Rams Fall to Sacred Heart

Box Score  | Photo Gallery

Branden Frazier nabbed his second double-double of the year and Jon Severe scored a game-high 23 points, but the Rams fell to Sacred Heart 85-73 in the Rose Hill Gym on Saturday afternoon.
 
Leading by as many as nine in the first half, the Rams (2-2) were undone by a stellar second-half shooting performance from the Pioneers.  Sacred Heart (1-4) converted on 59 percent of their tries in the latter stanza, in addition to a 21-25 effort at the charity stripe.
 
Severe, New York State's Mr. Basketball as a senior at the Christ the King, registered the second-best offensive output of his young career.  His 23 points today were second only to his season-opening 28-point outburst against Saint Francis (Pa.).  The Brooklyn native also grabbed nine boards, falling just one shy of his first double-double.
 
Frazier finished the contest with 21 points and ten rebounds, marking the second straight game with a double-double for the Brooklyn native.  Frazier also led the Rams with five assists.
 
The third Ram to finish the game in double figures, Mandell Thomas scored 11 points against the Pioneers.
 
Severe came out on fire to start the first half, scoring Fordham's first 11 points and helping the Rams pull ahead 13-4 just inside the 16 minute mark.
 
From there, Sacred Heart scored six unanswered to move within three, but Severe slashed through the lane and made a floater to end the run with 12:40 to go.  Jermaine Myers banked one in the next time down, putting Fordham ahead by seven, 17-10, and forcing a Sacred Heart timeout.
 
Tevin Falzon converted on a three-pointer for the Pioneers out of the stoppage to get within four, but Myers and Thomas each scored to get the Rams back ahead by eight, 21-13, with just over ten minutes remaining in the period.
 
Fordham led by five, 25-20, coming out of the second media timeout before Frazier scored four in a row, two of which came on a brilliant pass from Severe, to go ahead nine with just over six minutes to go.
 
Down 29-20, Sacred Heart uncorked a 17-6 run to end the half, taking a 37-35 lead into the locker room.
 
At the half, Severe had 13 points on 5-9 shooting, including a 3-6 effort from deep.  Frazier also had a big first half, with ten points and nine boards at the break.
 
Severe started the second half the same way he started the first, draining one from deep to put Fordham back on top, 38-37.
 
The two teams traded buckets over the next several minutes and the Rams entered the first media timeout of the half trailing 50-49 with 15:23 to play.
 
Fordham would pull back ahead less than three minutes later, as Severe and Ryan Rhoomes hit four consecutive free throws to move the Rams ahead 55-54 with 12:50 to go.
 
After Sacred Heart scored six unanswered to pull ahead 60-55, the Rams responded with eight of their own, pulling ahead 63-60 with just over nine minutes left on the clock.  Chris Whitehead had a huge part in that run for the Rams, with a steal, a breakaway layup, and a drawn charge.
 
Sacred Heart would pull ahead by four, 69-65, just under the six minute mark, but the Rams would fight back to get within one less than two minutes later on a Frazier free throw.
 
Up one, the Pioneers scored four in a row to pull ahead by five, 73-68, but two Thomas free throws moved Fordham back within three with just over three minutes to go. 
 
Sacred Heart scored again and the Rams pulled within three on a Frazier layup with two and a half minutes on the clock, but that would be as close as Fordham got the rest of the way. 
 
The Pioneers converted on their free throws down the stretch, moving their lead to 12 and coming away with an 85-73 win.
 
Up next, it's a rivalry game for the Rams, as they travel across the borough for a matchup with Manhattan College on Tuesday night.