December 23, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY – Freshman guard Jio Fontan had 18 points, including the go-ahead layup and two free throws in the final minute, to lead Fordham to a 60-56 victory over New Hampshire on Tuesday night.

Tyrece Gibbs made two free throws with 1:01 left to give the Wildcats (3-6) a 56-55 lead. Fontan’s layup seconds later gave the Rams (2-7) the lead for good. Chris Bethel made one free throw and Fontan added two to close the scoring.

Mike Moore had 19 points for Fordham, which was playing for the first time in 12 days after breaking for final exams, while Bethel added 10.

Tyrone Conley had 12 points for the Wildcats, while Alvin Abreu and Gibbs both had 10.

It was the first meeting between the schools.

From the Atlantic 10 website:

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Dionte Christmas – Temple
Senior, Guard, 6-5, 190 lbs.
Philadelphia, Pa./Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Acad.
Christmas scored a season-high 35 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 7-of-14 from beyond the arc, as Temple knocked off eighth ranked Tennessee on Dec. 13, 88-72…added three steals, two rebounds and two assists…marked his ninth career 30-point performance…named the A-10 Player of the Week for the second time this season…his nine career A-10 Player of the Week awards are tied with Marcus Camby (UM, 1994-96) for third-most in league history.

Aaron Jackson – Duquesne
Senior, Guard, 6-4, 185 lbs.
Hartford, Conn./Worcester (Mass.) Acad.
Jackson shot a blistering 80 percent (20-for-25) from the field while averaging 27.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in a pair of contests on the week…poured in a career-high 36 points on 15-of-17 shooting with five assists and four boards on Dec. 10 in Duquesne’s 95-74 win at Radford…his .882 field goal percentage tied the program’s single-game record…scored a team-high 19 points in the Dukes’ 68-63 loss to West Virginia on Dec. 13…made 6-of-7 attempts from three-point range over the two contests…tabbed the A-10 Player of the Week for the third time in his career.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jio Fontan – Fordham
Freshman, Guard, 5-11, 180 lbs.
Patterson, N.J./St. Anthony’s HS
Fontan averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 assists while hitting on 13-of-22 field goal attempts over two games…scored 13 points and dished out six assists in Fordham’s 79-58 win over Lafayette on Dec. 8…recorded a season-high 22 points and added five assists and three steals on Dec. 11 in the Rams’ 69-66 loss to Fairfield…has scored in double figures in six of his last seven contests.

December 11, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY — Lyndon Jordan hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to give Fairfield a 69-66 victory over Fordham on Thursday night.

Luke Devine’s basket with 20 seconds to go had tied the score for the Rams.

Jordan then hit his winning shot to lift the Stags (7-3) to their sixth straight win.

Jonathan Han scored 14 points to lead Fairfield. Greg Nero scored 13, Warren Edney had 10 and Anthony Johnson added nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Jio Fontan had 22 points to lead Fordham (1-7), and Mike Moore added 20.

The Stags shot 50 percent (27-for-54) from the field, including 8-for-19 on 3s, and finished with a 36-29 rebounding advantage.

Mike Evanovich’s 3 with 11:50 left gave Fairfield its biggest lead, 50-43.

December 8, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY — Chris Bethel had 19 points and 12 rebounds as Fordham ended the worst start in the program’s history with a 79-58 victory over Lafayette on Monday night.

Mike Moore added 17 points and Brenton Butler and Jio Fontan each had 13 for the Rams (1-6). The worst previous start in Fordham’s 102 seasons of basketball was 0-4.

Reserve guard Jim Mower had 14 points for the Leopards (2-6), who have lost six straight.

Bethel, who was 8-of-11 from the field, had seven points in a 17-6 run that gave Fordham a 19-8 lead with 10:20 to go in the first half. The Rams went on to lead 43-23 at halftime.

Moore was 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

December 3, 2008 | AP Press

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Sophomore Greg Washington had his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Hofstra beat Fordham 60-40 on Wednesday night to extend the Rams’ worst start in 106 years of basketball.

Charles Jenkins had 11 points and nine assists for the Pride (5-1), who lost their season opener to Clemson.

Mike Moore hit four 3-pointers and had 16 points for Fordham (0-6), which had never started a season worse than 0-4 since the program started in 1902. The Rams’ seven-game losing streak dates to last season.

Fordham closed within 34-32 five minutes into the second half, but Jenkins hit a 3 that started a 14-0 run. The spurt was capped by a jumper from Washington, whose previous career high was four points.

The Rams scored 17 points in the second half on 7-of-28 shooting. The Pride finished with a 47-29 rebound advantage.

