
field goal, loud and proud Sader fans began chanting "Defense," because the
Cross increased their lead to ten, 52-42. Then the refs made a terrible
call, in which they stated Nate was moving while trying to make a screen.
Crossports posters Ray and Non Alum Dave shouted, "You're killing me! That's
awful! Trying to pull that one!" The Saders did not allow this call to ruin
their momentum as they continued pouring in shots. At one point they were
ahead by nine, 58-49, after Torey Thomas rolled in two foul shots. Down the
stretch, Harvard's Michael Beal began to get the hot hand as he drained a
couple of threes, however, the Saders kept the Crimson under control in the
final seconds of the ball game to pull away with their second big "W" of the
season.
HOT PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Kevin Hamilton who
jammed in 18 points, and sliced down 5 rebounds.
Torey Thomas who
drained 13 points.
John Hurley who
snatched 6 steals and poured in 9 points.
SHOCKING STATS
The Cross had 20 steals
compared to Harvard's 9.
SADER SPOTTINGS
Coach Giovino was in
attendance once again to cheer the Saders on!
SADER'S M.I.A
Joe Young was not in
attendance at this game. I do not know the reason why.
SADER UPDATES
Tim Szatko is playing
basketball in Portugal for team Ginasio. To view info on his team go to:
http://www.lcb.pt/ligatmn/?esc=equipa&id=12 and I hope you can
understand what the website is saying as it is written in Portuguese.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST MARIST
On Sunday night at
7:00, the Holy Cross Crusaders will be battling Marist at the Hart Center in
their first home game of the season! The Marist Red Foxes have a 2-1 record
so far. They defeated Cornell (72-67) and St. Bonaventure (74-58). They lost
to Birmingham-Southern (67-66). This Friday they will be playing Vermont.
Last season their record was 6-22 overall, and 0-12 away. The returning
leaders for the Red Foxes are Will McClurkin, who was the leading scorer for
the Foxes last season. He averaged about 11 points a game last year. Brandon
Ellerbee is another leader for the Foxes who drained about 10 points last
year. He is extremely athletic as he has three Marist varsity letters. More
information about Marist can be found here:
http://goredfoxes.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mari-m-baskbl-body.html
SOME THOUGHTS
The game was awesome,
but before I get into that I must tell you about my trip to Harvard. First
of all, I was passed out in the back seat of the car. Driving in rush hour
is slow and boring, and I decided to take a snooze in order to build up some
energy for the game. When we arrived in front of the Harvard campus, my Dad
went to go park the car. He parked on the street, and therefore he had to
parallel park. Well this lady, who was driving behind us, became wicked mad
at us. I can't tell you why she was mad, but I could tell she was because as
my Dad was trying to parallel park she drove around us and gave us the
mother of all evil looks. It was priceless! So funny! She looked insulted
that we were trying to parallel park. I guess she didn't have enough
patience to wait for us to park the car. Once we arrived in the gym, I went
to the bathroom. I know this is so exciting, and you are probably wondering
why I mention this fact. Well, when I entered the bathroom I heard this girl
practicing the National Anthem to sing before the tip off. Not knowing what
to do, I just went and took care of my business, but do you know how awkward
that is? I don't think you do.
Then I had to question when was the appropriate time to flush. I decided
just to wait until she was done singing. That still felt awkward because I
don't think it portrays Nationalism in the greatest light, if you can see
what I am saying. Anyway, all in all it was pretty funny, and I hope you
enjoyed my awkward moment.
Anyway, during the
game I sat with the Hurley's, which was a lot of fun! I thought the Saders
looked great on defense, but they still need to do a bit better on getting
open on offense. Luckily, the Cross made up for it by making their shots,
and their free throw shooting is so much better than last year! This shows
that their confidence in their game has increased drastically since last
season! Let's hear it for the Saders! After the game I caught up with
former basketball manager Katie Bagdis, who graduated last year. She is
doing just dandy and is enjoying her new job.
"This has been Annie,
"THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL UPDATE**~**
Media Coverage
of Harvard Game: Boston
Herald Article on Game
Boston Globe Article
ESPN (AP
Story)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saders Begin Season With a Bang
Crusaders 58, Boston University 48
Nov. 19,2004 at BU
On Saturday, the Holy Cross Crusaders traveled to Boston University to play
in their first game of the season. Both teams came out ready to play, but in
the end the Crusaders pulled through by winning 58-48. In the first half,
Kevin Hamilton and Nate Lufkin scored the first two baskets for the Saders
in order to keep the score even with the Terriers. The Terriers pulled ahead
and remained on top for the majority of the first half as the Saders dragged
closely behind. With 5:28 left to go until the half, sophomore Torey Thomas
locked the game at 18 after he swished in two free throws. He then came
right back and provided the Cross with their first lead of the ball game
(20-18) after he banged in a deuce. Thomas tossed in the last bucket of the
half to give the purple a 22-20 lead, however, the Terriers fired back by
wishing in a trey to provide them with a three point advantage at the half,
25-22.
The second half of
the game began with the Terriers going on a 8-2 run. Senior Greg Kinsey put
an end to the run after he swished in one foul shot to make the Saders down
by nine, 35-26. Slowly the Cross began to climb their way back on top, and
they eventually did after Kevin Hamilton drained a trey to make the score
40-39. Hamilton's shot began the Crusader's 11-0 run, and nine of those
shots were trifectas made by Hamilton to make the score 48-39. At the end of
the game, Torey Thomas came through for the Cross by draining one two point
field goal, and two free throws to keep the Saders ahead, 56-48. The last
two shots were free throws scored by Kevin Hamilton to provide the Crusaders
with their first win causing Sader fans to cheer, "It's all over," and
“Sucks to B.U."
HOT PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Torey Thomas jammed in 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, handed out 4 assists,
and snatched 3 steals.
Kevin Hamilton rolled in 17 points and snatched 6 steals.
Keith Simmons poured in 13 points.
SHOCKING STATS
The Saders hit 61% of their free throws compared to B.U's 28%.
SADER SPOTTINGS
Former players Brian Wilson, Jared Curry, and Ralph Okafor were in
attendance. Okafor played for one season for the Saders in the '99, '00
campaign.
Coach Giovino came over and talked with Brian Wilson.
UPCOMING GAME AGAINST HARVARD
On Tuesday, November 23rd the Saders will be taking on the Harvard Crimson
at Harvard.
Last season Harvard finished off with a record of 4-23. The four teams they
defeated were San Jose State, Dartmouth, Yale, and Cornell. Their record at
home was 2-10. Top returning players are Kevin Rogus who averaged 14 points
last season, and Matt Stehle, who grabbed about 8 rebounds per game and
averaged 13 points. Their record so far this season is 0-1. They lost to
Notre Dame 66-59.
Just Some Thoughts
The Crusaders looked much better this year than any game I saw them play in
last year! They came out ready to play! They were hustling throughout most
of the game, and looked awesome on defense, especially in the second half.
Their free throw shooting also looked better than last year, and they made
more of them under pressure.
Also, when they were down by eleven in the second half, they could have
given up, but instead they fought back! Last year the Saders didn't always
fight back when they were down. This shows great will and determination from
our ball club! The fan support was great at today's game too. Sader fans
were loud and proud! Let's give another Hoya and Chu Chu Rah Rah for our
Crusaders fans! One down at least 27 to go! This looks like a promising
season!
**~**This has been Annie, "THE CRUSADER," with your HC BBALL UPDATE**~**
See Annie's Photos of the
Game
Annie can be reached at: Annie@Crossports.com
Media Coverage of BU Game: Boston
Herald,
Boston Globe ESPN
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