Tom Quinn ’29
Staff Writer
The Brown Bear Invitational has come to a close, and the Crusaders escaped 1-1. The Crusaders took the first game from the Hampton Pirates, 67-61, on Sunday afternoon before falling to the hosts, 68-49, on Tuesday evening.
Holy Cross came out strong in Sunday’s tilt against Hampton. Joe Nugent, who has been lighting it up as of late, scored 22 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
As a team, the Crusaders went 15-for-15 from the free throw line. In my old school approach to basketball, defense and free throws are what win championships, and Holy Cross did exactly that on Sunday. A team total of 10 steals, leading to 12 points off turnovers, gave Holy Cross the boost it needed to beat Hampton by seven points.
On the Hampton side of things, Xzavier Long led the Pirates in scoring with 21. Long, a Senior transfer from Canisius, has been a bright spot for the Pirates. Despite the loss, the Pirates commanded the glass, outrebounding Holy Cross 32-24.
Overall, it was a great win for Holy Cross. The Crusaders shot a season-high 51.1 percent from the floor. And Joe Nugent, the junior forward, is climbing up the Holy Cross all-time made three-pointers list. Following the Hampton win, Nugent needed just two made three-pointers to transition into sixth on the all-time list at Holy Cross.
Following their first win of the 2025-26 season, Holy Cross took on the Brown Bears on Tuesday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center. I was in attendance for this game, and I really enjoyed the old school gym at Brown University.
Accompanied by Bryce Ketchen, I watched intently in the hopes of watching a Crusaders’ win. Holy Cross first-year Aiden Disu came out of the gates draining a triple to put Holy Cross up 3-0.
Brown went on to score 10 straight points to go up 10-3. From there Holy Cross and Brown traded buckets, but Brown followed with a 3:30 scoring drought to which Holy Cross cut the Brown lead to four points, making it 21-17.
From here, it was all Brown. The Bears went on a 14-1 run to take a double digit lead into the half, making the score 37-21. Holy Cross was able to cut the lead down to 11, at the 12:19 mark, but Brown did a great job playing keep away, with the lead staying in the 12-17 range.
The final score at the Pizzitola Sports Center was 68-49, Brown. Holy Cross fell to 1-4, while the Bears got their first win of the season to advance to 1-4. Brown head coach Mike Martin took home his 100th win at Pizzitola Sports Center.
Holy Cross was just 5-for-11 from the free throw line compared to Brown’s 9-for-11. The Bears also outrebounded Holy Cross 37-29. Defensively, Holy Cross has gone four straight games without blocking a shot.
My first player of the game is Joe Nugent of Holy Cross. Nugent led Holy Cross in scoring with 17 points and knocked down four more three-pointers, which advanced him to sixth all-time in three-pointers made at Holy Cross. Nugent now only needs three more three-pointers to jump into fifth all-time on the Holy Cross career three-pointers made list, and 67 to eclipse the top and become the all-time leader.
Second is Isaiah Langham of Brown. The first-year was extremely impressive in the contest with 18 points scored. He showed off his range from behind the arc with two made three-pointers, and his great ability to get downhill and finish at the rim.
Langham won rookie of the week last week in the Ivy League, and has been a bright spot for the Bears. With Langham, a native of Stoughton, Mass. and a Belmont Hill School graduate, the Bears have definitely found a good one.
Looking ahead, Holy Cross travels to Fairfield, Conn. to take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. This will end Holy Cross’ season-opening road trip, and the Crusaders will look to achieve their second win of the season. The Crusaders play their home-opener at the Hart Center on Monday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m. against the Siena Saints in a White Out.
Featured image courtesy of The Providence Journal
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