DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01610 Phone: (508) 793-2583 • Fax: (508) 793-2309 2008-2009 Holy Cross Men’s Basketball Holy Cross (2-6, 0-0 PL) vs. Western Michigan (2-6, 0-0 MAC) December 6, 2008 • 12:30 p.m. Hart Center (3,600) • Worcester, Mass. GAME DAY QUICK FACTS: 2008-2009 Schedule & Results Live Video Streaming: Crusader All-Access, www.goholycross.com Holy Cross Radio: www.sportsjuice.com, internet; Bob Fouracre, play- by-play DATE OPPONENT . .TIME / SCORE Holy Cross Student Radio: WCHC 88.1 FM, Worcester Western Michigan Radio: WZUU 92.5 FM, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Robin Nov. 14 SACRED HEART . W, 67-58 Hook, play-by-play Nov. 16 ST. JOSEPH’S . W, 73-69 (OT) Series Record: Western Michigan leads, 2-1 Nov. 19 BROWN . .L, 57-62 Last Meeting: Western Michigan 78, Holy Cross 65 (November 30, 1991; Nov. 22 at Northeastern . .L, 49-61 Kalamazoo, Mich.) Nov. 25 at Harvard . .L, 59-69 Nov. 29 at Loyola (Ill.) . .L, 53-58 PROBABLE HOLY CROSS STARTERS: Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Dec. 1 FAIRFIELD . .L, 66-78 F 33 Colin Cunningham 6-6 220 Sr. 7.4 6.0 Dec. 3 at Yale . .L, 66-76 C 53 Eric Meister 6-8 225 Jr. 6.1 6.1 Dec. 6 WESTERN MICHIGAN . .12:30 p.m. C 45 Greg McCarthy 6-11 235 Sr. 8.1 4.0 Dec. 10 at Massachusetts . 7:00 p.m. G 10 R.J. Evans 6-3 200 Fr. 9.9 3.0 Dec. 22 at Ohio . .7:00 p.m. G 22 Andrew Beinert 6-4 185 So. 7.3 1.3 Dec. 27 SAN FRANCISCO . .7:00 p.m. Dec. 30 SIENA . .7:00 p.m. THE SERIES WITH WESTERN MICHIGAN: This will be only the fourth meeting between the Crusaders and the Broncos on the hardwood, Jan. 2 at Boston University . 7:00 p.m. with Western Michigan leading the all-time series 2-1. The Broncos have Jan. 6 at Central Florida . 7:00 p.m. won the last two games, posting a 78-65 victory in Kalamazoo on Nov. 30, Jan. 10 LAFAYETTE * . .3:30 p.m. 1991, and a 79-69 win in Worcester on Nov. 27, 1990. The fi rst meeting Jan. 14 at Army * . .7:00 p.m. in the series came on Dec. 28, 1963, at the Motor City Classic in Detroit, Jan. 17 at Bucknell * . 12:00 p.m. with Holy Cross winning 91-82. Jan. 21 at Navy * . 7:00 p.m. SERIES QUICK FACTS Jan. 24 AMERICAN * . .2:00 p.m. Overall . .Western Michigan leads, 2-1 Jan. 28 COLGATE * . .7:00 p.m. In Worcester . .Western Michigan leads, 1-0 Jan. 31 at Lehigh * . 1:00 p.m. At the Hart Center . .Western Michigan leads, 1-0 Feb. 7 at Lafayette * . .1:00 p.m. Ralph Willard vs. Western Michigan . 0-0 Feb. 11 ARMY * . .7:00 p.m. Steve Hawkins vs. Holy Cross . 0-0 Feb. 14 BUCKNELL * . .3:30 p.m. Current Win Streak . Western Michigan, two games Feb. 18 NAVY * . .7:00 p.m. In Overtime . 0-0 Feb. 21 at American * . 2:00 p.m. HOLY CROSS AGAINST THE MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE: Feb. 25 at Colgate * . 7:00 p.m. The Crusaders have enjoyed a great deal of success against teams from Feb. 28 LEHIGH * . .3:30 p.m. the Mid-American Conference, posting an all-time record of 9-3 against Mar. 4 Patriot League Quarterfi nals the 12 schools which currently compete in the league. Holy Cross has Mar. 8 Patriot League Semifi nals marks of 4-1 against Bowling Green, 1-0 vs. Buffalo, 1-0 against Ohio, Mar. 13 Patriot League Championship Game 2-0 vs. Toledo and 1-2 against Western Michigan. The Crusaders’ last game against a Mid-American Conference foe came on Nov. 26, 2007, when they defeated Ohio 62-60 at the Hart Center. Holy Cross head coach Home games listed in BOLD CAPS Ralph Willard stands 4-1 all-time against Mid-American Conference op- * Patriot League games ponents (1-0 vs. Ball State, 1-1 against Bowling Green, 1-0 vs. Buffalo and 1-0 against Ohio). WWW.GOHOLYCROSS.COM EVANS HAS BIG START TO COLLEGIATE CAREER: Freshman guard Media Services & Policies R.J. Evans (Salem, Conn.) has turned in some solid performances to start his Holy Cross career. During the Yale game, he totaled 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. Previously against Fairfi eld, Evans recorded INTERVIEWS 13 points, three steals and two rebounds. Earlier in the season, he also had Personal interviews with head coach Ralph Willard, his staff and big games against Sacred Heart (15 points on seven of 12 shooting), St. players can be arranged through Charles Bare at (508) 793-2583 or Joseph’s (12 points, three rebounds) and Harvard (10 points, eight rebounds, [email protected]. Arrangements for all interviews should be four assists, three steals). Evans’ 15 points against Sacred Heart were the made at least 24 hours in advance. Home phone numbers will not be most by a Crusader in his collegiate debut since Torey Thomas scored 18 given out, and on game day, only postgame interviews will be granted. points against Boston University on Nov. 22, 2003. He also became the fi rst Please note that freshmen will not be available for interviews until Crusader since Thomas to reach double-fi gures in the fi rst two games of his the beginning of the second semester on January 14. collegiate career. Overall this season, Evans is averaging a team-best 9.