WORCESTER, Mass. –– Jacob Grandison and Austin Butler each scored 22 points to help Holy Cross (12-9, 3-5 Patriot League) post a 69-64 victory over the Navy (6-13, 3-5) men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass.  The combined 44 points by the Holy Cross duo overshadowed a career-high tying 27-point performance by Navy's George Kiernan (Sr., Hinsdale, Ill.).
 
"Turnovers really hurt us again," said Navy head coach Ed DeChellis.  "Especially at the start of the second half."
 
Grandison did most of his damage in the first 11 minutes of the game as he accounted for 14 of the first 18 points for the Crusaders as well as 19 of the team's first 24 points.  He started the game by making each of his first five three-point field goal attempts and was 7-7 from the floor in all during that span.
 
With Grandison leading the way, Holy Cross jumped out to a 21-9 lead eight minutes into the game.  Navy started to chip away at the deficit and closed to within 21-17 until Grandison made his fifth triple of the frame to make the score 24-17.  The Mids continued to claw their way back into the game and a 9-2 run gave them their first lead of the contest at 31-30 with 31 seconds remaining in the half.  Holy Cross would add a field goal nine seconds later, then Kiernan drained his third triple of the half with four seconds left to send Navy into halftime with a 34-32 lead.
 
Holy Cross led Navy in shooting in the first half, 48-41 percent in all and 75-43 percent from three-point land.  Remove Grandison's effort and the Crusaders shot just 5-18 (27.8%) from the floor and were 1-3 (33.3%) from three-point range.
 
The Crusaders began the second half shooting the way they did at the start of the first half as they quickly ran off the first 10 points of the stanza to take a 42-34 lead less than four minutes into the half.  Holy Cross was 4-6 from the field –– 2-3 from three-point range –– during the five-possession start and forced Navy into three turnovers and a pair of missed shots during the same span.
 
Just as the latter part of the first half turned toward Navy, so too did the middle part of the second half.  The Mids winnowed the margin down to two points at 45-43 when Evan Wieck (Jr., Amarillo, Texas) scored on a basket and foul shot with 12:49 left on the clock.  Holy Cross answered on the other end when also Butler scored on a basket and foul shot, but Navy responded on its ensuing trip down the court when Ryan Pearson (Sr., Richmond, Va.) drilled a three-point field goal to again make it a two-point game at 48-46.
 
The teams traded a missed field goal and turnover over their next respective two offensive opportunities, then Butler connected on back-to-back jumpers sandwiched around another Navy missed shot to push the Holy Cross lead out to 52-46 with 9:14 left on the clock.
 
Kiernan made another triple to slice the deficit in half, then Navy had a pair of three-point shots to tie the game on its next trip down the court.  Both attempts missed, after which Butler made two free throws on the other end to make the score 54-49 with 7:72 still to play.
 
Navy would not score again until a pair of free throws by Kiernan made the score 56-51 with 3:43 showing on the clock.  The Crusaders made three-point field goals on each of their next three possessions to push their cushion out to 65-54 with 2:12 remaining.  Navy was able to close to within four points at 65-61 with 46 seconds left and 68-64 with 20 seconds remaining, but could not pull any closer.
 
Navy ended the game shooting 38.2 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three-point range. Conversely, Holy Cross made 45.3 percent of its shots for the game including 63.2 percent of its three-point shots.
 
Both teams made 12 three-point field goals (Navy was 12-30, Holy Cross 12-19), thanks in no small measure to the efforts of Kiernan with seven triples (13 attempts) and Grandison with six (9 attempts).
 
Navy held a 40-25 advantage on the glass, which featured a 16-8 advantage in second chance points.  However, the Mids turned the ball over 10 times in the second half and 15 times in the game and forced just three turnovers in each half.  That resulted in the Crusaders holding an 18-5 lead in points scored after turnovers.
 
"Holy Cross shot the ball well today," said DeChellis.  "We did as well from three-point range.  We just had too many lapses with the ball."
 
Kiernan's seven treys nearly doubled his previous career high of four, which allowed him to match his career-best scoring effort set 55 weeks against Lehigh.
 
Wieck, who leads the Patriot League in offensive rebounds, bettered his average today with five offensive caroms and 13 rebounds in all.  He added seven points to rank second on the Navy squad to Kiernan.  In a nice boost, the Navy bench totaled 20 points on the day.
 
Butler scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half as he was 6-10 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range and 3-3 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes of the game.  After his outburst to start the game, Grandison made just one more field goal –– a triple with nine minutes left on the clock –– to end the game matching Butler's 22-point effort.
 
Navy will be back on the road Wednesday when the Mids play at Bucknell.