Box Score Nov. 30, 2008
Box Score
Bronx, NY - One of the marks of a young team is inconsistency. Fordham fans experienced that firsthand today as the young Rams played solid defense in the first half of their game with James Madison but couldn't hit a basket, while in the second half the Rams shot over 50% but couldn't stop the Dukes as James Madison defeated Fordham, 73-53, in the Rose Hill Gym. With the loss, the Rams fall to 0-5 on the year while James Madison improves to 4-2.
"We're a team still trying to find itself," said Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg. "We struggled to shoot the ball in the first half but I was pleased with the improvement in our defense in the first half and the fact that we started to rebound the ball better today."
The Dukes led by four, 6-2, following a Devon Moore jumper just over five minutes into the game when the Rams used an 8-2 spurt to take a 10-8 lead on a Zach Wing layup with 10:47 left in the half.
A pair of Kyle Swanston free throws 40 seconds later knotted the game at ten and ignited a 15-0 James Madison run as the Dukes built a 23-10 lead on a Dazzmond Thornton jumper with 4:53 remaining in the first. Swanston led the run with eight points, hitting back-to-back three-pointers after his two free throws.
Later in the half, a Chris Bethel layup with 1:44 remaining cut the Fordham deficit back to 11, 25-14, but the Dukes closed out the half with a 7-1 run to take a 32-15 lead at the break.
The Rams held James Madison to shooting 33.3% (10-30) in the half but Fordham was only able to shoot 17.6% (6-34) themselves.
A Jio Fontan three-pointer two minutes into the second half made it a 32-18 game and the Rams would cut the deficit back to 12, 40-28, on another Fontan three-pointer four minutes later, but that was as close as Fordham would get.
Following Fontan's second three-pointer, James Madison went on an 11-5 run to extend its lead to 18, 51-33, with nine minutes left and the closest the Rams would get would be 15, 54-39, with 7:44 remaining following an Alberto Estwick three-pointer.
Bethel led the Rams with 18 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the field, while Fontan added 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists, hitting four of his six three-pointers. The Rams will next be in action on Wednesday, December 3rd, as they travel to Hempstead, N.Y., to face Hofstra University at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
This was the first meeting between James Madison and Fordham on the hardwood...The Rams open the season 0-5 for the first time in school history...The Rams outrebounded the Dukes, 37-34, the first time Fordham outrebounded an opponent this year...Wing's first half layup was his first career basket and first career point...Freshman Lamar Thomas also scored his first collegiate point with a first half free throw.
