Box Score Dec. 8, 2008
Final Stats
Bronx, N.Y. -
Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg took a page from Austrian novelist Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach who once penned, "In youth we learn, in age we understand." Or perhaps it was a page from Hall of Fame coach John Wooden who once said, "Young people need models, not critics." For tonight against Lafayette Whittenburg started all upperclassmen, letting the freshmen watch the first few minutes from the bench, a move that paid dividends as the Rams ran past the Leopards, 79-58, in the Rose Hill Gym.
The win snaps a seven-game losing streak for the Rams (1-6) dating back to last year while the Leopards, who drop their sixth straight, fall to 2-6.
Fordham controlled both ends of the court, shooting a season-high 47.7% (31-65) from the field, while holding Lafayette to shooting 39.2% (20-51). The Rams also forced 21 Lafayette turnovers, which they turned into 31 points
"I thought that it would do the freshmen good to just watch the upperclassmen," said Whittenburg. "I feel the older guys understand better what we're trying to do and when the younger guys saw this, they were able to go out and execute better on both ends of the court."
The Rams started two seniors (Chris Bethel and Luke Devine), two juniors (Brenton Butler and Herb Tanner) and one sophomore (Mike Moore). The experienced line-up helped the Rams to jump out to an 8-3 lead over the first five minutes on baskets by Devine, Bethel and Tanner (a three-pointer) before Jio Fontan came on for Butler.
Fordham led 10-5 following a Bethel jumper with 13:16 left in the half when the Rams disproved the old adage that there is no substitute for experience as freshmen Trey Blue and Lamar Thomas joined Fontan on the court. The three freshmen teamed with Butler and Bethel to ignite a 10-3 Fordham run as the Rams took a 19-8 lead on a Fontan layup with 10:20 remaining in the half.
After a Jeff Kari layup cut the Fordham advantage back to nine, 19-10, 22 seconds later, Fordham went on an 8-1 run to take a 16-point lead, 27-11, with 6:49 left in the period. Fontan led the run with five points, capping it with a three-pointer.
The Leopards would whittle the Fordham lead back to 12, 27-15, on a Kari layup but the Rams responded with a 10-1 spurt, led by eight points by Bethel, to take a commanding 37-16 lead with three minutes left before the break.
The Rams took a 20-point lead at the intermission, 43-23, before Lafayette opened the second half with baskets from Darion Benbow and Marek Klotun to cut the Fordham lead back to 16, 43-27, just over a minute into the half.
But the Rams would quickly get the lead back over 20, netting ten straight points - six of those from Butler, to take a 53-27 lead with 16:16 left and the closest the Leopards would get from that point would be 15, 71-56, on a Rob Delaney layup with 3:49 left.
Bethel led the Rams with his second double-double of the year, scoring a game-high 19 points and adding 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes, while Moore added 17 points, hitting three of his four three-point attempts, and Butler and Fontan each finished with 13 points.
The Rams will next be in action on Thursday night, December 11th, as they host Fairfield University in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
The 78 points is a season-high for the Rams while the 58 points scored by Lafayette are a season-low for a Fordham opponent...The Rams now lead the all-time series, 19-10, and have won the past five meetings...Bethel has now recorded double figures in rebounding three times this year and is averaging a team-high 8.1 rpg this year...Tanner pulled down a career-best six rebounds while Moore added a career-high three blocks to go with his 17 points...Butler left the game with 11:36 remaining with an injury and he didn't return.
