Box Score Nov. 14, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery | 11/13/09 - Highlights vs. Maine 
Bronx, N.Y. -
Trailing by 14 points with just over four minutes remaining, it would have been easy for the young Fordham men's basketball squad to go through the motions. But though the Rams lack experience, they showed on Friday night that there's no shortage of energy as the Rams battled back, cutting the lead to three in the final minute, only to see a last second three-pointer bounce out as Fordham fell to Maine, 76-73, in the Rose Hill Gym in the season opener for both squads.
The Rams used a pair of Herb Tanner free throws with 1:16 remaining and a Jio Fontan layup with 45 seconds left following a Black Bear turnover to cut a 76-69 deficit to 76-73. Maine then worked the shot clock down to one when an Andrew Rogers three-pointer missed everything and went out of bounds with 10.3 seconds left. Fontan took the inbounds pass and drove to the top of the arc, lofting a three-pointer that bounced off the rim and the ball was corralled by Maine's Gerald McLemore as time expired.
"You could see tonight that we're still a young team," said Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg. "We're coming along but we need our veterans to be more productive. Give Maine credit as they made some shots and got some loose balls tonight and we didn't. But you could see that we have more depth tonight than we had last year and I'm encouraged by what I saw."
Fordham led by six at the half, 36-30, and increased the lead to eight, the Rams' biggest lead of the night, on a Chris Gaston layup 13 seconds into the second half. But the Fordham offense went cold as Maine outscored the Rams 11-2 over the next four minutes to take a 41-40 lead on a McLemore three-pointer with 16:10 left in the game.
Brenton Butler responded with a pair of free throws to put the Rams up, 42-41, 26 seconds later, Fordham's final lead of the night. Maine then used a 15-5 spurt to build an eleven-point lead, 57-46, with 10:37 remaining, capped by two Troy Barnies free throws.
Fordham cut the Maine lead back to eight, 58-50, as Fontan and Gaston sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a Rogers free throw, but the Black Bears went on a 12-4 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 70-54, on a pair of McLemore free throws with 5:23 left.
The Rams would cut the deficit back to 14 twice over the next 1:20, the last at 71-57, with 4:05 remaining when Fordham started the comeback attempt. Fontan ignited the run with a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining and then scored three more from the free throw line a minute later to make it a 72-66 game.
After two McLemore free throws and one from Terrance Mitchell over the next 1:20 bumped the Maine lead back to nine, 75-66, with 2:13 left, Fontan hit another pair of free throws with 1:36 remaining to cut the Maine lead to seven, 75-68. Rogers was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play but only made one of his two free throws as Maine took a 76-68 lead before a Fontan charity shot made it a 76-69 game with 1:30 remaining, setting up the last minute comeback chance for the Rams.
The Black Bears opened a 9-4 lead over the first four minutes before the Rams scored seven straight points, to take an 11-9 lead with 12:27 left in the half on a Gaston layup. Neither team would hold more than a three point lead over the next ten minutes, until the Rams scored seven of the final eight points of the half, taking a 36-30 lead into the break.
Fontan led the Rams with 25 points, shooting 12-for-15 from the free throw line, and he dished out five assists, while Gaston recorded a double-double in his collegiate debut, scoring 15 points and adding eleven rebounds along with three blocks. Butler also finished in double figures for Fordham, netting 18 points.
The Rams will next be in action on Sunday, November 15th, as they travel up to Fairfield, Conn., to face the Fairfield University Stags at 7:00 PM.
Notes
The Rams have now dropped two straight season openers and are 72-28 in openers in 1908, 75-16 at home...It was the first ever meeting between Fordham and Maine on the court...The Rams are now 10-6 all-time against schools in the America East...Fontan scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half...The 12 free throws is a career-high fro Fontan, surpassing his former high of eight against Fairfield last year...Besides Gaston, three other Rams scored their first collegiate points in the game: Brennen Melvin, Fahro Alihodzic and Khiry Gordon...Fordham finished with seven total blocks in the game, three by Gaston, two from Tanner and one each from Jacob Green and Gordon.
