The Navy (8-5, 1-0) men's basketball team will open the 2023 calendar year and the home portion of its league season Monday with a 1 p.m. game in Alumni Hall against Holy Cross (4-10, 1-0).

Five Starting Notes
1 – Navy will open the home portion of its 32nd Patriot League season when it plays host to Holy Cross.  The Mids have won five-straight league home openers.
2 – Navy has faced Holy Cross in its league home opener twice before, with the Mids losing in 2012-13 and winning in 2015-16.
3 – Navy and Holy Cross have split the regular season series in each of the last three years in which they have played, as well as in six of the last seven seasons (Navy won both games in 2018).  Last year saw the road team win both games for the first time in series history.
4 – Four of the last six games in the series have been decided by five or fewer points. 
5 – Monday's game is Navy's second home since the end of November and the first against an NCAA Division I opponent.  Since playing host to Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 26, the Mids have played road games in Tennessee, Virginia (two), West Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Game Day Info
•    The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
•    WNAV will provide radio coverage of the game.
•     Live statistics will be available through NavySports.com.

Last Game - Navy 75, Boston U. 58
•    Boston U. jumped out to a 9-2 lead and soon led, 12-8.  Navy responded with a 29-6 run that gave the Mids a 31-18 lead.  
•    Tyler Nelson scored 15 first-half points.
•    After taking an eight-point lead at the break, Navy's advantage returned to 10 points on three occasions in the early moments of the second half.  The Terriers were able to close to within three points at 45-42
•    Both teams had empty possessions, then a Sean Yoder four-point play started a short spurt that gave the Mids a 54-44 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.
•    It was a 56-52 Navy lead when the Mids went on an 11-1 run -- seven of points came on made free throws -- that stretched the cushion to 67-53 with 2:52 left.
•    Navy was 21-23 from the foul line in the game, including 14-16 in the second half.
•    Nelson was 9-9 from the charity stripe on his way to scoring a career-best 25 points. 

About Holy Cross
•    The Crusaders enter the game with a 4-10 record on the season.  Holy Cross has posted a 0-5 record in true road games and a 0-7 record in all games played away from Worcester.
•    Holy Cross began league play with a 60-58 win over Bucknell at the Hart Center.  That result snapped a four-game skid for the Crusaders.

Navy-Holy Cross Series
•    Holy Cross holds a 46-27 advantage in the all-time series with Navy.  The Mids lead the Crusaders, 18-17, in games played in Annapolis, which includes an 18-14 edge in games played in Alumni Hall.
•    Holy Cross leads Navy, 36-24, in Patriot League regular season games played between the teams.  The Mids hold a 16-14 advantage in league regular season games played in Annapolis, which includes a 16-13 lead in league games played in Alumni Hall.
•    The teams have split the two-game regular season series in each of the last three years (2019, 2020, 2022).
•    The road team won both games played a year ago, with the Mids winning, 70-56, in Worcester and the Crusaders winning, 55-50, in Annapolis.
•    The series dates back to the 1947 NCAA Tournament when Holy Cross won a 55-47 decision in a first round game played in New York City.  The second game in the series also occurred in the NCAA Tournament.  The Crusaders defeated the Mids, 87-74, in another first round game played in Philadelphia.

Dorsey vs. Dorsey
•    Monday's game will feature Navy's Patrick Dorsey going against his brother, Nolan Dorsey from Holy Cross.
•    The siblings were on the same floor for one game last season.
•    Patrick and Nolan each wear No. 21 in honor of their late father, Alan Dorsey, who wore that number while playing at James Madison.

Miscellaneous Game Records
•    Navy has posted a 17-8 record in games played on Jan. 2.  This includes a 4-2 record in Patriot League regular season games played on the date.
•    The Mids have tallied a 60-69 record against teams located in Massachusetts.

Navy in League Home Opener
•    Navy has posted a 20-11 record in its first home game of a Patriot League season, as well as a 25-16 record in its first home game of any conference campaign.
•    The Mids have won their first home game of a Patriot League season in each of the last five years as well as in eight of the last nine seasons (2016-17 was the lone loss in that span). 
•    Navy won its league home opener in a program-best eight-straight years from 1994-95 through 2001-02.
•    Navy has played host to Holy Cross in the first home game of a league season on two prior occasions.  The Crusaders won a 62-47 game in 2012-13 and the Mids posted a 65-60 victory in 2015-16.

Up Next
•    Navy returns to the road for a Thursday night game at Colgate.
•    The Raiders, who were again selected as the favorite to win the Patriot League this season, have posted a 7-7 record on season and won their league opener, 101-67, Friday at Loyola.
•    Colgate recorded a win over Syracuse and lost a road game at No. 15 Auburn during the pre-league season.

Navy Wins League Opener
•    Navy's Dec. 30 win at Boston U marked the fifth-straight season in which the Mids won their league opener.  
•    The only other span in which Navy won its league opener in as many as four-straight years was when it won six in a row from 1996-01.