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Bronx, N.Y. (November 8, 2013) - The last time
Jon Severe was in the Rose Hill Gym he scored 19 points to lead his Christ the King team to the CHSAA Class AA intersectional championship last March as he took home tournament MVP honors. Despite that being a tough act to follow, the freshman guard managed to do it tonight as he scored a game-high 28 points, setting a Fordham record for points by a freshman in his first game, to lead the Rams to an 87-67 win over Saint Francis University in the Rose Hill Gym.
Severe shot a blistering 9-for-15 from the field, including an even better 7-for-10 from behind the arc, for his 28 points, He surpassed the former school record for points by a freshman in his college debut of 24 set by Trey Blue in 2008.
The Fordham offense wasn't a one-man show tonight as
Bryan Smith finished with 18 points,
Mandell Thomas added 15 and
Branden Frazier netted ten. Smith shot 4-for-8 from three-point range and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, tying his career-high, while Thomas added seven boards and Frazier chipped in with seven rebounds and a career-high three blocks.
The Rams won a season-opener for the first time since 2007, snapping a five-game losing streak in openers, and scored the most points in an opener since netting 100 against Adelphi in 1993. The 20-point margin of victory was Fordham's biggest since a 79-58 win over Lafayette in 2008.
The Rams trailed by two, 19-17, with nine minutes left in the first when a Thomas jumper knotted the game and ignited a 17-0 Fordham run as the Rams took a 34-19 lead following a Severe three-pointer with 4:50 remaining in the first. Severe had seven of the 17 Fordham points in the run.
The Rams took an 18-pooint lead into the break, 45-27, thanks to a Thomas jumper with 16 seconds left in the period and then opened the second half with a 12-4 spurt to take a commanding 57-31 lead on a Smith trifecta 3:36 into the second. Severe again led the run with three three-pointers in the stretch.
Fordham built the lead to as many as 27, 67-40, on a Severe three with 12 minutes left and the closest the Red Flash would get from that point was the final 20-point margin.
The Rams return to action on Tuesday night, November 12, as they travel to Syracuse to face the Syracuse University Orange in the Carrier Dome at 7:30 p.m.
Notes
Fordham evens the all-time series record with Saint Francis at 2-2 with the win… The Rams are now 73-32 (.695) in season openers since 1908, 77-18 (.811) in home openers… Both Fay brothers, Jared and Jake, hit a three-pointer in the final two minutes of the game… Frazier's previous career-high in blocks was two, which he accomplished twice, the last time versus Lehigh in 2011… Smith grabbed eight rebounds in a game for the third time in his career, the last coming at Temple in 2012… The Rams outrebounded the Red Flash, 41-35, and held the visitors to shooting 35.7% (20-56) in the game, 29.0% (9-31) in the first half… Severe faced off against his former high school teammate Malik Harmon, a freshman guard at Saint Francis… The entire Chris the King High School was in attendance.
