Rams Hold Off Laval, 80-72

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QUEBEC CITY- The Rams held off a late surge from Laval on Tuesday night, coming out with an 80-72 victory in Quebec City in the second game of their Canadian Tour.

The Rams are now 2-0 north of the border.
 
Jon Severe came up huge for Fordham down the stretch, scoring a game-high 24 points on 7-13 shooting, including a 3-5 effort from downtown.
 
Severe was one of three Rams in double figures on the night.  Antwoine Anderson tallied 15, while Christian Sengfelder added 14. 
 
The Rams came out on top in the battle on the boards, led by Eric Paschall with ten.  The Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., native also added eight points.
 
Fordham had a tough time getting shots to fall in the opening minutes, but the Rams soon found their rhythm.  Anderson scored a bucket and assisted on another, while Severe capped a 7-0 run with a corner three to put the Rams ahead 14-10 with four minutes to go in the opening quarter.  Dekeba Battee-Aston also found the bottom of the basket during the run.  Similar to their win over Concordia on Monday, the Rams used a relentless press during that stretch to force turnovers and get transition opportunities.
 
Laval would briefly retake the lead, but Severe converted on a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the quarter to give the Rams a 22-21 advantage at the first break.
 
Coach Pecora's squad came out firing to start the second stanza, scoring 13 unanswered to build the lead to 14, 35-21, just over three  minutes into the quarter.  Severe and Anderson were explosive during the run for Fordham, combining for nine of the team's points.
 
Laval battled back to narrow the deficit to single digits with a minute to go in the half, but Anderson made his way to the rim once again, giving the Rams a 46-36 lead heading into the half.
 
The two teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter, as Laval converted on a last second put back and brought the Fordham lead down to eight, 63-55, heading into the fourth.  The play of Sengfelder proved to be a bright spot for the Rams in the third; the 6-7 freshman nailed a step-back 18 footer and a three-pointer, demonstrating that he has more dimensions than your typical power forward.
 
With the Rams ahead by ten a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Laval quickly unloaded five unanswered, trimming the Fordham lead to a handful with just under seven minutes to go.
 
Nemanja Zarkovic stopped the bleeding with two free throws a few possessions later, but Laval responded with four in a row to make it a one possession game with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
With the home team bringing pressure on both sides of the floor and the clock ticking away, Severe remained composed, scoring seven points down the stretch and keeping the Rams in front. 
 
The Rams return to action on Thursday night in Montreal, when they'll take on McGill at 7 PM.