Box Score Feb. 13, 2010
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| 2/13/10 - Highlights vs. George Washington 
Bronx, N.Y. -
Anyone walking into the Rose Hill Gym on Saturday could immediately tell which of the two teams was playing its third game in a week and which one had a week off. Fordham, the team playing its third contest over the past seven days, looked the part of a tired team, while George Washington, the well-rested squad, ran the court with energy, defeating the Rams, 78-53, in an Atlantic 10 match-up.
With the loss, the Rams fall to 2-21 overall on the year, 0-11 in the Atlantic 10, while George Washington improves to 13-10 overall, 3-7 in the conference.
Fordham head coach Jared Grasso wasn't using the schedule as an excuse. "When you're young it's harder to adjust and fight through adversity," he said. "We just got back from a long road trip to St. Bonaventure but that's not an excuse. Good teams find a way to fight through those things."
The George Washington defense stifled Fordham's top two scorers as Chris Gaston and Brenton Butler, who entered the game averaging a combined 34 points per game, managed only 18 points between them. The two shot a collective 3-for-23 from the field, though Gaston did manage to grab a game-high 13 rebounds.
"Chris and Brenton struggled today," said Grasso. "This team is not going to win many games if those guys don't score. But we'll take a day off to rest and find a way to move forward and keep trying to get better."
The bright spots on the Fordham offense were Alberto Estwick, who came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, and Herb Tanner, who matched his career-high with ten points, shooting 4-for-8 from the field.
After the Colonials scored the first four points over the first two minutes of the game, Fordham ran off seven straight, on a Gaston layup, a Tanner steal and dunk and a Butler three-pointer, as the Rams took a 7-4 lead 2:45 into the contest.
George Washington responded with 12 consecutive points of its own, led by five from Dwayne Smith, to take a 16-7 lead with 12:33 left in the half.
An Estwick three-pointer 20 seconds later ignited a run of seven straight Fordham points, as the Rams cut the deficit to two, 16-14, following a
Rayner Moquete jumper with 11:21 remaining.
The Rams trailed by four points four minutes later when the Colonials used a 10-0 spurt to take a 14-point lead, 35-21, on a Damian Hollis three-pointer with 4:38 left.
George Washington would get the lead to 16 at the break, 42-26, but the Rams netted the first four points of the second half, on a pair of Gaston free throws and a Tanner jumper, to cut the deficit to 12, 42-30, just over a minute into the half.
Five straight points from Hollis over the next 50 seconds helped the Colonials get the lead to 17, 47-30, but Fordham was able to get to within 14, 49-35, on a Butler free throw with 12:47 left. The Colonials then used an 11-1 run to take a commanding 60-36 lead midway through the period and the Rams couldn't get the deficit under 20 the rest of the way.
Butler finished with eleven points for the Rams while Gaston added seven to go with his 13 rebounds and three assists.
Fordham will next be in action on Wednesday night, February 17th, as they travel down to Richmond, Virginia, to face the University of Richmond Spiders in the Robins Center in an Atlantic 10 game at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
Tanner matched his career-high with the ten points, a feat he accomplished twice before today, the last time almost a year ago at Xavier (2/13/09)...Butler now has 1,034 career points, good for 30th on the Fordham all-time scoring list, three points behind Fred Christ (1949-52)...Gaston has 404 points this year, the fourth highest total for a Fordham freshman in school history...The Colonials now lead the all-time series, 18-5, and have won the past two meetings...The two teams combined to miss 77 field goals attempts and 20 free throws....George Washington outrebounded Fordham, 45-40...The Colonials recorded 13 steals, tying a Fordham opponent high for the year (Xavier also had 13 on January 31st)...All 14 players who dressed for the Rams played in the game...Fordham plays its next two games on the road (at Richmond on Wednesday and at Rhode Island on Saturday).
