Despite a hot start, the Holy Cross Crusaders lost their fifth straight game to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 83-77, leaving them 0-3 in the Patriot League to start 2018.
The Crusaders led 19-3 around seven minutes into the first half, but things went drastically downhill from there. They lost the lead with under three minutes left in the first half and never regained it. Although they came within two points with 22 seconds left, it was too little too late.
Freshman guard Austin Butler led the Crusaders with a career-high 22 points, making six out of his 10 three-point attempts. Butler shot 50 percent from the field and had five rebounds as well. Junior guard Jehyve Floyd shot 8-10 from the field, earning himself 16 points. Floyd also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Forwards Matt Faw and Karl Charles both added 11 points.
Junior guard Lance Tejada led Lehigh in scoring with 25 points off the bench, shooting 6-8 from beyond the arc and provided five assists. Sophomore forward Pat Andree score 17 points, shooting 5-9 from deep, while also adding seven rebounds.
The Crusaders drastically improved their shooting from their last outing in this game, shooting 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc. The downfall of the Crusaders came in the discipline department, as they had six more fouls than Lehigh, which led to 10 free throw points for the Mountain Hawks.
With this defeat, the Crusaders (3-11) still find themselves at the bottom of the Patriot League standings and remain 1-9 in their last 10 games. Their next game is a home matchup against fellow 3-11 Patriot League opponents, the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds, on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.
