It will be Holy Cross’ first time in the Big Dance since 2007 and in his first season in Worcester, Mass., head coach Bill Carmody will make his first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998 after failing to do so in 13 seasons at Northwestern. Holy Cross’ Malachi Alexander hit four clutch free throws in the last 1:02 to keep his team in front.
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Holy Cross limped into the conference tournament on a five game losing streak before something changed to stoke a fire in the Crusaders.
Top performers: Tim Kempton, the two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, led Lehigh with 20 points.
The Mountain Hawks were down three in the last minute and had four attempts at a potential tying 3-pointer on their final possession, but couldn’t get one to fall.
Holy Cross never trailed in the contest, dominating the first half with its defense and going on a 15-2 run to go ahead 20-6 with 6:09 left in the period.
The Holy Cross Crusaders are set to play in their 11th Patriot League Championship game in program history when they visit Lehigh on Wednesday night.
Holy Cross did most of its damage from long range with an 11-of-29 clip from beyond the arc, and only turned the ball over seven times in the contest.
He didn’t appear to be headed there this season either, especially after Holy Cross lost five straight games headed into the tournament. Eric Green tallied 13 points for the Crusaders.
Despite owning the 12th best three-point percentage in the country, Lehigh struggled to find its rhythm from outside.
Lehigh staggered through the first half, missing 6 of 7 3-pointers and shooting just 23 percent overall.
Green, who averaged 3.6 points in the regular season, scored nine points in the half, and Alexander also had nine. Lehigh also held a 35-25 edge on the boards in the contest. However, as the game’s pace slowed to a crawl and Lehigh’s deficit grew to double figures, the home crowd was a non-factor in the first half.
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With the 2016 Patriot League Championship game coming up, GoLocal takes a look back at the 10 biggest games in Holy Cross history.