November 30, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY – Kyle Swanston hit five 3-pointers and had 21 points to lead James Madison to a 73-53 victory over Fordham on Sunday, dropping the Rams to 0-5 for the first time in the 106 years of the program.

Dazzmond Thornton had 15 points and Julius Wells added 11 for the Dukes (4-2), who led by at least 15 points over the final 10 minutes of the game with the biggest lead at 22 points.

Chris Bethel had 18 points and freshman Jio Fontan added 16 points and eight assists for the Rams, who shot 17.6 percent from the field (6-of-34) in falling behind 32-15 at halftime. Fordham missed 11 of 12 of its 3-point attempts in the opening half.

Swanston finished 5-of-9 on 3s as the Dukes went 9-for-19 from beyond the arc. Fordham finished at 34.4 percent for the game overall (21-of-61), including 8-for-26 on 3s, in the first meeting between the schools.

November 26, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY -— Nick Lake had 14 points and nine rebounds, helping Princeton cruise to a 73-61 victory over winless Fordham on Wednesday night.

Pawel Buczak added 13 points and Doug Davis had 11 for the Tigers (2-2), who took control with a 20-4 run early in the first half. Princeton shot 9-of-16 (56 percent) from 3-point range and 54 percent overall.

Michael Moore scored 21 points for the Rams (0-4) and Jio Fontan had 14. Fordham shot 37 percent from the field, including 2-for-13 from beyond the arc.

Zack Finley’s jumper closed the 20-4 spurt that gave Princeton a 22-8 cushion with 11:02 remaining in the first half. The Ivy Leaguers led 33-26 at halftime.

November 22, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY — Chris Bethel had game-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Chris Smith added 21 points as undefeated Manhattan beat winless Fordham 81-67 Saturday night.

Devon Austin followed with 19 points for the visiting Jaspers (3-0), who held a 41-34 lead at halftime in the 101st renewal of the “Battle of the Bronx.” Darryl Crawford added 17 points and Andrew Gabriel had 10.

Jio Fontan had 13 points for the Rams (0-3).

After Bethel’s jumper gave Fordham its only lead, 10-8, at 13:44 of the first half, Manhattan took the lead for good on a jumper by Antoine Pearson.

The Jaspers’ largest of the game lead, 59-43, came at 12:27 of the second half when Austin hit one-of-two free throws.

Manhattan has a 52-49 edge in the rivalry between the two Bronx schools.

November 17, 2008 | AP Press

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Dante Cunningham needed to get loud to really get noticed.

Villanova Jay Wright wants Cunningham to become more of a consistent scorer this season and add another threat to the Wildcats’ guard-oriented offense. The first step for the senior forward was demanding the ball.

Cunningham asked for it and delivered the best all-around game of his career.

“He can score, he can really score,” Wright said.

Cunningham proved that Monday night.

He had a career-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher each scored 17 points to lead No. 23 Villanova past Fordham 107-68.

Cunningham scored 19 points in the first half, nearly matching his previous best of 21, to help the Wildcats (2-0) pull away early. The 6-foot-8 senior converted a three-point play in the opening minute of the second half to give him 22 points, and did it again about a minute later to stretch the lead to 62-40 and all but wrap up Villanova’s 17th straight win at home.

Cunningham said he decided to take Wright’s advice and let the Wildcats know he was a primary option.

“I’m starting to get more and more comfortable with it,” he said.

Cunningham finished 11-of-17 from the field and 9-for-12 from the line. He was two rebounds shy of matching his career best.

“I think I’ve just been working a lot more on understanding where the shots are coming from on the court,” he said. “I was just comfortable out there.”

The Wildcats got a nice surprise when forward Shane Clark returned only 11 days after surgery on his right knee. Clark, who averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 points in 32 games last season, was expected to miss 3-to-6 weeks. Instead, he checked in 6 1/2 minutes into the game and scored the first time he touched the ball for a 17-11 lead.

The Wildcats worked the ball inside again two possessions later and Clark, playing with a brace on his right knee, made it 2-for-2 with another easy basket. Clark was cleared to practice over the weekend

“He said he was good, he looked good,” Wright said. “He’s so smart and experienced. He does all the little things. It was great to have him out there.”

Villanova played without 6-10 center Casiem Drummond (foot) and swingman Dwayne Anderson missed his second straight game (foot).

Wright expected Anderson to miss a few weeks, while Drummond could return for Wednesday’s game against Niagara.

The Wildcats could afford to rest them for this one. Or the rest of the nonconference season. Hard to see over the next couple of weeks where an absent player or two will make much of a difference with this kind of soft schedule.

