The Spire

Aiden Konold ’26

Staff Writer

Expectations coming into this season were very high for the Holy Cross men’s basketball team with new head coach Dave Paulsen at the helm. The Crusaders were selected to finish fourth in the Patriot League men’s basketball preseason poll.

The work for the Crusaders, though, began as soon as they lost to Loyola University of Maryland in the Patriot League playoffs last season, long before the preseason poll was announced. 10 days after the loss to Loyola (MD), former head coach Brett Nelson was fired. Though the expectations changed when Paulsen was named the new head coach on March 28th, the work was only just beginning. 

During summer workouts, Coach Paulsen roomed the freshmen with upperclassmen. This time spent together helped the team transition to Paulsen’s more fluid offense, which sophomore guard Will Batchelder says is “more read and react” than Nelson’s set offense. 

Two games into the 2023-24 season, the transition is still a work in progress, but signs of success are evident. Though the Crusaders lost their opening game to the Siena Saints, 73-71, after shooting just 25% from the free throw line, they moved the ball well, outscoring the Saints 43-35 in the second half. 

“We got in foul trouble early, and the freshmen held the fort down,” assistant coach RJ Evans said. “It’s tough to do that in that environment.” 

First-years Joe Nugent and DeAndre Williams each scored in double figures in their collegiate basketball debuts. Nugent scored 12 points, shooting four of five from three-point range in 20 minutes of work, while Williams scored 11 points in 32 minutes of work. 

“We played as one unit,” sophomore guard Will Batchelder said. “Everyone was ready to contribute.” 

After the Siena loss, the Crusaders went back to work in preparation for their upcoming game against the Georgetown Hoyas, an early test of the Crusaders’ physicality. “We have a pretty tight knit group,” Evans said, “which attributes to a winning culture.” 

Outsiders may not have expected the Crusaders to pull off the win against an Ed Cooley-coached Hoya team, but they believed in themselves, and they came into Capital One Arena ready to play. Though down for the majority of the game, Holy Cross countered Georgetown’s every move. After the Hoyas went up by 11 with around eight minutes left in the second half, the Crusaders went on an 11-0 scoring run to tie the game, 10 of the points coming from the hot hand of senior guard Joe Octave. 

With two minutes left, the Hoyas took a four point lead, but the Crusaders continued to battle back, winning the game 68-67 on a Joe Octave three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining. Octave finished the night with 33 points and 11 rebounds, setting a career high in points and recording his first double-double as a Crusader. 

His biggest play of the night, though, came on the defensive side. Georgetown came out of a timeout with just over two seconds remaining; they hoped to get off one last shot and pull off the win. Octave, though, deflected the inbounds pass, sealing the Crusader win. 

“These guys have worked their rear ends off, and they have been coachable,” Coach Paulsen said in the Georgetown postgame press conference. “They have let me coach them hard, and they have been responsive. These two seniors [Bo Montgomery] and [Octave] have led the way not only in their work ethic, but also in being held accountable.” 

In addition to Octave’s career night, Montgomery scored 15 points and brought down eight boards. The Crusaders played physically all night, out rebounding the Hoyas 41-31. In the second half, the Crusaders employed a gap-style man defense, clogging up the lane, and keeping the Hoyas from winning the battle inside the paint. Holy Cross’ early success is “a tribute to Coach Paulsen,” Evans said, “He likes to mix up the lineups.” 

“I have had the great pleasure of being involved in the recruitment of every player on this roster,” Evans said. “They are all great kids, and I’d go to bat for every single one of them.” 

Each of the players on the roster has brought the energy at practice, no matter the role they may play, and there is no one superstar. It could be Octave one night as it was against Georgetown, Montgomery or Caleb Kenney another night, or Batchelder the next night. And the team’s collection of talented freshmen makes them incredibly difficult to defend. 

“We said if we won a big game, we haven’t arrived,” Coach Paulsen said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, we’ve got to keep getting better.” 

Holy Cross played their home opener on Tuesday, November 14th. Articles were due Monday, November 13th, so we were unable to provide a recap of that game. The Crusaders’ next series of games will be played at the Winthrop Invitational. The Crusaders are slated to play Winthrop today at 5 pm, Elon on Saturday at 7:30 pm, and IUPUI on Sunday at noon. 

Copy Edited by Colette Potter ’26