WORCESTER, Mass. – Facing an NCAA Division I program in the regular season for the first time in program history, Regis College fell behind early and could not overcome Holy Cross's hot shooting, as the Crusaders defeated the Pride, 98-51, Tuesday night in the 2021-22 season opener for both men's basketball teams.
Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) led the Pride with 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, collecting 19 of those points in the final two minutes of the first half and the first 13-and-a-half minutes of the second half. Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) finished with 13 points, and Thomas Ahlstrom (San Antonio, Texas) paced Regis on the boards with six rebounds.
Holy Cross (1-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a dunk by Louth-M Coulibaly and a three-pointer from Judson Martindale. Regis answered with consecutive baskets from Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) and Evelyn, but the Crusaders came right back with a 17-2 scoring run over the next six minutes.
The home team continued to pull away late in the first half, scoring 11 unanswered points over a four-minute span. Wilkins scored the final six Pride points of the first half, while Evelyn led Regis in the opening half with eight points.
The Crusaders continued to shoot the ball well in the second half, hitting 62.5 percent (20-of-32) of their field goal attempts after halftime. For the game, Holy Cross shot 56.9 percent (41-of-72) from the field, including 9-of-19 from behind the three-point line.
Four players reached double figures in points for the Crusaders, led by Martindale with 24 points and Bo Montgomery with 19 points. Austin Lewis notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Caleb Kenney added 11 points and nine rebounds.
As a team, Regis was held to 33.9 percent (21-of-62) field goal shooting. Holy Cross used its height advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Pride 49-25.
Regis College (0-1) heads to Gorham, Maine, this weekend for a two-day tournament hosted by the University of Southern Maine. The Pride will face Lehman College Friday, Nov. 12, starting at 7 p.m., and then they will take on either the host Huskies or UMPI Saturday, Nov. 13.