The Wildcats played their second of eight straight games in the Philadelphia area and none expect to seriously test the Wildcats. Niagara and Monmouth are on the schedule this week, and the Wildcats’ first stiff test comes against No. 7 Texas at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 9 at Madison Square Garden.

“As long as everybody else stays healthy, this is good for us,” Wright said.

Fordham (0-2) shot the 3-pointer early and often to try and pull the upset. The plan might have worked if the Rams could made a few. Showing no patience on offense, the Rams dribbled around the 3-point line and fired. Make it, misfired.

The Rams went 5-for-19 in the first half and a woeful 8-of-26 overall.  Brenton Butler led Fordham with 17 points.

Trey Blue banked a wild 3 from in front of the scorer’s table late in the first half, causing Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds to smile in disbelief.

With no starter taller than 6-foot-5, the Rams didn’t match up well against the Wildcats and hoped a few quick 3s would catch them by surprise.

“We had to try and take those shots,” Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg said. “We didn’t want to take that many. We needed to also run some offense.”

Villanova enjoyed running the offense through Cunningham.

With the student section chanting, “You can’t stop him!” Cunningham went inside for another easy basket in the second half to make it 86-55 and give him 29 points. He made a layup with 7:31 left to put him over the 30-point mark. He could have easily scored 40 if Wright left him in, but he was pulled at the next timeout.

“That’s what I felt great about tonight, Dante wanting it and continuing to want it,” Wright said.

The Wildcats broke the 100-point mark for the first time since scoring 103 vs. Hartford on Dec. 14, 2007.

November 14, 2008 | AP Press

Bronx, N.Y. — Fordham basketball fans knew that the Rams would be a young team this year that would undergo various growing pains. Never would that be more evident than on Friday night as the Rams fell to Columbia, 65-62, in the season-opener for both teams.

On a night where the temperature and humidity in the Rose Hill Gym made it feel more like a June night than a November evening, the Rams couldn’t seem to get on track, being outrebounded 52-27 and shooting 8-for-23 from the free throw stripe. Despite those numbers, the Rams still led for most of the game, not giving up the lead until there was 3:37 left in the game, and then tying the contest twice over the last two minutes.

Freshman Trey Blue was a main reason the Rams stayed in the game, connecting for a game-high 24 points, setting a Fordham record for most points scored by a freshman in his Fordham debut.

“What it came down to was Columbia made the tough plays at the end and we didn’t,” said Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg. “I’m disappointed but it’s early in the season and we’re a young team. We’ll learn from this and grow.”

The Rams led 57-52 following a Chris Bethel lay-up with 6:05 left before Columbia scored eight straight points to take a 60-57 lead on a pair of Jason Miller free throws with 2:56 remaining.

Bethel halted the Columbia streak 31 seconds later with a three-pointer to knot the game at 60 but Asenso Ampim answered with a lay-up for the Lions with 1:14 left.

Blue followed his own miss with a tip-in to tie the game at 62 with just under a minute remaining but Ampim moved along the baseline and put in a lay-up with 41 seconds left to give Columbia the lead for good, 62-60.

After the Rams missed a three-pointer, Herb Tanner fouled Patrick Foley with nine seconds left but Foley only hit the first of his two free throws, giving Fordham a last chance. But a Jio Fontan three-pointer was off and Brenton Butler got off another three-point attempt at the buzzer that was long.

Columbia jumped out to a 7-2 lead over the first two minutes, with five of those points coming from Foley, before the Rams responded with an 11-4 spurt to take a 13-11 lead on a Fontan lay-up 5:26 into the game. Butler led the run with a pair of three-pointers.

Fordham would extend the lead to as many as eight, 21-13, on a Butler lay-up with 12:48 left in the period and would lead by seven, 25-18, when the Lions scored seven consecutive points to tie the game at 25 on a Miller free throw with 3:53 left before the break.

A Blue jumper and three-pointer ignited a 7-0 Fordham run as the Rams took a 32-25 lead with 1:50 left before the Rams settled on a 35-30 advantage at the intermission.

The Rams would twice lead by eight, their biggest lead of the night, in the second half, the last at 47-39 on a Bethel lay-up with 12:35 left, but Columbia was able to cut the Fordham lead to three, 47-44, two minutes later on an Ampim lay-up.

Blue hit six of his 11 three-pointers on the night, while Bethel added 16 points and seven rebounds and Butler finished with ten points.

The Rams will next be in action on Monday night as they travel to Villanova for a 7:30 p.m. contest.