Box Score Dec. 5, 2011
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Bronx, N.Y. -
For the first five games of the season, Fordham head coach Tom Pecora was looking for a veteran to take charge of his young team, a squad that features seven freshmen and four sophomores. Tonight he got his wish as seniors Kervin Bristol and Alberto Estwick, along with junior Chris Gaston, propelled the Rams to a 54-53 win over Hampton University in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham evens its record at 3-3 while Hampton falls to 4-5.
"What a difference it makes when you have a six-ten senior center playing his tail off," said Pecora regarding Bristol. "This is what we want and need from him every game. He was a force around the basket. Alberto Estwick did a very good job as well, making some big shots at the right time, as did Chris Gaston."
Bristol took control of the boards for the Rams, tying his career-best with 16, while Gaston chipped in with his fifth straight double-double, scoring ten points and adding ten boards. Bristol's 16 rebounds are the most in a game for an Atlantic 10 player this year.
The game came down to the final possession as the Rams led by three, 54-51, but a David Bruce layup with 22 seconds left cut the Fordham advantage to just one.
After the Rams inbounded the ball to Gaston, he was fouled and sent to the free throw line with just over 14 seconds on the clock. Gaston missed the front end of the one-and-one with Mike Tuitt grabbing the rebound for Hampton. But the Pirates were unable to set up a good shot and settled for a deep Darrion Pellum three-pointer from above the key that bounced off the back of the rim and out as time expired.
The game was a close, low-scoring affair over the first seven minutes with the Rams leading by one, 10-9, with 13:07 left in the first. A Gaston layup and dunk and a Branden Frazier three-pointer over the next two minutes gave Fordham a 17-9 lead at the eleven minute mark.
The Rams would get the lead to as many as eleven, 24-13, following a Bryan Smith three-pointer with 7:59 left in the half and Fordham would lead again by eleven, 27-16, after a Frazier three with 3:30 left when Hampton used a 10-1 spurt to make it a two-point game, 28-26, on a Danny Agbelese dunk with 29 seconds remaining before a Marvin Dominique jumper in the lane with two ticks on the clock helped the Rams head to the locker room with a four-point lead, 30-26.
The Pirates scored the first five points of the second half to take a 31-30 lead 2:41 into the period, before a Dominique free throw knotted the game at 31 just over three minutes into the half.
The Dominique free throw ignited a 9-0 Fordham spurt as the Rams built a 40-31 lead after Frazier hit a pair of charity shots with 13:04 remaining. Bristol netted the first six points of the run for the Rams while also pulling down three rebounds, two of those offensive boards.
The Rams again led by nine, 47-38, with 8:18 left when the Pirates got hot, scoring seven unanswered points to cut the Fordham lead down to two, 49-47, on a Pellum three-pointer with just over five minutes remaining.
A Devon McMillan layup 15 seconds later gave the Rams a 51-47 lead before one Tuitt free throw cut it back to three, 51-48, with 4:28 left.
A minute later, Gaston converted one of two free throws and he then nailed a jumper with 2:48 remaining to boost the Fordham advantage to six, 54-48.
But a Pellum three with 1:34 remaining pulled the Pirates to within three, 54-51, before the Bruce basket with 22 seconds left made it a one-point game.
Frazier matched Gaston with ten points to lead the Rams while McMillan finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists and Dominique chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
The Rams will return to action on Wednesday night, December 7th, as they travel across the Bronx to face Manhattan College in the annual Battle of the Bronx at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
The win is Fordham's first ever over Hampton (the Pirates won the first two meetings)... The Rams are now 3-2 all-time against schools from the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC)... Fordham outrebounded Hampton, 51-40, on a night when neither team was able to shoot over 34% from the field... Hampton shot 33.3% (19-57) while Fordham shot 31.8% (21-66)... Bristol set his career-high in rebounds with 16 last year against Manhattan... The previous high-rebound game for an A-10 player was 15 by Temple's Eric Michael vs. Western Michigan... Gaston's ten points bring his career total to 1,036, good for 31st on the Rams' all-time scoring list, one point behind Fred Christ (1949-52) for 30th place... Gaston's ten rebounds bring his career rebounding total to 694, moving him ahead of Charlie Yelverton (1968-71) and into 11th place on the Rams' all-time rebounding list, four behind John Coalman (1958-61)... Gaston now has 41 career double-doubles in 62 career games... The game was the second straight against Hampton in which the Rams pulled down at least 50 rebounds (last year Fordham grabbed 50 boards in a 58-48 loss)... Freshman Ryan Canty returned to action for the Rams after missing three games with an injury... Freshman Jeff Short, who has also missed the past three games with an injury, dressed for the game but did not play.