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Evans came to Holy Cross from Norwich POSTGAME PROCEDURES (Conn.) Free Academy, where he was a two-time All-State selection and The Holy Cross basketball locker room is closed to the media. Mem- score 2,030 career points. bers of the media should submit player interview requests to Charles Bare of Holy Cross by the fi ve-minute mark of the second half. For WILLARD CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE RUN AT HOLY CROSS: Ralph games at the Hart Center, requested players and coaches from both Willard is now in his 10th season as the Crusaders’ head coach, and cur- teams will meet with the media outside of their locker rooms follow- rently owns a mark of 176-109 during his time in Worcester. He now stands ing a 10-minute cooling off period. in second place on the all-time school list for career victories, behind only George Blaney (357-276 / 1972-1994). In 2006-2007, Willard was selected WESTERN MICHIGAN MEDIA INFORMATION as the Patriot League Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Any media member wishing to speak to head coach Steve Hawkins He was previously named the conference’s Coach of the Year during the or a Western Michigan player should contact SID Matt Holmes at 2000-2001 and 2004-2005 seasons, and in 2004-2005 he was also one of (269) 387-3168 or [email protected]. 10 fi nalists for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award. Willard has led the Crusaders to four Patriot League tournament titles and four trips to the NCAA Tournament, during the 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 BEINERT TAKES OVER AT THE POINT: Sophomore guard Andrew and 2006-2007 seasons. He has also guided Holy Cross to four Patriot Beinert (Floral Park, N.Y.) has been one of the Crusaders’ top players in League regular season championships in 2000-2001, 2002-2003, 2004- the backcourt this season. During the Yale game, Beinert tied his career-high 2005 and 2006-2007, with the 2002-2003 squad posting an overall record with 15 points scored, while hitting fi ve of seven shots from three-point of 26-5 to come up just one win shy of the school single season record for range. Earlier in the year, he recorded nine points and three assists against victories. Prior to his time at Holy Cross, Willard spent fi ve seasons as the Brown, while posting eight points and four steals at Loyola (Ill.). Overall head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, and four years as head coach this season, he has averaged 7.3 points per game, while hitting 46.2 percent at Western Kentucky University. He led Western Kentucky to the NCAA (12 of 26) of his three-point fi eld goal attempts. Last year, Beinert was Tournament during each of his fi nal two seasons (advancing to the Sweet selected to the Patriot League All-Rookie team, after averaging 3.9 points, 16 in 1992-1993), and his overall career record stands at 320-233. Willard 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. is a 1967 graduate of Holy Cross, and was a three-year letterwinner for the Crusaders. MCCARTHY PLAYS BIG ROLE UP FRONT: Senior center Greg Mc- Carthy (Mansfi eld, Mass.) has seen a good deal of action for Holy Cross at the low post positions this season. During the Yale game, McCarthy scored Yale Recap 12 points and pulled down a career-best nine rebounds. Previously at Loyola (Ill.), he posted 13 points on six of 10 shooting, in addition to recording three rebounds and two steals. Earlier in the season, McCarthy also played Yale’s Alex Zampier totaled 28 points, four rebounds and four well at Harvard (18 points, eight rebounds, four steals) and Northeastern steals, as the Bulldogs posted a 76-66 victory over the Crusaders (11 points, four rebounds).