Holy Cross forward Tim Szatko didnâÂÂt take long to realize he wasnâÂÂt playing Kansas in St. Louis anymore.

This was Allen Fieldhouse. That was the Edward Jones Dome.

âÂÂThere definitely is a difference,â Szatko said. âÂÂTheir crowd was going crazy. It wasnâÂÂt like St. Louis at all. It was the loudest atmosphere IâÂÂve ever played in.âÂÂ

Szatko, a 6-foot-8 senior, was in St. Louis last March when the Crusaders, a No. 16 seed, gave the top-seeded Jayhawks quite a scare before bowing, 70-59, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

This time Holy Cross scared the Jayhawks for the first 11 minutes, leading 17-15 before KU dropped a 24-4 haymaker during the last nine minutes of the first half en route to an 81-57 Preseason NIT victory on Tuesday night.

âÂÂObviously, that run in the first half took us out of everything we wanted to do,â Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said. âÂÂThen we lost our focus defensively.âÂÂ

During those fateful nine minutes, Holy Cross missed eight of nine shots and coughed up the ball six times.

âÂÂWe could communicate OK,â Szatko said. âÂÂBut when the noise got loud we surrendered, so I guess it did affect us.âÂÂ

Willard knows what can happen to visitors in Allen Fieldhouse. He was an assistant coach at Kentucky when the Jayhawks posted an astonishing 150-95 victory against the Wildcats on Dec. 9, 1989.

âÂÂI think we were intimidated by the crowd in this building,â Willard said. âÂÂItâÂÂs a special place.âÂÂ

Holy Cross made a brief comeback bid early in the second half after trailing 39-21 at the break. But when starting center Patrick Whearty and starting point guard Jave Meade fouled out within 19 seconds of each other with more than 14 minutes to play, well âÂÂ:

âÂÂThe game was over,â said Whearty, a 6-10 senior. âÂÂYou canâÂÂt blame it all on fouls.âÂÂ

The noise. Blame it on the noise. Holy Cross plays in the 3,600-seat Hart Center back home in Worcester, Mass.

âÂÂWe knew it would be loud,â Whearty said. âÂÂBut itâÂÂs hard to prepare for.âÂÂ

Too, it was difficult for the Crusaders to prepare for KUâÂÂs numerous weapons.

âÂÂThis (Kansas) team is a little more balanced offensively than last year,â Willard said. âÂÂLast year they relied on (Drew) Gooden and (Jeff) Boschee. Now offensively they seem to be spread out a little more.âÂÂ

Kansas outscored Holy Cross in the paint (38-14), on second-chance points (14-5) and in points off turnovers (28-17), but it was the points off fast breaks (17-4) that really hurt, Willard said.

âÂÂTheyâÂÂre smart,â Willard said. âÂÂThey kill you âÂÂ: they KILL you in transition.âÂÂ

Szatko led the Crusaders with 14 points. Guard Brian Wilson added 12, all in the first half when he drilled four of five three-point attempts. Holy Cross shot only 34.6 percent and was guilty of 20 turnovers.

âÂÂLast time we had nine turnovers when we played them,â Willard said. âÂÂThis time we had 20. ThatâÂÂs the difference.âÂÂ

The Crusadersâ next game will be a lot different, too. Holy Cross will open at home against Dowling, an NCAA Div. II school, at 2 p.m. Saturday.