Box Score Dec. 28, 2008
Box Score
Miami, Fla. - Following the 2007-08 season, UT Martin's Lester Hudson declared himself eligible for the NBA draft but he pulled his name out of consideration 30 minutes before the deadline. The 2008-09 Fordham Rams wish he would have kept his name in the draft as Hudson exploded for a game-high 31 points, hitting all 13 of his free throws, to lead the Skyhawks to an 82-70 win over the Rams at the FIU Holiday Tournament at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Hudson's night overshadowed the play of Fordham freshmen Jio Fontan, the Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week, and Alberto Estwick who combined for 31 points. Fontan finished with a team-high 17 points and he added three steals while Estwick netted a season-high 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Lester scored 14 of his 31 points in the first half as UT Martin built as much as an 18-point lead but the Rams battled back in the second half, getting as close as seven, 69-62, on a Fontan layup with 4:14 remaining. But M.J. Brown and Hudson answered with baskets for the Skyhawks over the next 32 seconds to up the lead to 11, 73-62.
A Chris Bethel three-pointer pulled the Rams to within eight, 73-65, with 2:18 left but that was as close as Fordham would get as the Skyhawks hit nine of their ten free throws over the final two minutes to secure the 82-70 win.
The Rams opened the game cold, turning the ball over on their first two possessions and falling behind, 8-4, 2:30 into the game. A pair of Trey Blue free throws with 17:24 left in the half made it an 8-6 game before UT Martin used a 13-1 run to take a 21-7 lead on a Marquis Weddle three-pointer with 13 minutes remaining.
Fordham cut the deficit back to nine twice over the next three minutes, the last at 25-16 on a Fontan jumper with 10:29 left. But the Skyhawks outscored the Rams 15-6, over the next seven minutes to take their biggest lead of the night, 40-22, on another Weddle three-pointer with 3:40 remaining.
An 8-2 Fordham run cut the UT Martin lead back to 12, 42-30, following a pair of Mike Moore free throws with 1:44 left in the half but a Delrico Lane layup 11 seconds later gave the Skyhawks a 44-30 lead at the break.
Estwick led the Rams to open the second half, hitting a three-pointer 33 seconds into the period and adding a tip-in 1:27 later to make it a nine-point game, 44-35.
The Rams trailed by nine again a minute later, 48-39, after a Fontan jumper, when the Skyhawks scored seven straight points to take a 16-point lead, 55-39, with 15 minutes left.
UT Martin would keep the lead between 11 and 16 over the next five minutes, leading 67-51 with ten minutes remaining when the Rams used an 11-2 spurt to cut the deficit to seven, 69-62, on Fontan's layup with 4:14 left.
Moore also finished in double figures for the Rams, netting 16 points while Bethel finished with seven points and seven rebounds.
The Rams will next be in action on Monday afternoon as they battle the Florida International University Golden Panthers in the FIU Holiday Tournament at 2:00 p.m.
Notes
This was the first meeting between Fordham and UT Martin...The Rams are now 7-13 when playing in the state of Florida...The Rams have dropped their last six games in the Sunshine State...Fontan has now scored in double figures in four straight and eight of the last nine...He is averaging 17.5 ppg over the past four...Moore has netted double figures in five straight and is averaging 17.6 ppg over that stretch...Estwick's previous season-high was nine points against James Madison on Nov. 30th...Fordham hit a season-high 19 free throws in the game, shooting 86.4% (19-22) from the charity stripe...Brenton Butler missed his third straight game with an ankle injury.
