PHILADELPHIA -- University of Delaware freshman guard Brian Johnson’s driving layup in the final seconds rolled off the rim as the Holy Cross men’s basketball team held off the Blue Hens, 49-47, in a defensive struggle Saturday night at Tom Gola Arena on the third day of the La Salle Invitational.

Herb Courtney (at right) posted game-highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds for Delaware, which fell to 2-10 and had its two-game winning streak snapped. Brian Johnson added 11 points and four assists for the Blue Hens while Zaire Taylor scored eight points and dished out three assists, but no other UD player scored more than three points. Holy Cross, which improved to 8-6 on the year, got 17 points from guard Keith Simmons, while guard Torey Thomas contributed nine points and a game-high six assists.

Delaware took a 27-24 lead into halftime, and after the Crusaders regained the lead with a 5-0 run, the Hens answered with a 7-2 spurt to go up 34-31 with 14:39 remaining. However Holy Cross countered with seven consecutive points and extended its run to 11-2 as the Crusaders went ahead 42-36 with 7:53 remaining. Delaware’s only points in that span came on a jumper by Courtney with 9:10 left, the final field goal of the game for the Hens.

Holy Cross still led by six at 46-40 with 4:43 to play, but Courtney hit two free throws at the 2:49 mark, Darrell Johnson converted one foul shot with 2:05 to play, and Taylor drained two free throws to make it a 46-45 game with 1:44 to play. The Crusaders’ Kyle Cruze hit two foul shots with 1:31 left to extend the Holy Cross lead to three, but Brian Johnson went 2 for 2 from the line with 56 seconds left to again pull the Hens within a point.

Delaware had a chance to take the lead after Simmons missed two free throws, but Darrell Johnson’s baseline jumper was off the mark with 10 seconds to go and the Hens were forced to foul. Alex Vander Baan hit one of two foul shots for Holy Cross with nine seconds left to make it a 49-47 game, and Brian Johnson’s spinning layup with three seconds to play rolled off the rim as the Crusaders held on in the first ever meeting between the two schools.

“We had some good looks that we didn’t make tonight that we hit the last two games,” said Delaware first-year head coach Monté Ross. “I’m very proud that we held a team like Holy Cross to 49 points. Our defense is getting better, and if there’s a silver lining in this loss, that’s it. I was also very happy with Herb Courtney’s aggressiveness tonight.”

The Hens, who went just 4 of 20 from the field in the second half, scored their fewest points of the season, while their 49 points allowed was also a season low.

Holy Cross jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, but Delaware answered with seven straight points and took its first lead of the game at 12-10 when Taylor drained a three-pointer with 10:40 left in the opening half. The game remained tight throughout the rest of the period before Delaware closed the half on a 7-3 run to take a three-point lead into the break. Courtney, who led the Hens in scoring for the fifth straight game, scored 18 of Delaware’s 27 first half points including the final 12 of the period.

Delaware returns to Colonial Athletic Association action Wednesday when the Blue Hens travel to James Madison for a 7 p.m. game with the Dukes.

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