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Men's Basketball
The Holy Cross men’s basketball team has continued
to show Crusader alumni that the pride in the basketball
program is back. After back-to-back Patriot League titles
and NCAA Tournament appearances, Holy Cross has demonstrated
that it can compete on both a local and national scale. Through
the first 11 games of this season, the team has shown that
it will contend for the league title once again in 2002-2003.
Posting a record of 8-3 through the first 11 games of the
2002-03 season, the team’s start ties the mark for the “best
start” under head coach Ralph Willard. The Crusaders
opened the year on national television when they traveled
to Lawrence, Kan., to battle the Jayhawks in the Preseason
NIT. Holy Cross led 17-15 with 9:01 left to play in the first
half, but Kansas answered back with a 24-4 run to end the
half and take control of the game. Tim Szatko ’03 (Naperville,
Ill.) scored a game-high 14 points to lead the way while Brian
Wilson ’03 (Plainfield, N.J.) chipped in with 12
more points.
The team then headed home for its home opener against Dowling
College. The Crusaders came away with a 101-61 victory behind
18 points from Wilson and 15 from Szatko. Nate Lufkin ’05 (Austin,
Texas) chipped in with 14 more points to help the effort.
Point guard Jave Meade ’04 (Queensbridge, N.Y.)
posted the first double-double of his career with 12 points
and 11 assists. The 101 points scored by Holy Cross marked
the first time since 1996 that a College squad had eclipsed
the 100-point total. In addition, the 40-point margin of
victory also was the Crusaders’ largest since Holy Cross
defeated Manhattan, 114-71 in 1985.
The team then won a hard-fought game over Ivy League foe,
Harvard, 71-66. Wilson scored a career-high 27 points to
lead the team to the victory.
The win over the Crimson set the stage for what has been
the Crusaders’ biggest win of the season to date. On
Dec. 1, Holy Cross defeated Boston College, 71-70, for its
first win over the Eagles since 1990, snapping a 12-game
losing streak to BC. Wilson converted two free throws with
nine seconds left to play to give the Crusaders the win.
He led all scorers with 18 points, including 6-of-6 from
the charity stripe. Meade connected on two free throws with
4:59 left to play in the game to give Holy Cross a lead,
which it never relinquished. Meade finished with 10 points
and dished out seven assists without a turnover despite playing
all 40 minutes.
Stretching the winning streak to four games with a road
win over Brown, Szatko scored 20 points while Pat Whearty ’03 (Poughkeepsie,
N.Y.) chipped in with 15 points to lead the scoring effort.
In the game, Greg Kinsey ’05 (Hatboro, Pa.),
in only his second career start, recorded a career-high seven
steals, which tied the Holy Cross single-game record.
The team then suffered its second loss of the year, dropping
a 70-66 decision to Yale in the first round of the Phoenix
Classic Tournament held at the Hartford Civic Center. The
Crusaders rallied to take a one-point lead with 1:35 left
to play in the game, but the Bulldogs converted 5-of-6 from
the line to hold on for the win. The game did mark the best
performance of the season by first-year sensation Kevin
Hamilton ’06 (Queens Village, N.Y.). The 6-foot,
4-inch guard scored a career-high 12 points, while Meade
added 10 points and eight assists. The Crusaders rebounded
to defeat Hartford, 79-53 in the consolation game. Szatko
and Whearty each tallied 20 points to lead four players who
scored in double figures. Szatko finished with 21 points
while Whearty added a season-high 20 points.
The team’s next game against UNC-Asheville marked the
debut of the tallest player in Holy Cross history. Neil
Fingleton ’05 (Durham, England) at 7-feet, six-inches,
transferred from the University of North Carolina. Fingleton
scored eight points in 13 minutes in his debut to help lead
the team to an 84-53 win over Asheville. The Crusaders defense
is what helped them to the win, forcing 23 Bulldog turnovers
and holding Asheville to just 34.0 percent shooting from
the field.
Holy Cross then went on the road for its next two contests.
The Crusaders headed to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., the hometown
of Crusader center Whearty, to battle Marist. Whearty played
well in the game, scoring a game-high 18 points and grabbing
nine rebounds in his homecoming, but it proved not to be
enough as Marist picked up a 66-63 win over the Crusaders.
The team shot just 41.5 percent from the field, including
only 11.1 percent from three-point range—which contributed
to the Crusaders’ third loss of the season.
Holy Cross then continued on the New York road trip with
a game against Jesuit rival, Fordham, in the Bronx on New
Year’s Eve. The game was marked by a key performance
by guard Mark Jerz ’03 (Spring Lake, N.J.), who
scored a career-high 18 points, on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point
range, to lead six Crusaders in double figures. Holy Cross
defeated the Rams, 87-54, posting its second largest win
in the 77 meetings between the two teams. The team shot 51.9
percent from the floor and 57.9 percent from three-point
range in the game.
The 33-point win was the Crusaders’ third win by 30
points or more this season, which marks the first time since
1977-78 that Holy Cross has beaten three or more opponents
by 30 points or more in a single season. The Crusaders then
returned home looking to remain unbeaten at the Hart Center
and accomplished its goal, notching a 55-54 win over Princeton
to improve to 4-0 in Worcester. Whearty led the way for Holy
Cross with his fifth straight double-digit scoring performance
with 11 points. Meade added 10 points, all in the second
half. Meade converted 1-of-2 free throws with four seconds
remaining in the game to give the Crusaders the win. Holding
the Tigers to just 32.1 percent shooting from the field,
the team captured its first win over Princeton since 1977.
Through 11 games, the Crusaders lead the Patriot League
in scoring offense (73.3 points per game), field goal percentage
(45.3), assists (16.5), turnover margin (+1.9), steals (9.9)
and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.14–to-1). Holy Cross
has held its last five opponents to an average of 56.0 points
per game and a 36.6 shooting percentage from the floor (93-of-254),
posting a 4-1 mark. The Crusaders’ upcoming slate of
games will be the beginning of the conference portion of
its schedule. With Holy Cross beginning to regain its defensive
presence and its more explosive offense this season, the
Crusaders are primed and ready to defend their crown. One
thing is certain, however—if any other Patriot League
team wants to take home the trophy, it will have to defeat
Holy Cross to do so.
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