WORCESTER — Boston University came into Sunday’s game at the Hart Center averaging 74 points, so Holy Cross wanted to limit the Terriers’ scoring chances and make them take a lot of time on each offensive possession.

BU tied a season-low for points against the Crusaders, but the Terriers scored enough to beat HC, 54-40.

Holy Cross (4-13, 1-5 Patriot League) had some serious struggles at the offensive end while posting its lowest point total in a game since scoring 39 in a loss at Pittsburgh during the 2014-15 season.

“Their zone made us really question the shots we wanted to take,” said Holy Cross freshman forward Austin Butler, who scored a game-high 11 points. “I thought we were very hesitant and not as confident as we should have been.”

The Crusaders, who were coming off an overtime loss at Navy, have lost four straight to BU (9-8, 5-1).

BU, which has won three in a row and five of six, sits atop the Patriot League standings. The Terriers also scored 54 points in a 69-54 loss to Miami on Dec. 5.

“Some games you aren’t going to look great,” BU coach Joe Jones said. “You have to prove you can win some games like this, not a high-scoring game. It’s a defensive game, it’s a battle, and you have to find ways to win and I like that about this win.”

In the Terriers’ last game, a 72-58 victory over Colgate, they held the Raiders to 29 percent shooting. BU limited HC to 33 percent. HC was 7-25 from the field (28 percent) in the second half. The Crusaders shot 21 percent from 3-point territory.

“Personally, I missed a couple shots I usually make,” Holy Cross junior center Jehyve Floyd said, “and we just weren’t getting in a flow with their zone. We have to work on our zone offense.”

Floyd scored six of his eight points in the first half. He took just two shots in the second and finished 3-8.

“We thought the ticket was getting the ball down to Jehyve,” Holy Cross coach Bill Carmody said, “and we did early on. We wanted him to take 13 or 14 shots. I thought as a staff we could have done a better job putting our guys in position. Our offense put so much pressure on our defense.”

Holy Cross played well defensively in the first half, but the Crusaders didn’t reward themselves for their efforts at the offensive end. They trailed, 25-23, at halftime.

It took HC four minutes to score its first basket of the second half — a Matt Zignorski 3 — but the Crusaders were still within two after a Butler putback and free throw.

With 10:53 left, senior guard Will Goff’s 3 gave BU its largest lead — 39-31 — up to that point, and the Terriers maintained an eight-point lead after freshman forward Walter Whyte’s layup with 8:12 to go.

The Crusaders were within six after freshman Jacob Grandison scrambled to save a loose ball under the HC basket and get it into the hands of Zignorski, who tossed in a layup.

From there, though, the Terriers outscored Holy Cross, 13-5, the rest of the way. HC turned the ball over three times during that stretch.

“(The lead) goes from six to 11,” Carmody said, “and that’s game time.”

Senior forward Cedric Hankerson led BU with 10 points. Sophomore forward Tyler Scanlon, who had eight points and nine rebounds was named the Turnpike Trophy MVP. The Turnpike Trophy is an annual series between Holy Cross and BU.

Butler and Floyd combined for HC’s first seven points. The Terriers took their first lead, 9-7, after Hankerson scored five straight points.

Floyd was involved in an eventful sequence later in the first half. He went down hard while snaring an offensive rebound, but later bounced back up for a thunderous two-handed dunk that put HC up, 21-18, with 3:05 left. A minute later, he missed a layup and his own putback, then, at the other end, blocked a shot by freshman guard Javante McCoy.

Grandison added seven points and Butler had a team-high six rebounds. Junior forward Karl Charles picked up three fouls in the first half and did not attempt a shot in the first 20 minutes. He finished 1-4 for two points. The Crusaders came up with 14 BU turnovers, but only converted them into four points. The Terriers scored 15 points off HC’s 13 turnovers.

Up next for Holy Cross is a game home against Army at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“We just have to keep working at it, working at it,” Carmody said.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.