Men's Basketball Downed by Manhattan in 109th Battle of the Bronx

 











Bronx, N.Y. – In a rivalry game every basket counts. Unfortunately for the Fordham men's basketball squad baskets were hard to come by tonight as the Rams connected on just six second half field goals, falling to Manhattan College, 60-53, in the annual Battle of the Bronx in Draddy Gymnasium.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 5-6 on the year while Manhattan improves to 3-7.
 
Christian Sengfelder paced the Rams with 14 points, shooting 4-for-8 from behind the arc, while Javontae Hawkins added eight points and seven rebounds and Joseph Chartouny finished with five points and nine boards.
 
The Rams led by four at the break, 32-28, but the Jaspers opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers to take a 34-32 lead 2:33 into the half.
 
A pair of Sengfelder three-pointers over the next minute put the Rams up four, 38-34, before both teams went cold on the offensive end, scoring just eight points total over the next six minutes.
 
Fordham took a 41-39 lead on a two Chartouny free throws with 11:05 left but Manhattan used an 11-2 run to take a 50-43 lead on a Zane Waterman three with 7:23 on the clock.
 
The Jaspers would get the lead to nine, 57-48, with 3:06 remaining before a Hawkins jumper and an Antwoine Anderson steal and layup help the Rams pull within four, 57-53, with 1:34 left. But that was as close as Fordham would get as Manhattan closed out the scoring with three free throws over the final 46 seconds.
 
The Rams return to action on Sunday, December 18, as they take on Rutgers University in the 2016 Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden at 1:00 p.m.
 
Notes
Fordham Athletic Hall of Famer Bevon Robin was in attendance.
 
Players from both teams wore gold shoe laces in support of pediatric cancer.
 
Fordham entered the game third in the NCAA in turnovers forced (20.30) and forced Manhattan into committing 25 tonight.
 
The Rams outscored the Jaspers in the paint, 22-10.
 
Fordham shot a season-low 31.5% (17-54) from the field.
 
Manhattan now leads the all-time series, 57-52.