Benigni leads Navy against Holy Cross after 27-point showing

Published Jan. 3, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Navy Midshipmen (9-5, 1-0 Patriot League) at Holy Cross Crusaders (6-8, 1-0 Patriot League)

Worcester, Massachusetts; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Midshipmen -5.5; over/under is 135.5

BOTTOM LINE: Navy faces Holy Cross after Austin Benigni scored 27 points in Navy's 82-77 victory against the Boston University Terriers.

The Crusaders are 4-2 in home games. Holy Cross is eighth in the Patriot League with 7.3 offensive rebounds per game led by Aidan Richard averaging 1.4.

The Midshipmen are 1-0 in Patriot League play. Navy is sixth in the Patriot League scoring 73.7 points per game and is shooting 45.1%.

Holy Cross averages 66.1 points per game, 0.7 more points than the 65.4 Navy allows. Navy's 45.1% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.7 percentage points lower than Holy Cross has given up to its opponents (47.8%).

The Crusaders and Midshipmen meet Saturday for the first time in Patriot League play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Boston is shooting 41.2% and averaging 13.2 points for the Crusaders. Gabe Warren is averaging 12.4 points over the last 10 games.

Benigni is averaging 17.1 points, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals for the Midshipmen. Jinwoo Kim is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Crusaders: 5-5, averaging 65.8 points, 29.3 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 6.5 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.6 points per game.

Midshipmen: 7-3, averaging 72.0 points, 36.0 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 6.8 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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