Box Score Bronx, N.Y. (November 26, 2013) - With the annual Battle of the Bronx between Fordham and Manhattan occurring two days before Thanksgiving, Fordham fans discovered something to be thankful for tonight, or more appropriately, three things to be thankful for. Those three are senior
Branden Frazier, sophomore
Mandell Thomas and freshman
Jon Severe, who combined for 68 points to lead Fordham to a 79-75 win in the Draddy Gym.
With the win, the Rams snap a two-game losing streak to Manhattan and improve to 3-2, while Manhattan falls to 3-2.
Severe led the way for Fordham, scoring a game-high 30 points, 22 of those coming in the first half, to earn game MVP honors. He is the first Fordham freshman to net 30 points in a game since
Chris Gaston scored 32 against St. John's in 2009. Frazier added 21 points while Thomas chipped in with 17 points and ten rebounds for his second double-double of the year.
The Rams led for the most of the first half but started slowing down in the second and eventually trailed the Jaspers by six, 68-62, with 6:36 remaining. A pair of Frazier free throws and a Severe three-pointer over the next 37 seconds pulled the Rams to within one, 68-67.
After a Michael Alvardo layup boosted the Manhattan lead to three, Severe hit his second three-pointer of the half to knot the game at 70 with 4:39 on the clock.
Thomas hit one of two free throws 19 seconds later to put the Rams up one but a George Beamon three-point play gave the Jaspers the lead, 73-71, with 4:07 left.
Both offenses went cold over the next 2:28 before a pair of Severe free throws at 1:39 tied the game at 73 and, after Beamon missed a three-pointer for Manhattan with 1:26 remaining, a Frazier layup put the Rams up for good, 75-73, with just under a minute on the clock.
A missed Alvardo three was rebounded by the Rams and Frazier was fouled and sank both charity shots with 20 seconds left to make it a 77-73 game before Beamon put in a layup to cut the Fordham lead to two, 77-75, with 12 seconds left. But the Rams were able to inbound the ball to Frazier who found a wide open
Jermaine Myers over half court and Myers fed the ball to
Travion Leonard who dunked just before the buzzer to account for the 79-75 final.
The Rams jumped out to a 12-4 lead over the first 3:45 with Severe accounting for eight of the 12 points.
Four straight Manhattan points pulled the Jaspers to within four, 12-8, before the Rams responded with an 8-1 run to take their biggest lead of the night, 20-9, following a Thomas three-pointer.
The Rams led by eleven again later in the half, 25-14, after a pair of Severe free throws but Manhattan outscored Fordham 23-13 over the next seven minutes to cut the Fordham lead to one, 38-37. However, the Rams managed to take a 43-39 lead at the break.
Leonard finished with six points and seven rebounds for the Rams while
Ryan Rhoomes added three points and six boards.
The Rams return to action on Wednesday, December 4, when they host the Furman University Paladins in the Rose Hill Gym at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
Frazier hit 12 of his 13 free throws, setting a career-high for free throws made and tying his career-high for free throws attempted… His previous career-best for free throws made was eleven, set at Syracuse earlier this year… Frazier's 21 points brings his career total to 1,186, moving him ahead of Jermaine Anderson (2002-06) and Steve Samuels (1980-85) and into 19
th place on the Fordham all-time scoring list… He is 32 points behind Jason Harris (1997-2001) for 18
th place… The Rams committed a season-low eight turnovers and set season-highs with 26 free throws made and 37 free throws attempted… Fordham held Manhattan to shooting just 18.8% (6-32) from behind the arc (Manhattan was shooting 41.4% from long distance entering the game… Manhattan now leads the all-time series, 55-51.
