Men’s Basketball: Terriers Travel to Holy Cross to Defend Turnpike Trophy Honors

Featured image by Matthew Wuschke

By Kaan Oguz

As the second half of Patriot League play continues, Boston University Men’s Basketball (12-12, 6-5 PL) will face the Holy Cross Crusaders (11-13, 3-8 PL) on Feb. 8 at 12 p.m. The teams are facing each other for the second time this season, 12 days after their first meeting. In their last matchup on Jan. 27 at Case Gymnasium, the Terriers won at home by a score of 69-59. 

Both teams struggled in their 3-point shots in the last game. The Crusaders shot 28.6% (6-21) while the Terriers’ percentage was 17.4% (4-23) behind the arc. In Boston University’s side, Kyrone Alexander and Micheal Mcnair were leading the team in points, scoring 15 and 13 points consecutively. On the other side Joe Nugent was leading the team in points by scoring 12 points.

Between the two Holy Cross games, Boston University played against two opponents. On 1th February, they lost to Loyola Maryland in the last minute by 69-67 where Micheal Mcnair missed the last minute buzzer; on 5th February they achieved the victory against Navy Midshipmen in a blowout game by 87-65. 

Kyrone Alexander filled the entire box score by leading the team in points, rebounds and assists (16-10-3). In the most recent game against Navy, Miles Brewster scored his season-high points by scoring 25 points and led his team to the win.

The Crusaders are in a three game losing streak starting from the game against Boston University. After that game, they lost two more games both in one ball difference. They lost 69-67 against Lehigh Mountain Hawks on 1th Feb. and 68-65 against Army Mountain Hawks on 5th Feb. Besides that, Crusaders lost 7 of their last 8 games in Patriot League and they desperately need a win against Terriers at their home.

Holy Cross is a team whose prominent players usually change match to match in their recent run. Senior forward Caleb Kenney and freshman guard Max Green are the usual candidates for being the greatest firepower of Crusaders in the upcoming game. 

In addition to that, sophomore guard DeAndre Williams stands out with his assist recently. He could be effective with his playmaking skills against Boston University.

The last rendezvous between Boston University and Holy Cross will be tipped off at 12 p.m. Hart Center with streaming available on ESPN+.