9 January, 2007
by Ryan Minihane
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Army (10-7, 0-2 Patriot) |
23 |
19 |
42 |
| Holy Cross (11-6, 2-0 Patriot) |
27 |
39 |
66 |
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Holy Cross is now 2-0 in conference play after winning 66-42 against Army, who drops to 0-2 in the Patriot League. Tonight’s game began with a very slow start, because both teams were playing fierce defense. Army was unable to convert on any baskets inside the paint and Holy Cross continued to settle for outside shots because they were unable to penetrate Army’s zone defense. After 10 minutes passed by in the first half, the score was 10-9 in favor of Holy Cross.
The rest of the first half was a different story. With around five minutes to go in the half, both teams heated up. After going 15 minutes without making a basket, Holy Cross’ Keith Simmons scored on a fast break lay-up, which made the score 18-15 in favor of the Crusaders. Army was led by the great three-point shooting of Jarell Brown, who went 2-of-3 from downtown and had 8 first-half points.
The second half was completely dominated by Holy Cross. Army committed 8 turnovers in the first 8 minutes of the half. During this time, Holy Cross went on a 17-3 run and never looked back. The Crusaders were led by their two stars Simmons and Torey Thomas. Both players combined for 23 second-half points; Army as an entire team only scored 19 total points in the second half.
Army had 4 assists as a team in the second half compared to 14 turnovers. Holy Cross took complete advantage of every mistake made by Army throughout the second half, on the way to a 24-point win.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 12:05 left in the second half, Simmons pulled down a defensive rebound and passed ahead to Thomas. Thomas brought the ball down the entire court and finished the play off with a fast break lay-up. This was the middle of the 17-3 run that Holy Cross had to start the half, and all momentum after this play was in the Crusaders’ favor.
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| Key sign it was over |
After Army put together a couple of consecutive scoring possessions with 8:47 seconds left in the game, Simmons drove to the basket made a floater in the lane and was fouled. Simmons went on to make the free throw and the score was 52-34. After this play, momentum stayed with Holy Cross and they went on to outscore Army 14-8 for the rest of the game.
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| Key performance |
Usually Simmons is known for his scoring abilities, but tonight he put together a total package of stats. He had 4 steals, 7 rebounds (4 offensive), and 3 assists. He was the spark for Holy Cross throughout the entire second half.
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| Key statistic |
The Crusaders had 13 steals compared to Army’s 5. These steals generate more opportunities for Holy Cross to score and play at a faster pace than Army was able to keep up with.
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| Notes |
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Holy Cross took 20 three pointers tonight, hitting 10 of them.
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The Black Knights played Holy Cross even inside, with each team scoring 22 points in the paint.
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Turnovers: Army 23, Holy Cross 13.
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Holy Cross had three players in double figures tonight, led by Simmons’s 18 and Thomas’s 16, while Army only had Jarell Brown breaking double digits with 10 points.
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