Box Score Dec. 22, 2011
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Fordham defeats Texas State, Gaston scores 35 (NY Post)
Bronx, N.Y. -
One team entered the game ranked ninth in the NCAA in scoring, averaging over 80 points per game. The other was averaging less than 60 points per game and was coming off a game where they shot under 30% from the field. But on Monday night it was difficult telling which team was which as Fordham, the team averaging 59.6 ppg, exploded for a season-high 81 points while holding Texas State University, the squad that was averaging 83.6 ppg, to 70 points as the Rams defeated the Bobcats in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham improves to 5-6 on the year, 4-1 at home, while Texas State drops its third straight to fall to 6-5.
"We have game goals and we achieved all of them tonight," said Fordham head coach Tom Pecora. "This was the first game we've done that. The goals were being plus-eight on the backboard, holding your opponent to under forty percent defensive field goal percentage, having no individual player on the other teams score 20 points, making more free throws than the opponent attempts and having less than 14 turnovers. It was the first time this year we've done it and that's why we won. But I wasn't happy with the way we closed it out and I talked to the team about it after the game."
It wouldn't be hard to find a team MVP of the game for Fordham as junior Chris Gaston stepped up and scored a career-high 35 points, shooting 13-of-17 from the field, and he grabbed 15 rebounds to notch his ninth double-double of the year and the 45th of his career. The nine doubles-doubles this year are the most for any NCAA Division I player.
The Rams won with defense, holding the Bobcats to shooting just 32.8% (22-67) from the field and outrebounded the visiting team, 52-39. Fordham also took care of business from the free throw stripe, converting 27 of its 38 charity shots.
The beginning of the game was all Fordham as the Rams scored the first eight points of the game, five from Gaston who opened the scoring with a three-point play 39 seconds into the contest.
After Texas State got on the board with a free throw 2:28 into the game, Gaston scored again for the Rams to put Fordham up nine, 10-1, with 17:25 left in the half.
Texas State used a 6-2 spurt to cut the Fordham lead back to five, 12-7, on a pair of Matt Staff free throws just over two minutes later, and trailed by six, 16-10, with 12:34 left. The Rams then reeled off 18 straight points to take a commanding 24-point lead, 34-10, on a Gaston layup with seven minutes remaining in the half. Gaston scored ten points in the run, including the final six.
The Bobcats trimmed the Fordham advantage down to 14, 39-25, with 3:18 left and trailed by 14 again, 41-27, with 1:43 remaining, before a Jeff Short three-pointer eleven seconds later gave the Rams a 44-27 lead, a lead they would take into the break.
A Gaston layup 22 seconds into the second half boosted the Fordham lead to 19, 46-27, before a Wesley Davis three-pointer, the first three-pointer of the night for the Bobcats, made it a 46-30 game 1:12 into the period.
The Rams then ran off nine unanswered points, six from Gaston, to take their biggest lead of the game, 55-30, following a Lamount Samuell layup with 16:36 remaining.
The Fordham offense then got cold as Texas State netted ten straight points to cut the Rams' lead to 13, 55-42, after a pair of Brooks Ybarra free throws with 12:21 left. The Rams got the lead back to 18, 62-44, on a
Bryan Smith three-point play 1:28 later but the Bobcats mounted another comeback attempt, pulling to within 12, 62-50, with 9:12 left.
Eight straight Fordham points got the lead back to 20, 70-50, on a Gaston three-point play, and the closest the Bobcats would get would be nine, 79-70, on an Eddie Rios three-pointer with 17 seconds left.
Marvin Dominique added eight points and eight rebounds for the Rams while Kervin Bristol finished with five points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the first half before leaving the game with an injury.
Notes
Gaston's 35 points brings his career total to 1,127, moving him ahead of Damon Lopez (1988-91) and John Brady (1956-59) and into 23rd place on the Fordham all-time scoring list... He has netted double figures in scoring in ten of the eleven games this year... Gaston's 15 rebounds, tying his season-high set against Lehigh, bring his career total to 753, moving him ahead of Bill Carlson (1949-52) and into ninth place on the Fordham career rebounding list... He is three behind Sanford Jenkins (1988-92) for eighth place... Gaston has pulled down double digit rebounds in ten of the eleven games this year... Kervin Bristol's eight rebounds bring his rebounding average over the past eight games to 9.4 rpg... Bristol also swatted three shots to bring his team-leading total to 25... The game was the first ever between the two teams... Fordham is now 2-0 against teams from the Southland Conference having defeated Southeast Louisiana on December 5, 1986 at the Shocker Shootout in Wichita... The 44 first half points scored was the most in the first period by the Rams this year, surpassing the 42 points scored in the first 20 minutes at Siena on December 12th... The 81 points scored by Fordham were the most in a game this year, surpassing the 79 scored in the Colgate game on November 29th... The 27 free throws made and 52 rebound were both season highs for Fordham... Texas State's 32.7% field goal percentage is the lowest for any Fordham opponent this year... DC Gaitley made his collegiate debut in the final minute... Former University of Vermont head coach and current Sirius XM's College Basketball Today co-host Tom Brennan was in attendance as was new Fordham head football coach Joe Moorhead.
