Box Score Jan. 21, 2010
Final Stats
St. Louis, Mo. -
In the first half of tonight's game, Fordham's Chris Gaston pulled down a rebound and was set to break out when he bounced the ball off the leg of a fallen Saint Louis player and the ball deflected right to another Billiken all alone under the basket who laid it in for an easy two points. It was a sign that it was going to be that kind of night for the Rams, who fell Saint Louis, 75-48, in an Atlantic 10 game in the Chaifetz Arena.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 2-15 overall, 0-5 in the Atlantic 10, while Saint Louis improves to 12-6 overall, 3-1 in the conference.
Playing on the road against the second-ranked defense in the Atlantic 10, the Rams knew that points would be at a premium, but what Fordham didn't expect was an offensive outburst from Saint Louis, who entered the game averaging a league-low 64. 1 ppg.
The two teams exchanged baskets over the first minute, the Fordham basket came from Gaston, before the Billikens ran off nine straight points to take an 11-2 lead just over five minutes into the game.
A Gaston layup with 14:24 left in the half halted the Saint Louis run but the Billikens then used a 6-2 run to build the lead to eleven, 17-6, with 12:39 remaining.
Saint Louis led by ten, 24-14, with 7:47 left in the half when a Gaston free throw and a Brenton Butler three-pointer over the next minute pulled the Rams to within six, 24-18. But a Cory Remekun jumper with 6:21 remaining ignited a 10-0 Billiken spurt as Saint Louis extended the lead to 16, 34-18, with 3:53 left.
A pair of Butler free throws and a Lance Brown layup over the next two minutes made it a 12-point game, 34-22, but Saint Louis closed out the half with a 8-2 spurt to take a 42-24 lead at the intermission.
The second half didn't start out any better for Fordham as Saint Louis outscored the Rams, 12-1 over the first seven minutes to take a commanding 54-25 lead and the closest Fordham would get from that point is 22, 65-43, on a Brown layup with 4:57 remaining.
Brown led the Rams with 15 points and seven rebounds while Gaston finished with ten points and eight rebounds.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, January 23rd, as they host the nationally ranked Temple University Owls in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 1:00 p.m.
Notes
The game was one of over 100 contests this season between teams from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States...Each of the 28 is dedicated to strong academics and teaching women and men to serve others and live a faith that does justice...The 15 points for Brown tied his season-high, first accomplished against Stony Brook...Butler was held to a single-digit scoring total (seven points) for the first time in eleven games...The Rams attempted a season-low 45 field goals and tied their season-low in three-point field goal attempts (six)...Every Fordham player who dressed appeared in the game for the Rams...The Rams are now 1-5 all-time against Saint Louis and 1-5 all-time in the state of Missouri...Things don't get easier for the Rams as after facing the second-ranked defense tonight they get the top-ranked defensive team in Temple on Saturday.
