Rams Battle Back, Down McGill 76-71

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MONTREAL- Not once, but twice, the Rams battled back from a formidable deficit on Thursday night, coming away with a resilient 76-71 win over Canadian powerhouse McGill in Montreal.
 
The Rams are now 3-0 on their Canadian Tour.
 
Nemanja Zarkovic poured in a team-high 16 points, including a perfect 4-4 effort from beyond the arc, to lead the Rams, while Jon Severe (13), Christian Sengfelder (10) and Ryan Rhoomes (10) also finished in double figures.  In addition to his ten points, Sengfelder also recorded a double-double with a game-high 12 boards, eight of which came on the offensive glass.
 
Antwoine Anderson scored all nine of his points in the second half to help spark the Fordham comeback in addition to dishing out four assists.  Severe led the team in helpers with six.
 
The Redmen had a hard time missing shots in the early going, scoring the game's first eight points.  The Rams briefly narrowed the gap midway through the quarter, but McGill continued to hit from beyond the arc, converting on five of their eight attempts from deep and entering the first intermission with a 23-13 advantage.
 
After struggling in the opening stanza, the Rams came out of the break looking like a brand new squad.  Eric Paschall scored four points on a 7-2 Fordham run, narrowing the gap to five with just under three minutes gone in the period.    With his team trailing by seven a few minutes later, Bryan Smith kicked off a 13-0 Fordham tear, highlighted by three consecutive triples from Zarkovic, giving Fordham a 33-27 lead with three minutes remaining until the intermission.
 
The Redmen, however, responded with a 7-0 run of their own, moving back ahead by one, 34-33, two minutes later and eventually taking a 36-35 lead into the locker room.
 
McGill came out strong to start the third quarter, jumping ahead by as many as seven in the opening minutes.  The Rams, however, battled back once again, tying the contest at 54 by the end of the period.  Zarkovic added another three-pointer during that run and Anderson played the role of spark plug, forcing a pair of turnovers on defense, grabbing some key rebounds and scoring four points.
 
In the fourth quarter, it was the Rams' turn for the hot start, as Severe connected on a triple and Anderson found Rhoomes inside with a nifty pass, giving the Rams a 59-54 lead less than a minute into the action.
 
A few minutes later, the Rams extended that advantage to seven when Anderson swiped the ball at half court and took it all the way to the hole with a one-handed slam.
 
Shortly thereafter, the Redmen made a bit of a run, narrowing the deficit to three, 64-61, before Paschall nailed a three to put the Rams up by six.
 
McGill would battle back to tie the game at 69 with under two minutes to go, but the Rams held tough.  Severe broke the tie with a driving layup to put the Rams up by two and Smith converted on a put-back after the Rams forced a turnover on the defensive end to extend that lead to four, 73-69.  After McGill pulled within two on the next possession, Anderson converted on one of two attempts from the line to make it a three-point game. 
 
The Rams then came up with a big stop and Chris Sengfelder nailed two free throws to give the Rams the 76-71 advantage with which they would end the game.