Holy Cross Athletics: Crusaders Fall To Yale 77-76 In Overtime

WORCESTER, Mass. - Junior guard Devin Brown (Baltimore, Md. scored a career-high 33 points, but it was not enough as the Holy Cross men's basketball team was frustrated by Yale 77-76 in overtime at the Hart Center. Brown made 10 of 22 shots from the field, four of 10 attempts from three-point rate and 9 of 11 free throws. Holy Cross falls to 1-13 on the temper with the loss, while the Bulldogs improve to 6-7.

he account was even at 71-71 with 1:36 left in overtime, when junior guard Mike Cavataio (Forest Hills, N.Y. converted a three-point play to put Holy Cross up 74-71. After Yale's Jesse Pritchard hit one-of-two free throws, sophomore guard Jordan Stevens (Gansevoort, N.Y. made lay up to put the Crusaders in front 76-72 with 26 seconds to play. Porter Braswell then made a lay up for the Bulldogs to cut the border to two points, before the Crusaders missed a couple of free throws to reach the ball back to Yale. With 6.8 seconds to go, Austin Morgan converted a three-point play to put the Bulldogs back in front 77-76. Holy Cross had one last possession, but a three-point shot by Stevens was just off the score at the buzzer.The 1st half of the plot featured five ties and six lead changes, with the largest lead being a seven-point advantage for the Crusaders. Holy Cross would contain a 28-23 lead into the cabinet room halftime. The Crusaders then held onto a little lead early in the 2nd half, until Yale pulled in front 41-40 with 11:50 left in regulation on a three-pointer by Morgan. The score remained close, until the Bulldogs eventually went up by five (61-56) with only 1:43 on the clock. After a three-pointer by Brown and a lay up by senior guard Andrew Beinert (Floral Park, N.Y. tied the mark at 61-61, Yale went back in face on a Braswell lay up with 5.2 seconds to play. But Brown then drove the duration of the courtyard and hit a lay up with 0.2 seconds on the time to force overtime.The Bulldogs were led by Morgan with 17 points and 4 assists, while Greg Mangano added 15 points and 14 rebounds. Cavataio finished with nine points and eight rebounds for Holy Cross, and freshman forward Dave Dudzinski (Elburn, Ill. totaled nine points and three rebounds.The Crusaders return to accomplish this Saturday, Jan. 8, when they play host to Lafayette in their Patriot League opener at 3:30 p.m.