The No. 1 seed Bison went into the game against No. 9 Holy Cross on March 3 as favorites, but the Crusaders rose to the occasion and defeated the Bison in a heartwrenching 77-72 (2 OT) game. Holy Cross made a fade-away last second three-pointer to save the Crusaders and send the game into double overtime, where Holy Cross outscored the Orange and Blue. The Bison will now move on to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

“You’ve got to give them (Holy Cross) credit. Coach Carmody does a great job with them. They’re well-coached, well-prepared and they didn’t stop playing,” head coach Nathan Davis said after the game. 

The Bison led 25-24 at the end of the first half. At multiple points in the second half, the Bison had a 10-point lead, and didn’t trail the second half until 2:53 left to go. A free throw from Holy Cross with less than a minute to go tied the game 53-53 and sent it into its first overtime.

In the first overtime, the Bison went on an 8-0 run to take a 61-55 lead over the Crusaders. Ryan Frazier ’16 and Zach Thomas ’18 both made three-pointers and Nana Foulland ’18 made a jumper during that span.

Holy Cross never gave up the lead in the second overtime. After two made free throws to bring the Crusaders to a 77-72 lead, the game was essentially over.

Despite the outcome, a number of Bison players had good nights. Thomas was a standout performer. He scored 19 points by shooting 6/10 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds. Foulland scored 10 points on a 3/7 shooting performance from the field and also grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Orange and Blue had much more trouble shooting, especially from behind the arc, than they have in the last few games. They shot just 25.6 percent from the three and 33.8 percent overall.

The Bison will now wait until March 13 to see who they play in the NIT.