Navy tops Holy Cross, 49-42 in Patriot League quarterfinal

Mar 3, 2017, 01:33 pm

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- George Kiernan hit a 3-pointer with a half-minute left in the game to give Navy the lead, then padded it with two free throws give the Midshipmen a 49-42 win over Holy Cross in a Patriot League quarterfinal.

The victory earns Navy a rematch with the conference champion Bison at Bucknell Sunday. Bucknell won both meetings with Navy during the regular season.

Navy (16-15) took a 19-12 lead at intermission of the low-scoring game, but the Crusaders battled back. Karl Charles got Holy Cross even with a 3-pointer with 1:35 left, but Holy Cross did not score again.

Kiernan shot 5 of 9 from the field and was 6-for-6 from the line with nine rebounds to tally 18 points to lead Navy.

Robert Champion scored 13 points to lead Holy Cross (15-17), which hit 14 of 43 shots from the field (32.6 percent). Malachi Alexander added 11 points.