Purple extend PL win streak; Thomas scores 1,000th point.

Byline: Jennifer Toland

WORCESTER - Torey Thomas scored his 1,000th career point last night, but that certainly wasn't all he did.

The senior guard's busy evening also included a school-record 7 steals, 8 assists and 6 rebounds - not to mention a team-high 18 points - all major contributions to Holy Cross' 64-53 win over Lehigh before a pumped-up, purple crowd at the Hart Center.

"He's unbelievable," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, who will present Thomas with the ball commemorating his 1,000-point achievement before Wednesday's game against American. "He's got a heart as big as all outdoors and it's been an honor to coach him for four years. You look at everything he does on the court, it's more than just points. It's his attitude, his hustle, his determination. It's just a joy to watch."

Thomas became the 43rd player in Holy Cross history to score 1,000 points, the milestone bucket coming with 11:51 left in the first half. Pat Doherty made a steal at the Lehigh end and got the ball ahead to Thomas, who laid it in.

Thomas, who scored 11 points in the win at Colgate on Tuesday, needed five points for 1,000 coming into last night's game. He buried a 3-pointer to give HC an early 9-6 lead.

"It feels great," said Thomas, who joined senior teammate Keith Simmons in the 1,000-point club. "When you're approaching a milestone like that, you want to get it out of the way because you want to handle team business. It was great (getting it) tonight in front of an awesome crowd. I'm grateful to reach that milestone."

The Crusaders (16-6, 7-0) completed their first run through the Patriot League schedule undefeated and have won nine straight overall. HC is off to its best start in the league since 1992-93. That team also started 7-0. HC has won 11 straight regular-season PL games.

"To get through the first half (of the PL schedule) undefeated is a great start," Willard said. "When your win streak gets toward double digits, the pressure starts to grow a little bit. You get a bull's eye on your back, but I'm happy with the way they're handling it."

Simmons added 16 points and junior center Tim Clifford had 12. Clifford has scored in double figures in three straight games.

Senior guard Jose Olivero led Lehigh (9-14, 4-3) with 18 points.

The Crusaders led by as many as 11 in the second half, but the Mountain Hawks were within three with 4:03 to play. Clifford and Simmons each came up with several key rebounds down the stretch, Clifford made a big jumper, and Thomas and Alex Vander Baan combined to go 6 for 6 from the foul line in the final 43 seconds.

Last night's mostly student crowd of 3,487 wasn't the largest of the year - that honor goes to the 3,523 that watched HC beat Bucknell two weeks ago - but it definitely was the liveliest. The Crusaders fed off the energy in the first half to build a 13-point lead.

Thomas scored his 1,000th during a 14-3 Holy Cross run, a Vander Baan trey and a Simmons follow of a Thomas miss a couple of the other highlights that helped the Crusaders build a 23-13 lead with 7:41 left.

Zahir Carrington's slam 10:14 before the half would be Lehigh's last field goal until Olivero made a 3-pointer with 2:12 left, but the Mountain Hawks stayed in it by making six straight free throws and cut the lead to 23-19 on Marquis Hall's pair with 5:55 left. Holy Cross was 1 for 5 from the line during the same stretch.

Thomas, who scored 10 first-half points, got HC going again with a trey and a sweet drive in and around two Lehigh defenders to start an 8-0 spurt. The Crusaders took their largest lead of the first half, 32-19, when Doherty made the first of two free throws with 2:55 to go.

Lehigh scored the last seven points of the half on Olivero's 3-pointer and two free throws and a layup by Bryan White, whittling HC's lead to 32-26 at the break.

Both teams shot 37 percent in the first half, though Holy Cross took 11 more shots. The Crusaders forced 15 turnovers. Thomas made five steals.

"I was pleased with our intensity coming out," Willard said. "That was something we didn't have the last two games at American and at Colgate. I wasn't pleased with our game management at the end of the first half. We let Lehigh back in the game and took some bad shots."

NAME: COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS