Box Score Dec. 11, 2008
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Bronx, N.Y.--Just over 30 seconds into the game against Fairfield on Thursday night, things went from bad to worse for Fordham. Entering the game without the services of junior guard Brenton Butler, the team's third leading scorer, the Rams lost leading scorer and rebounder Chris Bethel when he suffered a broken nose less than a minute into the game. But instead of panicking, the rest of the young squad, which had as many as four freshmen on the court at one time, picked up the slack, only to come up short as the Stags hit a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to pull out a 69-66 win over Fordham in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 1-7 on the year while Fairfield, which won its sixth straight, improves to 7-3.
The Rams tied the game at 66, the eighth tie of the game, on a Luke Devine layup with 20 seconds left in the game, off a great feed from Jio Fontan who drew two defenders to him. But Fairfield pushed the ball up court and Jonathan Han spotted an open Lyndon Jordan on the left side and Jordan nailed a three-pointer for the win.
"This was a heck of a basketball game," said Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg. "I'm very proud of my guys, the way they didn't back down even though we didn't have Brenton or Chris tonight. I think that this game is a good learning experience that will help us become a better basketball team."
Fordham trailed by one at the half but the Rams would knot the game at 40 on a Mike Moore dunk just under five minutes into the second half. The Stags would then score seven straight points to take their largest lead of the night, 47-40, following a Han three-pointer with 12:47 remaining.
Later in the half, Fairfield took a six-point lead, 59-53, on an Anthony Johnson dunk with 6:33 left when a Fontan layup ignited a 6-1 run to make it a one-point game, 60-59, with four minutes left in the contest.
A Herbie Allen layup with just under four minutes left gave Fairfield a 62-59 lead but Fontan answered with a pair of free throws to pull the Rams to within one, 62-61, ten seconds later.
Greg Nero connected on one of two free throws for the Stags with 3:16 remaining but a Fontan jumper with 1:42 left tied the game at 64. A Johnson layup 35 seconds later put Fairfield up two, 65-63, before Devine tied at one last time with 20 seconds remaining.
Despite losing Bethel in the first minute, the Rams were able to build a five-point lead, 14-9, over the first ten minutes. Moore led Fordham's opening run with seven points.
Later in the half, the Rams took a 22-19 lead on a Zach Wing free throw with 6:12 left before Fairfield used a 12-5 spurt to go up 31-27 following a Warren Edney jumper just under three minutes later.
But a Herb Tanner dunk and a pair of Fontan free throws tied the game at 31 with a minute left in the half before Ryan Olander hit one of two free throws with eight seconds remaining to give Fairfield a 32-31 lead at the intermission.
Fontan led all scorers with a season-high 22 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, and he added five assists and three steals, while Moore finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.
The Rams will next be in action on Tuesday, December 23rd, as they host the University of New Hampshire in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Rams over Fairfield...Fordham still leads the all-time series, 32-11...Senior Luke Devine finished with a career-high six points and he tied a career-high with six rebounds...The game was the final game that sophomore forward Jacob Green will be forced to watch in street clothes from the bench...Green, who transferred to Fordham from West Virginia last December, will be eligible to play in the Rams' next game...Four Fordham freshmen (Fontan, Trey Blue, Alberto Estwick and Lamar Thomas) played a combined 96 minutes...Fairfield radio announcer John Cummings, taught Bethel at St. Raymond's High School.
