Not sure if this was posted but here is the T&G article
Men's basketball: Tough transition continues for Holy Cross
WORCESTER — No one said Holy Cross' transition to a new coach, system and young roster would be easy this season. From a win-loss standpoint, it's been very difficult.
The Crusaders registered their first, and, to this point, only victory of the year against Mercer on Dec. 2, and HC coach Brett Nelson hoped it would be a springboard. But Sunday afternoon's 89-68 loss to Sacred Heart at the Hart Center was HC's fourth straight setback, and the team heads into its three-day Christmas break 1-11.
"We're past the 'new' things," HC junior guard Austin Butler said. "Now, it's just about who we are and we're still trying to figure it out completely, but we know what we want to be, and each day we come in and try to be who we say we're going to be. We're not there yet, but we have to keep learning and keep growing and we have to come together more as a team."
Junior forward E.J. Anosike scored 19 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Sacred Heart (7-5). Four other players also scored in double figures for the Pioneers, who snapped a four-game losing streak to Holy Cross.
Freshman forward Joe Pridgen scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and led Holy Cross with 23 points.
Butler scored 17 points, grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds, dished out a career-best 7 assists and sparked the Crusaders during the second half when HC outscored Sacred Heart, 47-39, but Holy Cross had dug a 29-point first-half hole.
The Pioneers missed their first five attempts from the floor, but the Crusaders began just 1-7. It was a two-point game after Pridgen made a jumper at the 13-minute mark, but Sacred Heart put together runs of 9-0, 11-0, 10-0 and 8-0 to build a 50-21 halftime lead.
"We have to be able to sustain a level of mental and physical toughness that you have to have to beat good teams," Nelson said. "You can't have a 6- to 8-minute lull in the action where you get down 10, 12, 14 points. For the first 6 or 7 minutes of the game, our defense was pretty good and then offense got really hard for us. We had some turnovers. We missed some layups. It kind of took the gas out of us and it affected our defense. We have to be tougher than that."
Holy Cross trailed at halftime for the 10th time this season.
"I told them at halftime, 'You can quit or you can fight and come together,'" Nelson said. "We had only one turnover in the second half. We took better care of the ball. I saw a passion from our guys. They did not quit."
Butler and Pridgen keyed a 13-2 run that got HC within 20 with 13:15 left. Sacred Heart scored six straight from there and three straight 3s pushed the Pioneers lead to 33, their largest, with 4:30 to go.
"This team has a lot of talent and we have the ability to do a lot of great things," Butler said. "It's just a matter of using that talent and coming together."
Holy Cross freshman guard Ryan Wade added 13 points off the bench.
Freshman guard Drew Lowder, HC's second leading scorer who returned to action in last week's game at Canisius after missing three games due to a hip injury, dressed but did not play because of "a coach's decision," Nelson said.
The Crusaders return to practice Thursday and play their final game of 2019 next Sunday at Siena. Holy Cross opens Patriot League play January 2 at Loyola.
"Obviously you want to see results," Nelson said. "No one likes to lose the way we have to this point. I do see results in the improvements we're making in some areas on a daily basis in practice and in certain games. We're actually becoming a pretty good rebounding team. Certain guys are making strides within our program. Player development is a core piece of what we're doing.
"You have to go through what we're going through and handle the adversity the right way to get where you want to get to," Nelson said. "We're going to be a championship-level program. We're not flinching. We're not wavering. We bring it each and every day in practice. That's going to happen. Right now, we're going through what we have to go through to get to that point."