Box Score Dec. 22, 2012
Final Stats
Hartford, Conn. -
On the shortest day in the northern hemisphere it sure seemed like a long night for the Fordham University men's basketball team, especially in the first half, as the University of Connecticut erupted for 57 first-half points en route to an 88-73 victory over the Rams in the XL Center.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 2-9 on the year while Connecticut improves to 9-2.
"We came out flat in the first half and I always say that if I'm teaching effort it will be tough for us to win," said Fordham head coach Tom Pecora. "UConn is a very good team who shot the heck out of the ball in the first half and was able to get us to turn the ball over which got them out and running."
The loss overshadowed a career-high 26-point performance from junior guard Branden Frazier, who shot 10-for-17 from the field, including 5-for-8 from three-point range. He also added five assists and four rebounds.
The Huskies shot a sizzling 58.3% (21-36) in the first half, including 50.0% (8-16) from behind the arc and took advantage of 13 Fordham turnovers to score 21 points as they built the 57-28 halftime advantage.
Despite the large halftime deficit, the Rams didn't back down in the second half, using an amazing 19-0 run to pull to within 13, 63-50, with 12:15 left but Fordham couldn't complete the comeback.
The Rams didn't shoot poorly themselves in the first half, making eleven of their 24 field goal attempts, including three-for-six from long range, but the turnovers came back to haunt them.
The night didn't start off badly for Fordham as the game was tied four times over the first eight minutes, the final time at 15 on a Jermaine Myers layup with 12:01 left in the half. But the Huskies scored the next 14 points to go up 29-15 with 8:59 on the clock and then used a 21-4 spurt to turn a 31-19 lead into a 52-23 advantage with 1:39 remaining before taking the 57-28 lead into the break.
The second half started out much like the end of the first as Connecticut increased its lead to as many as 32, 63-31 just under two minutes into the period.
A Myers layup with 16:58 left got the Rams offense going, igniting the Rams' 19-0 run. Myers followed his layup with a three-pointer and a Bryan Smith three was sandwiched between a pair of Ryan Canty put backs as the Rams made it a 63-43 game with 14:35 left.
A Travion Leonard layup preceded a Frazier three-pointer before a Chris Gaston basket pulled the Rams to within 13, 63-50.
The Rams again made it a 13-point game two minutes later, 67-54, on a Frazier layup but the Huskies responded with a ten straight points to take a 77-54 lead with 7:19 remaining and the closest the Rams would get from that point was the final 15-point deficit thanks to a Jared Fay three-pointer with eleven seconds left.
Gaston finished with eleven points and six rebounds for the Rams while Myers added seven points and Canty had six points and five rebounds.
The Rams return to action on Sunday, December 23, as they host the Siena College Saints in the Rose Hill Gym at noon.
Notes
Frazier's previous career-high was 24 versus LIU in 2010... He is averaging 17.9 ppg over the past nine games and a team-high 16.5 ppg on the year... Frazier also set a career-high with ten field goals, surpassing his previous best of nine which he did three times, the last against Fairfield last month... Gaston brings his career totals to 948 rebounds, fifth all-time at Fordham, and 1,489 points, ninth all-time... The Rams dominated the boards for the fourth straight game, outrebounding the Huskies, 40-28, including 13 offensive rebounds which turned into 16 second chance points... Fordham set a season-high with 17 assists and tied its season-high with nine three-pointers... The 73 points was the second most in a game this year for the Rams while the 88 points surrendered were the most for a Fordham opponent (previous high was 86 at Texas State)... Ryan Rhoomes tied his season-high with seven rebounds... UConn has now taken the past six meetings with Fordham and lead the all-time series, 12-10... The Connecticut coaching staff and administrators wore green and white ribbons to honor the victims of Sandy Hook tragedy... The Huskies had plenty of head coaching experience on the bench as assistant coaches George Blaney (Holy Cross and Seton Hall) and Karl Hobbs (George Washington) had all coached against the Rams in their career.
