Box Score Jan. 19, 2008
Final Stats
Bronx, N.Y. - After missing the George Washington win on Wednesday night due to illness, Fordham University head men's basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg couldn't wait to get back on the Rams' bench for today's Atlantic 10 match-up with Duquesne University. But over the first 14 minutes, Whittenburg may have wished he was back home as the Rams fell behind the Dukes by as many as 14, committing eight turnovers in that time against a team that loves to force turnovers and convert them into points.
After cutting the deficit to six at the half, the Rams came out and took over the game in the second half, leading by as many as 11 before holding on for a 75-74 win over the Dukes in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham's second straight overall and third straight at home, the Rams even their record at 8-8 on the year, 2-2 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne falls to 11-5 overall, 1-2 in the conference.
"I'm just so proud of my guys, the way they fought back," said Whittenburg. "This league is tough this year. I told my guys that we've got to take care of business at home and steal a couple of games on the road if we want to compete for the title."
For the sixth straight game, Fordham senior forward Bryant Dunston brought his A-game, notching his sixth consecutive double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds, tying his season-high in rebounding, while also blocking three shots. Dunston, who leads the Atlantic 10 in rebounding, helped the Rams outrebound Duquesne, 35-28, including 17-9 on the offensive boards.
"Bryant did a great job today," said Whittenburg. "I've been telling him that if he rebounds we win. And today was evidence of that."
But Dunston wasn't alone on the offensive end as four other Rams finished in double digits, led by Brenton Butler, who scored 16, and Sebastian Greene and Marcus Stout, who each finished with 15, while Mike Moore added ten. It was the second game this year in which five Fordham players scored in doubles figures.
The Rams led by nine, 71-62, with 2:14 left before the Dukes mounted a comeback, having a chance to tie the game at 74 with two seconds left but Gary Tucker hit just one of two free throws and Dunston got the rebound of the miss before getting fouled. Dunston missed both of his free throws, the second one intentionally, and a Shawn James full court shot banged off the backboard and away as the buzzer sounded.
In the first half, the Dukes used a 16-7 run to turn a 13-8 lead in to a 29-15 advantage, Duquesne's biggest lead of the day, following a James jumper with 6:32 left in the period.
Later in the half, Fordham used a 9-3 spurt, led by four points from Moore, to cut a ten-point Duquesne lead to four, 34-30, on a Moore lay-up with 1:06 remaining. But a Kieron Achara lay-up with 38 seconds left gave Duquesne a 36-30 halftime lead.
The Rams came out aggressive in the second half, opening the period with a 14-3 run to take a 44-39 lead just over five minutes into the period. Greene led the run with seven points, capping it with a three-pointer.
Fordham would eventually build the lead to as many as 11, 67-56, on a Stout three-pointer, his third of the day, with 6:28 remaining and Fordham led by nine, 71-62, on a Stout lay-up four minutes later when the Dukes mounted a comeback.
A 9-2 Duquesne run made it a two-point game, 73-71, with 33 seconds left but Kevin Anderson hit one of two free throws for the Rams to put the Fordham lead back to three, 74-71, seven seconds later.
A Tucker lay-up with ten ticks remaining made it a one-point game before Butler hit one of two free throws to give Fordham a 75-73 lead a second later.
Tucker then drove the lane and was fouled by Butler but made just one of the two free throws as the Rams held on.
Greene added six rebounds and two steals to go with his 15 points while Anderson finished with eight assists, tying his season high.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, January 26th as they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to take on the Charlotte 49ers in an Atlantic 10 contest at 7:00 p.m.
Notes The Rams have now won six of their last seven against Duquesne...The Dukes now lead the all-time series, 14-12...The Rams won for the second time in as many games despite getting outshot, 53.6% to 47.5%...The Rams outrebounded the Dukes, 35-28 on the day after being outrebounded 47-35 in the first meeting...Fordham had 23 assists on 28 baskets...Dunston's double-double was his seventh of the season and 32nd of his career...The 15 points brings Dunston's career total to 1,627, good for sixth place on the Fordham all-time list, 70 points behind Ken Charles...Dunston's 16 rebounds brings his career total to 859, good for fifth place on the Fordham career rebounding list...He tied his career high for rebounds which he first accomplished at Georgetown...Dunston has blocked at least one shot in 15 of the 16 games this season, including 37 over the past ten games...Dunston is averaging 18.2 ppg and 13.3 rpg over the past six games...Stout's 15 points brings his career total to 1,503, good for seventh place on the all-time list...His three three-pointers in the game give him 224 for his career, moving him ahead of Bevon Robin and Jermaine Anderson and into second place on the Fordham all-time list.
