slides: Holy Cross Upsets Army, Advances to Championship

Monday, March 07, 2016

Joe Calabro, GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Malachi Alexander helps lead Holy Cross

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball team defeated Army 60-38 on Sunday afternoon in the Patriot League Semifinals. The Crusaders now advance to the Patriot League Championship game for a chance at an NCAA tournament bid.

SEE THE FIVE TAKEAWAYS SLIDESHOW BELOW

Holy Cross is the first team in Patriot League history to win three road games in the tournament. Holy Cross advances to the Championship game for the 11th time in program history.

Controlling the Game

The Crusaders had their 34-26 half time lead cut to 5, 34-29, early in the second half.

From that point, Holy Cross went on a 9-0 run to go up 43-29 with 15 minutes left in the half after a Karl Charles three.

Army would not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way as the Crusaders would build their lead up to 20 points, 51-31, and cruise to the 60-38 win.

Holy Cross did not win a road game in conference all season and they have now won three in a row.

Fast Start

Holy Cross needed a fast start in this game and they were able to get it. The Crusaders jumped out to a 21-9 lead with some hot shooting by Malachi Alexander and Robert Champion.

The Crusaders played a 1-3-1 zone defense the entire first half and forced Army into 9 turnovers.

Army did heat up and used a 9-2 run to get as close as five, 28-23, before Holy Cross took a 34-26 lead into the locker room.

The Leaders

Robert Champion led Holy Cross with 15 points in 31 minutes off the bench while Malachi Alexander followed up with 13 points.

Next up

The Crusaders advance to the Patriot League Championship game. They will face the winner of the American vs Lehigh game that is just about under way.

The game will take place on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on CBS Sports Network

Related Slideshow: 5 Takeaways From Holy Cross’ Win Over Army

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Karl Charles

Karl Charles did not have the most points in this one but he controlled the game.

Charles dished out 5 assists while pulling down 4 rebounds, recording 2 steals and one blocked shot.

On top of that, he finished the game with 8 points.

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Malachi Alexander

Malachi Alexander followed up Robert Champion with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field and 2 of 6 from three-point land.

Alexander also grabbed 7 rebounds in the game.

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Rebounds

Anthony Thompson led Holy Cross with 7 rebounds in the game, not to mention his 12 points and 6 assists, but overall, the Crusaders got smoked on the boards, losing the battle 46-33.

The Crusaders gave up 15 offensive rebounds in which Army was able to turn into 10 points.

Rebounding will surely be a focus leading up to the championship game.