Box Score Jan. 7, 2010
Final Stats
Amherst, Mass. -
Coming off five straight non-conference losses, no one know what to expect from the Fordham men's basketball squad as the Rams entered their Atlantic 10 opener at Massachusetts on Wednesday. Well, the team that showed up was the scrappy, never-back-down team that played nationally ranked Villanova even over the first half. Unfortunately it wasn't enough as UMass' Ricky Harris hit a leaning jumper with three seconds left to break a 76-76 tie and lead the Minutemen to a 78-76 win over Fordham at the Mullins Center.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 2-11 overall while Massachusetts improves to 7-7.
The young Rams entered the game in search of leadership and they found it in Brenton Butler, who netted a career-high 31 points. He shot 12-for-23 from the field, including six-for-eleven from behind the arc, and hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds left to tie the game at 76. Butler, who has scored over 20 points in three straight games, also dished out six assists and grabbed four rebounds.
Chris Gaston chipped in with 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Rams, recording his ninth double-double of the year. He also added three blocks and one steal.
Fordham trailed by six at the half, 40-34, before UMass opened the second half with a 12-8 spurt to take a 52-42 lead four minutes into the period.
A Fahro Alihodzic layup ten seconds later cut the Fordham deficit back to eight and, after a Minuteman free throw, a Gaston dunk pulled the Rams to within seven, 53-46, with 13:38 left.
Massachusetts would then use a 9-3 run to take its biggest lead of the night, 62-49, on a Hashim Bailey layup with 10:27 remaining.
Butler responded with eight straight points for Fordham, two coming on three-pointers, and Alberto Estwick added a three-pointer with 8:45 left to make it a two-point game, 62-60.
A Gary Correia three-pointer bumped the Minuteman lead back to five twenty seconds later, 65-60, but Butler answered with a three-pointer for the Rams with 7:48 left. Thirty seconds later, Lance Brown tied the game at 65 with a jumper in the paint.
But Massachusetts would score six unanswered points to take a 71-65 lead with 5:21 remaining and the Minutemen would lead by six again later in the half, 75-69, following a Harris free throw with 1:05 left.
A Butler layup eight seconds later cut the Fordham deficit to four, 75-71, and after Harris hit one of two free throws with 50 seconds left, Gaston was fouled as he made a layup with 40 seconds remaining. Gaston missed the free throw but the rebound was tapped out to Butler who nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 76 with 36 seconds left.
Lance Brown also finished in double digits for the Rams, scoring eleven points and he added six rebounds.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, January 9th, as they travel to Philadelphia to face Saint Joseph's University at 4:00 p.m.
Notes
Butler's previous career-high was 28 set against Duquesne in 2007...He also set career-high in field goals (former best was nine at Kennesaw State earlier this year) and he tied his career-best in three-pointers...Butler is averaging 25.7 ppg over the past three games and 19.7 ppg over the past seven...The nine double-doubles for Gaston is the second most in the Atlantic 10 Conference...The Rams are now 2-12 all-time in Atlantic 10 season openers...The Rams outrebounded the Minutemen, 49-47, with every Fordham player who appeared in the game grabbing at least one rebuond...UMass now leads the all-time series, 24-11...The game was the fourth of five straight road games for Fordham...Former Ram John Pugh, who is finishing up graduate school in Boston, was in attendance.
