Mid Massachusetts News

MEN'S BASKETBALL TO OPEN PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT AT LOYOLA

The Holy Cross men's basketball team will begin Patriot League Tournament action when it travels to Loyola (Md.) for the first round on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7:00 p.m. The game between the Crusaders and the Greyhounds will be shown live by the Patriot League on ESPN+.

Holy Cross enters the contest as the No. 9 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. The Crusaders concluded the regular season with an overall record of 10-21, while finishing in a four-way tie for sixth in the conference with a 7-11 mark in league games. Holy Cross is currently on a three-game losing streak, and was defeated by Army West Point 80-65 on Saturday

Senior forward Gerrale Gates has led the team by averaging 16.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game, in addition to hitting 47.7 percent of his field goal attempts. Freshman guard Will Batchelder has added 12.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest, while junior guard Joe Octave is putting up 12.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Loyola stands 12-19 overall this season, and was also part of the four-way tie for sixth place in the Patriot League with a 7-11 mark in conference play. The Greyhounds have won four of their last five games, and are coming off an 83-77 overtime victory over American on Saturday.

Senior guard Kenneth Jones has led the team by averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game, while making 40.0 percent of his three-point attempts. Senior guard Jaylin Andrews has put up 11.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest, with freshman guard Deon Perry adding 11.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

The winner of the Holy Cross-Loyola game will move on to the Patriot League quarterfinals, where it will play at No. 1 seed Colgate on Thursday, March 2, at 7:00 p.m. 

Original source can be found here