Box Score Nov. 23, 2008
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Bronx, N.Y. -
When Bryant Dunston, who led Fordham in rebounding the past four years, graduated last year, Ram fans wondered who was going to pick up the rebounding slack. Well it looks like Fordham has found its answer as senior Chris Bethel recorded his first career double-double, scoring 24 points and adding ten rebounds, both game-highs, but it wasn't enough as the Rams fell to Manhattan, 81-67, in the annual Battle of the Bronx in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 0-3 on the year while Manhattan stays perfect at 3-0.
"I thought we had some chances in the second half to get back into the game but we didn't execute our offense," said head coach Dereck Whittenburg. "At times we looked like a young, out of control team. We've got to regroup and get things right and we will."
The Rams got off to a slow start, trailing 6-0 two minutes into the game before Fordham used an 8-2 spurt to knot the game at eight on a Jio Fontan lay-up with 15 minutes left in the half. Bethel got the run started with a lay-up and Luke Devine followed with another. A Bethel jumper tied the game at six before Chris Smith gave Manhattan an 8-6 lead with a pair of free throws.
The Jaspers led 13-12 following a Fontan lay-up with 11:18 remaining left in the first when Manhattan scored six straight points to take a 19-12 lead two minutes later.
The Rams cut the deficit back to four, 21-17, on a Bethel tip-in with 8:13 left but the Fordham offense then went cold, as the Rams were outscored 10-1 over the next 2:15 as the Jaspers took a 31-18 lead on a Andrew Gabriel jumper with 5:58 remaining.
Fordham managed to get the Manhattan lead down to seven three times over the final five minutes, the last coming on a Trey Blue three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to send the Rams to the locker room down 41-34.
The halftime deficit was as close as Fordham would get as Manhattan opened the second half with a 12-4 run over the first 4:33 to take a commanding 15-point lead, 53-38, and the closest the Rams would get from that point would be nine, 66-57, on a Fontan free throw with 6:17 remaining.
Fontan finished with 13 points for the Rams while Brenton Butler added nine and Blue eight.
The Rams will next be in action on Wednesday night, November 26th, as they host Princeton University in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
Manhattan now leads the all-time series, 52-49...The 101 games are the most against any opponent for the Rams...Bethel's 24 points were a career-high, surpassing the 16 points he scored last year against Saint Louis and matched in the season-opener versus Columbia...The Rams started a line-up of two seniors (Bethel and Devine) and three freshmen (Fontan, Blue and Alberto Estwick) with Estwick taking the center jump...Devine's field goal was the first of his Fordham career...The last time Fordham opened a season 0-3 was 2003-04, Whittenburg's first year at Rose Hill.
