Box Score Jan. 23, 2010
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| 1/23/10 - Highlights vs. Temple 
Bronx, N.Y. -
The Fordham University men's basketball squad worked exclusively on defense and rebounding in the two days leading up to today's game against #16/17 Temple University. The Rams controlled the boards for the full 40 minutes today but could only clamp down defensively for the first 20 as the Owls exploded for 40 second half points en route to a 65-42 Atlantic 10 win over Fordham in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 2-16 overall, 0-6 in the Atlantic 10, while Temple improves to 17-3 overall, 5-0 in the conference.
"Temple showed why they're the 16th-ranked team in the nation and we showed how young we are," said Fordham head coach Jared Grasso. "We tried to slow the pace down and turn it in to a grinding, physical game which we managed to do in the first half."
Chris Gaston paced the Fordham attack, notching his eleventh double-double of the year with 16 points and ten rebounds while also recording three blocks.
The Rams held the Owls to shooting just 28.0% (7-25) from the field in the first half, 16.7% (2-12) from behind the arc. Even though Fordham didn't shoot much better, the Rams trailed only by three at the break, 22-19, after a Danny Thompson three-pointer at the buzzer.
But Temple came out on fire in the second half, shooting a sizzling 66.7% (16-24) from the field and an even hotter 77.8% (7-9) from three-point land, led by Scootie Randall, who scored all 12 of his points in the period.
The game followed suit of five of the last six games in that Fordham played a tough first half and managed to stick around for a bit in the second half before seeing the opponent pull away.
The Rams jumped out to a 5-2 lead on a Chris Gaston three-point play 2:48 into the game, and Fordham led 11-10 after a Gaston layup with 9:25 left in the half when a Juan Fernandez three-pointer and Michael Eric layup over the next two minutes put the Owls up four, 15-11.
A Brenton Butler three-pointer pulled Fordham to within one with 3:57 remaining, 15-14, before a Rahlir Jefferson layup ignited a 6-0 Temple run to help the Owls build the lead to six, 20-14, with just over a minute left in the period.
Butler snapped the Temple run with a jumper with 41 seconds remaining and, after a pair of Fernandez free throws with 18 seconds left, Thompson's buzzer-beating three cut the Fordham deficit to three at the intermission, 22-19.
Temple opened the second half hot, with Fernandez sandwiching a pair of three-pointers around a Lance Brown put-back dunk, as Temple extended the lead to seven, 28-21, 1:24 into the half.
The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes before Temple ran off eight straight points to take a 15-point lead, 38-23, on a Randall three-pointer with 13:45 remaining.
A Gaston dunk 30 seconds later cut the Temple lead back to 13, 38-25, but the Owls outscored the Rams 9-2 over the next five minutes to take a commanding 20-point lead, 47-27, following a Ramone Moore layup. The closet the Rams would get from that point would be 17, 57-40, on a Gaston jumper with 2:22 left.
Butler finished with nine points and three rebounds for Fordham while Fahro Alihodzic, who moved back into the starting lineup, added five points and five rebounds.
The Rams will next be in action on Wednesday night, January 27th, as they host the La Salle University Explorers in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
The New York Yankees 2009 World Series trophy was on display throughout the game...The 2010 newly inducted Hall of Fame members were recognized at halftime...Gaston's eleven double-doubles is the second most for an Atlantic 10 player this year...His 12 ten-rebound games is also the second most for an A-10 player this season...Fordham outrebounded Temple 31-30 on the day, the fourth time in the six conference games the Rams have outrebounded their opponent, and allowed only five Temple offensive boards...Temple now leads the all-time series, 36-13, and have won the past two meetings...Fordham falls to 6-91 all-time against ranked teams.
