Box Score Jan. 26, 2011
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Bronx, N.Y. -
After not playing on their home court for over a month, the Fordham University men's basketball team was happy to be back in the historic Rose Hill Gym. The only problem was the Rams' opponent, the Duquesne University Dukes, who entered the game with a perfect 5-0 Atlantic 10 record and was riding an eight-game winning streak. And despite the Rams' best efforts, the Dukes proved to be too much for Fordham, upending the Rams 91-72.
With the loss, Fordham's eighth straight, the Rams fall to 6-12 overall, 0-6 in the Atlantic 10, while Duquesne improves to 14-5 overall, 6-0 in the conference.
"It was the same script as a number of our games," said Fordham head coach Tom Pecora. "We competed for 30 minutes or so and had a number of opportunities to knock an eight or nine point lead down but we either had a turnover or a foul called against. Then all of a sudden the lead expands and we have to play a little bit differently. But it was nice to be back home and it was good to see a great student turnout."
Maybe the silver lining tonight was that the Rams could look at the opponent bench and see what could be. Five years ago, Duquesne finished the year with a 3-24 overall record, 1-15 in the Atlantic 10. The following year the Dukes hired a new head coach who appears to have turned the program around. Fordham fans see that potential in Pecora.
The good news for the Rams is that for the first time this year in Atlantic 10 play they outrebounded their opponent, grabbing 44 rebounds to 39 for the Dukes. Of those 44 rebounds, 20 were offensive that Fordham converted into 20 points. Fordham was led on the boards by Chris Gaston, who recorded eleven rebounds to go with 15 points for his eleventh double-double of the year and the 30th of his career.
Duquesne opened the game on fire, hitting its first seven shots from the field, as the Dukes outscored the Rams 22-9 over the first 6:26.
The visitors bumped the lead to as many as 15, 30-15, midway through the period before the Rams used a 14-3 run to cut the deficit to four, 33-29, following a Branden Frazier jumper with 6:11 remaining in the half. Gaston, Marvin Dominique and Frazier each netted four points in the run.
After a Damian Saunders basket pushed the Duquesne lead up to six, Dominique answered with a layup for Fordham to make it a four-point game again, 35-31, with 5:11 left.
A Saunders three-pointer and a T.J. McConnell layup over the next 34 seconds increased the Duquesne lead to nine, 40-31, and the Dukes took a 45-36 lead into the intermission.
The Rams opened the second half with three points from Gaston over the first 1:09 to cut the deficit back to six, 45-39, but the Dukes used a 6-2 spurt to quickly get their lead to ten, 51-41, with 16:49 left.
Brenton Butler and Frazier sandwiched three-pointers around a Mike Talley layup as the Rams cut the Duquesne lead to six, 53-47, with 15:44 remaining but the Dukes netted eight straight points to take a 61-47 lead with 13:14 left and the closest the Rams would get from that point would be nine, 68-59, on a Kervin Bristol layup with 7:56 remaining.
Frazier led the Rams with 19 points, hitting four three-pointers, and pulling down five rebounds while Butler finished with 17 points and Dominique added nine.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, January 29th, as they host the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 1:00 p.m. for Alumni Day.
Notes
The win is Duquesne's third straight over Fordham... The Dukes now lead the all-time series 17-12... The loss extends Fordham's Atlantic 10 losing streak to 31 games dating back to 2009... The last Fordham conference win was a 67-65 victory over St. Bonaventure on January 28, 2009... Butler's 17 points brings his career total to 1,380, moving him ahead of Charlie Yelverton and into tenth place on the on the Fordham all-time scoring list... He is 55 points behind Fred Herzog (1987-93) for ninth on the career list... Butler hit three three-pointers to bring his career total to 203, fourth on the Fordham all-time list... He is eleven behind Jermaine Anderson (2002-06) and Bevon Robin (1997-2001) for third on the career list... Dominique connected on both of his field goal attempts and all five of his free throws before being forced out of the game with an injury in the first half... Frazier's four three-pointers brings his team-leading season total to 44... He is second in the Atlantic 10 in three-pointers made per game (2.4)... Matt Grayhack hit his first collegiate field goal tonight... The Rams tied a season-high with 68 field goal attempts... Duquesne entered the contest leading the NCAA Division I in turnover margin and they improved on that tonight, only turning the ball over six times to 17 for the Rams.
