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Bronx, N.Y. (February 27, 2014) – For the first 20 minutes, Fordham University gave VCU all they could handle, leading by as many as seven before a late VCU first half run gave the visitors a two-point lead at the break. But red hot shooting from behind the arc by VCU in the second half allowed the Rams to pull away as VCU defeated Fordham, 85-66, in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 9-17 overall, 2-11 in the Atlantic 10, while VCU improves to 21-7 overall, 9-4 in the conference.
At the half, Fordham head coach
Tom Pecora explained that the Rams would have to remember the three keys to the game: limit turnovers, minimize VCU's offensive rebounds and keep the VCU field goal percentage under 40%, two the of three which were accomplished by Fordham over the first 20 minutes as they held VCU to shooting 34.5% from the field and committed only six turnovers, allowing VCU just six points off the turnovers.
But the second half was a different story as VCU shot 9-for-15 from behind the arc and forced eight turnovers, outscoring Fordham 51-34 in the half.
Fordham got the game off on the right foot, taking a 6-1 lead three minutes into the contest with four of the six points coming from
Bryan Smith.
The Rams led by five again, 13-8, three minutes later after a
Branden Frazier jumper when VCU scored six straight points to take its first lead of the night, 14-13, on a Jarred Guest dunk with 12:44 remaining.
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Mandell Thomas layup 45 seconds later started a 7-2 Fordham run, capped by a Frazier layup with 10:16 left to give Fordham a 20-15 lead.
Four minutes later, a
Jon Severe layup gave Fordham its biggest lead of the night, 26-19, with 6:22 on the clock. But VCU outscored 15-6 over the final six minutes to take a 34-32 lead at the break.
VCU opened the second half with a Juvonte Reddic layup 37 seconds into the period which started a 23-6 run for the visitors as VCU built a 19-point lead, 57-38, with 13:22 remaining.
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Travion Leonard put back halted the VCU run but VCU then scored 13 of the next 18 points to take a 25-point lead, 70-45, with 9:15 remaining and the closest Fordham would get from that point was 19, first on a
Jake Fay three-pointer with 1:45 left and then on the final basket of the night, a
Jermaine Myers three-pointer with 30 seconds on the clock.
Thomas and Severe each netted 14 for Fordham while Frazier added ten points.
Ryan Canty pulled down a team-high ten rebounds and swatted four shots while Leonard finished with six points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Fordham returns to action on Saturday, March 1, as the Rams host the La Salle University Explores in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 5:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on the NBC Sports Network.
Notes
Frazier's ten points brings his career total to 1,525, moving him ahead of Brenton Butler (2006-11) and into ninth place on the Fordham all-time scoring list… Frazier is also in second place on the school's all-time career assist list with 479… Canty recorded his second double digit rebounding game of the year and the tenth of his career… Canty's four blocks ties his career-high, set against Manhattan in 2012, and ties
Mandell Thomas' season-high for the Rams… The eleven blocks recorded by Fordham is a season-high, surpassing the previous high of eight versus Sacred Heart… It is the most blocks in a game by Fordham since the Rams swatted 13 Duquesne shots in 2013… VCU grabbed 56 rebounds, the most for a Fordham opponent this year (the previous high was 49 by Sacred Heart)… The game was VCU's first ever visit to the Rose Hill Gym… The 2013-14 Fordham hockey club was honored in the second half for winning the 2014 Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference championship.
