Box Score Nov. 18, 2008
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
Villanova, Pa. -
The Fordham University men's basketball squad experienced Dante's Inferno firsthand on Monday night. No, the Rams didn't go to a reading of the first part of The Devine Comedy, though there was a Devine (Luke) involved in the events of the evening. No, Fordham encountered the inferno of 23rd-ranked Villanova's Dante Cunningham, who exploded for a career-high 31 points, leading the Wildcats to a 107-68 win over Fordham at The Pavilion.
With the loss, the Rams fall to 0-2 on the young season while Villanova improves to 2-0.
The game featured two polar opposites, a young and inexperienced Fordham squad which started two true freshmen and played four true freshmen on the night, and a veteran Villanova team that fell to eventual national champions Kansas in the Sweet 16 last year.
The Rams used the three-pointer to stay with the Wildcats over the first eight minutes trailing by only five 19-14, with 12 minutes left in the half before Villanova used a 15-2 run to take a commanding, 34-16 lead four minutes later.
Villanova took an eight-point lead over the first four minutes, 13-5, before a Trey Blue three-pointer made it a five-point game with 15:03 left in the half. A conventional three-point play from Blue a minute later cut the Fordham deficit to two, 13-11, before the Wildcats scored six straight to take a 19-11 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the period.
A Herb Tanner three-pointer pulled the Rams to within five, 19-14, a little less than a minute later before Villanova went on the 15-2 run.
A Blue three-point stopped the Villanova run and made it a 34-19 game with seven minutes left before the break but that was a close as the Rams would get.
Brenton Butler led Fordham with 17 points and he added four rebounds and four assists, while Jio Fontan finished with 13 points and five assist and Blue added 11 points. Chris Bethel grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds for Fordham.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday night, November 22nd, as they host the Manhattan College Jaspers in the annual Battle of the Bronx at 7:00 p.m. in the Rose Hill Gym.
Notes
Villanova now leads the all-time series, 12-8, and the Wildcats have won the past five and nine of the last ten...The 39-point margin of victory is Villanova's largest in the all-time series...Bethel's previous career-high in rebounding was seven, set in the season-opener with Columbia...The Rams shot 77.8% (14-18) from the free throw line after shooting just 8-for-23 in the season-opener...A total of 48 fouls were called in the contest with Blue and Bethel each fouling out...Former Ram Mark Jarrell-Wright was in attendance.
