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Men's Basketball
The men's basketball team came into the 2001-02 season looking
to continue its march back to prominence and build upon last
season's success. The Crusaders have posted a record of 4-3
through the first seven games of the season.
Holy Cross opened the year with wins over Quinnipiac (85-57)
and Harvard (65-57) before dropping two straight on the road
against Manhattan (75-62) and Dartmouth (58-47). The team
then returned to the Hart Center to battle Boston University.
The Terriers ended the Crusaders' 10 game home winning streak
with a 61-49 win. Then a transition happened for the team.
The five first-year athletes, who are getting more experience
every day, made the necessary step to becoming better players,
and the results were immediate.
Holy Cross stunned the basketball community with a 67-56
win over previously unbeaten Massachusetts in Amherst. The
win was the Crusaders' second straight over the Minutemen
and was sparked by the play of two first-year players. Guard
Michael Smiley '05 (Swampscott, Mass.) scored 13 points off
the bench, connecting on three three-point field goals, while
center Nate Lufkin '05 (Austin, Texas) added 13 points and
four rebounds. Their play helped spark Holy Cross, which
held the Minutemen to just two field goals over the final
10:53 of the game. The win was also the Crusaders' first
comeback win when trailing at the half since they defeated
Army, 66-60, last season.
Lufkin followed up that performance with a career-high 24
points and eight rebounds to help lead the Crusaders over
Brown, 76-63. The Crusaders held the Bears, which had beaten
Providence College just two weeks earlier, to just 37.9 percent
shooting from the field in the second half in securing the
win. For his efforts in both games, Lufkin was named Patriot
League Rookie of the Week. He joined teammate John Hurley
'05 (South Boston, Mass.) as Crusaders who have earned Rookie
of the Week accolades this season. Hurley earned the honor
after scoring 11 points and adding three rebounds in the
season-opening win over Quinnipiac.
Point guard Jave Meade '04 (Queensbridge, N.Y.) has also
played better down the stretch for the Crusaders. He played
39 minutes with eight assists and just one turnover against
Massachusetts and followed up that effort with five assists
and no turnovers in 34 minutes against Brown. In his last
four games, Meade has dished out 23 assists with just three
turnovers. His 7.7-to-1 assist to turnover ratio is the best
ratio for a four-game spurt in his young career.
Another key to the team's 4-3 mark this season has been
its success on the offensive and defensive glass. Holy Cross
ranks 11th in the nation in rebounding margin, out-rebounding
its opposition by an average of 10.6 rebounds per game (38.0-27.4).
The Crusaders have won the rebounding battle in each of the
seven games, including out-rebounding Brown, 50-22. The 50
rebounds were the highest single-game rebounding total for
the Crusaders since they pulled down 52 boards against Massachusetts
last season.
Holy Cross also ranks 25th in the nation in scoring defense,
allowing just 61.0 points per game. The Crusaders have held
their opponents to less than 60 points four times, and no
team has scored more than 75 points against them heading
into the Boston College game.
Captain Ryan Serravalle '02 (Thorold, Ontario) and guard
Brian Wilson '03 (Plainfield, N.J.) have carried much of
the scoring load for the Crusaders in the early going. Serravalle
leads the team, averaging 12.4 points per game; he is within
176 points of becoming the 35th player in Holy Cross history
to record over 1,000 career points. Wilson has been the Crusaders'
most dangerous three-point shooter ranking third in the conference.
He has connected on .524 percent of his shots from beyond
the arc (11-for-21) while averaging 10.4 points per game.
Holy Cross will begin to gear up for the Patriot League
portion of its schedule in January and February and will
look to gain momentum as it heads to the Patriot League Tournament
in March. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic
bid to the NCAA Tournament. The last time that Holy Cross
made two consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament was
in 1947 and 1948.
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