WORCESTER - It will be on to Columbus, Ohio for the McCarthy's of Mansfield, mom and dad, Helen and Joe, out to salute and support son Greg McCarthy, a sophomore reserve forward with the NCAA Tournament-bound Holy Cross Crusaders.

"I just got back from the bookstore," beamed Helen McCarthy, loaded with bags of Crusader purple jerseys, pom poms and other hoop memorabilia that she will be proudly displaying in the stands at the Nationwide Arena Friday.

The 6-foot-11 McCarthy is averaging eight minutes, two points and nearly two rebounds per game for the Patriot League champion Crusaders (25-8), who will be meeting Southern Illinois in a first round game in the West Regional on Friday.

McCarthy attended Xaverian High and played for coach Alex Salachi, also a Mansfield native.

And if the name McCarthy rings a bell, it should among Hockomock League basketball followers as his two older brothers Pat and Cullen both played at Mansfield High and then extended their careers by playing collegiately at Fitchburg State and at Bryant, respectively. McCarthy scored a career-high 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field in the Feb. 3 victory over Lafayette, one win in a 12-game winning streak for Holy Cross, which later beat Bucknell for the Patriot League Tournament title and the automatic NCAA berth.

"We were talking about this just yesterday," added Helen of her and Joe now being attendees at an NCAA Division I and Division II Championship Tournament. "We figured that if we could get out to North Dakota to see Cullen when they played in the Division II Tournament, we certainly could get to Columbus. We're really excited, this has been an awesome experience."

Holy Cross is making its 12th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and its first since 2003. The Crusaders are in the NCAAs for the fourth time during Ralph Willard's eight-year tenure as head coach, including three straight appearances in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

The Crusaders have not won an NCAA Tournament game since March 13, 1953, when they defeated Wake Forest 79-71 in Raleigh, N.C., in the East Regional semifinal. From 1947-1953, Holy Cross went 7-4 in the NCAAs, while winning the 1947 NCAA championship. During that season, the Crusaders defeated Navy (55-47), City College of New York (60-45) and Oklahoma (58-47).

During the 2006-2007 season, the Crusaders posted an 0-2 record against teams which were selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Crusaders were defeated by Duke (57-45) on the road, and dropped a 67-61 decision to Niagara on a neutral court.

In each of its last three NCAA appearances, Holy Cross has come close to upsetting a heavily favored opponent. In 2001, the 15th-seeded Crusaders dropped a close, 72-68 decision to second-seeded Kentucky. The score was tied at 58-58 with 6:28 remaining, before the Wildcats were able to escape with the narrow victory.

A year later in 2002, 16th-seeded Holy Cross was knocked off by No. 1 seed Kansas 70-59. The Crusaders led 49-48 with less than nine minutes to play, before the Wildcats pulled away to win late in the game.

Yet another close call came in 2003, when No. 14 seed Holy Cross fell to No. 3 seed Marquette 72-68. The Crusaders were up 58-57 with less than five minutes to play and were within two points in the final minute, but were once again denied the upset bid.

McCarthy appeared in 30 games this season for Holy Cross after playing in just seven games as a freshman. In his limited playing time, McCarthy has demonstrated an offensive flair as he is shooting 45 percent from the floor and 68 percent at the free throw line.

McCarthy hit on four three-pointers and his rebounding totals are evenly balanced on both boards - 17 offensively and 18 defensively - in addition to having nine blocked shots. "He absolutely loves it there," said Mrs. McCarthy of Greg fitting in both academically and athletically and the relationship and nurturing that Willard has provided.

The older McCarthy's - Pat and Cullen - still play a lot of hoop, in amateur leagues at the Mass. Premier Courts. Pat is currently a sale associate with his dad for the Walter Morris Co. in Foxboro and Cullen is currently in training with the Merck Corp. in Arizona.

"To have three sons all involved in basketball has been a wonderful experience," added Mrs. McCarthy. "It's very nerve-wracking, too. The games, it's never-ending, I don't think we missed one home game this season (at the Hart Center in Worcester). We've got a few more years of going to games.

"What an opportunity this is, to have two sons play in the NCAA Tournament and for us to get to two NCAA's ourselves."