Ellis scores 31 as Army defeats Holy Cross 69-62

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Ella Ellis scored 31 points, making all 13 of his free-throw attempts in the second half, as Army rallied to defeat Holy Cross 69-62 Wednesday night for a school-record fifth straight Patriot League win.

The Black Knights (15-13, 8-5) are assured their first non-losing season since 1984-85 (16-13) and first Patriot League winning record. They also beat the Crusaders 80-66 on Jan. 30 for their first sweep of that series.

Army trailed 22-14 at the 7:08 mark, then surged ahead to lead 30-28 at the break.

Holy Cross (11-17, 3-10) regained the lead in the second half. Tied at 44 with 10:33 remaining, Army pulled away as Ellis scored 15 points, including two 3-pointers, in a 6-minute span.

Ellis is the first Army player to surpass 1,500 points since 2002 and his 1,528 points rank sixth all-time.

Dave Dudzinski’s 15 points led the Crusaders, who have dropped four straight games.