Box Score Thirty minutes before tip-off, the Fordham Rams were informed that they would be without a key member of the program for their Atlantic 10 match-up with George Washington University. Head coach
Dereck Whittenburg called his assistants to inform them that he was ill and would not be able to make the game, thrusting assistant coach
Travis Lyons into the head coach's chair.
Then just under five minutes into the second half, as the Colonials were cutting a 13-point halftime Fordham lead into a five-point deficit, 40-35, the Rams lost another member of the team when leading scorer and rebounder Bryant Dunston limped off the court and down to the locker room with cramps.
George Washington took advantage of Dunston's absence, eventually taking a three-point lead, 43-40, following a Rob Diggs dunk with 10:45 remaining. But a minute later, Dunston returned to the line-up, sparking an 11-2 run, assisting on back-to-back three-pointers from Brenton Butler and Marcus Stout, to help the Rams take a 51-45 lead and Fordham never looked back, defeating George Washington, 66-53, in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, which snaps a three-game Fordham losing streak and an eight-game losing streak to the Colonials, the Rams improve to 7-8 overall, 1-2 in the Atlantic 10 while George Washington falls to 5-7 overall, 1-1 in the conference.
"I just spoke with Coach Whittenburg and he's doing fine and is very happy now," said Lyons. "I think tonight was a testament to what he has done here and what he has instilled in our guys."
The Rams used a balanced scoring attack, something that has been missing for the past few games. Four players finished in double figures for Fordham, led by Stout who scored a game-high 23 points and Dunston, who recorded his fifth straight double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dunston also recorded a pair of blocks in the game to bring his career total to 260, passing Damon Lopez, who recorded 258 blocks from 1989-91, to become Fordham's all-time blocked shots leader.
The game started out slowly on the offensive end as the Rams led 8-7 5:10 into the game before a Stout lay-up and three-pointer ignited a 17-6 spurt for the Rams as Fordham took a 25-13 lead on a Stout three-pointer with 6:05 left in the half.
Fordham would build the lead to as many as 14, 36-22, following a Michael Binns three-pointer with 1:39 left in the period before settling on a 37-24 lead at the intermission.
The Colonials opened the second half with nine straight points, five of those from Diggs, to make it a four-point game, 37-33, on a Cheyenne Moore jumper 3:29 into the half.
Butler hit one of two free throws to bump the Fordham lead back to five 30 seconds later before Maureece Rice converted a driving lay-up to make it a three-point game, 38-35, with 15:53 remaining.
A Dunston jumper stretched the Fordham lead back to five, 40-35, before he went out of the game with cramps.
George Washington ran off eight straight points with Dunston out, taking the 43-40 lead with 10:45 left before he returned to help the Rams take the 51-45 lead with 4:55 remaining.
"When Dunston came back, I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief," said Lyons. "I kept looking down the bench for him. He's such an integral part of our offense that it really hurts us when he's not in the game."
The Colonials answered the Fordham run with a Wynton Witherspoon basket to pull to within four, 51-47, with 4:55 left but that was as close as they would get as the Rams netted seven straight points to take a commanding 58-47 lead with just over two minutes remaining.
Butler and Binns also finished in double figures for the Rams, each netting ten points, with Butler adding three assists.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, January 19th, as they host the Duquesne University Dukes in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 2:00 p.m.
Notes
This was the second game of his Fordham career that Whittenburg missed as he also missed his debut with the Rams when his grandmother passed away in November of 2004...The win was the first for Whittenburg over George Washington...This was the fifth time this season that the Rams had four players finish in double figures, the first since the NJIT win on December 8th...Dunston's double-double was his sixth of the season and 31st of his career...The 12 points brings Dunston's career total to 1,612, good for sixth place on the Fordham all-time list, 85 points behind Ken Charles...Dunston's 12 rebounds brings his career total to 843, good for fifth place on the Fordham career rebounding list...Dunston has blocked at least one shot in 14 of the 15 games this season, including 34 over the past nine games...Dunston is averaging 18.8 ppg and 12.8 rpg over the past five games...Stout's 23 points, his second best output of the season, brings his career total to 1,488, good for seventh place on the all-time list...His four three-pointers in the game give him 221 for his career, moving him ahead of Bevon Robin and Jermaine Anderson and into second place on the Fordham all-time list.
