Courtesy of NavySports.com
WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Patrick Benzan scored the game-winning layup with 0.1 seconds remaining to give Holy Cross (7-8, 1-1 PL) a 51-50 win over visiting Navy (5-9, 0-2 PL) on Monday evening at the Hart Center.
With Navy leading 50-49 with 7.6 seconds left, sophomore guard Ryan Pearson missed the front-end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity and Holy Cross’s Malachi Alexander grabbed the defensive rebound. Alexander passed the ball to Benzan who dribbled the length of the court, drove down the lane, crossing right to left, and put up an off-balanced layup that rolled in with 0.1 seconds left. Navy was able to inbound the ball but the final buzzer sounded before a full-court attempt was released.
“Our kids played hard but we got stung again,” said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis. “Defensively I thought we played our best game all year. We really did a good job on them. They are a high-potent offensive team and we guarded the heck out of them. But we have to make free throws when the game is on the line and we have to make our layups. Our guys are still learning. They are working at it, but it just hasn’t transferred to wins yet.”
Navy limited Holy Cross to just 36 percent shooting and 19 first-half points, but the Crusaders made the winning plays down the stretch to deal the Mids their ninth straight loss at the Hart Center.
After a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Hasan Abdullah put Navy ahead 27-21 early in the second half, Holy Cross reeled off a 13-2 run on the strength of five points each by Alexander and Robert Champion. The run gave the Crusaders a 34-29 lead.
Navy responded right back with an 11-0 run to go ahead 40-34 with seven minutes remaining. Pearson hit a step-back 3-pointer and sophomore forward George Kiernan connected from long range as well. Layups by Nourse Fox and Kiernan pushed the lead to six before an Alexander bucket on the other end.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Benzan and Matt Husek would allow Holy Cross to even the game at 42-42, but Pearson would swish in another 3-pointer. Benzan answered with a layup and then Kiernan made Navy’s seventh trey of the game and then Fox drew an offensive charge on a fastbreak attempt by Holy Cross as Navy held a 48-44 advantage with under four minutes to go.
Alexander converted two free throws to slice into the margin, but a tip-in by junior forward Tom Lacey kept Navy’s lead at four points (50-46) with 1:18 left. Benzan then scored on the Crusaders’ next possession and Holy Cross called a timeout down two with a minute remaining.
Fox then had a layup just roll out on Navy’s next possession and Benzan made one of two free throws on the other end to cut Navy’s lead to 50-49 with 11 seconds left.
Holy Cross had to foul three times to reach the bonus and finally sent Pearson to the line with seven seconds to go, which then led to the Benzan game-winner.
Navy outshot Holy Cross 42 percent to 36 percent, while the Crusaders held a 33-30 advantage on the glass.
Kiernan scored a career-high 16 points for Navy with five rebounds, while Lacey posted 11 points and eight rebounds. Pearson tallied nine points on three 3-pointers.
Alexander led Holy Cross with 17 points and seven rebounds. Benzan’s five points in the final 1:01 of the game allowed him to finish with 12 points and Champion added 11.
Both teams started slowly on the offensive end in the game as Holy Cross led Navy 5-2 after the first six minutes of play. Lacey started to ignite the offense, scoring six of Navy’s first eight points. Navy took its first lead of the game at 12-10 with 8:11 left in the first half when Fox dished to freshman center Evan Wieck late in the shot clock.
After Holy Cross took the lead back at 14-12, Navy got a critical six-point possession. Pearson sunk a 3-pointer and the officials called a foul on Holy Cross after the shot was released. Navy received the ball out of bounds after the 3-pointer and Kiernan scored inside and was fouled. Kiernan completed the three-point play to put Navy ahead at 18-14.
Navy’s lead grew as freshman guard Hasan Abdullah connected on a 3-pointer and then a free throw by Lacey put the Mids ahead by six points at 22-16 late in the first half. Holy Cross guard Anthony Thompson then cut the halftime margin to 22-19 with a deep 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining before the break.
Navy shot just 5-of-9 (56 percent) from the free throw line on Monday night and the team is shooting 61 percent from the charity stripe this season.
Navy will next host Boston University (7-7, 2-0 PL) on Thursday at 7 PM.
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