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Men's Basketball Falls at Temple
Feb. 2, 2012
Philadelphia, Pa. - Almost 67 years ago, Fordham played Columbia in a basketball game, a game that featured an experimental three-point shot. Tonight the Rams wished that the shot never caught on with the NCAA as Temple connected on ten long distance baskets in a 78-60 Atlantic 10 win over the Rams in the Liacouras Center. With the loss, Fordham falls to 9-12 overall, 2-6 in the Atlantic 10, while Temple improves to 16-5 overall, 5-2 in the conference. Two Owls proved to be the Rams' chief nemesis tonight. In the first half it was Khalif Wyatt, who scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half as the Owls took a 35-27 lead into he intermission. The second half was Moore of the same for Temple, only it wasn't Wyatt who did the damage to the Rams, it was teammate Ramone Moore, who netted 20 of his game-high 25 points in the period, hitting five three-pointers. Fordham freshman Bryan Smith did his best to keep the Rams in the game, netting a season-high 23 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Unlike their past two road games, the Rams got off to good start tonight, as Bryan Smith hit a three-pointer 23 seconds into the game, and then buried a jumper 1:24 later to help Fordham jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Owls tied the game at five on a Wyatt three-pointer just under three minutes into the game and took a three-point lead, 10-7, on three Wyatt free throws with 15:40 left in the half. Kervin Bristol responded with a jumper that ignited an 8-0 Fordham run as the Rams built a five-point lead, 15-10, with 13:49 remaining. Smith added the other six points in the run for Fordham on three free throws and a three-pointer. Just over three minutes later, a Chris Gaston jumper put the Rams up three, 21-18, but the Fordham offense then went cold, going scoreless over the next 6:25 as Temple built a seven-point lead, 28-21, A pair of Gaston free throws halted the Owls' run and a Smith layup 51 seconds later pulled Fordham to within five, 30-25, with 3:05 left in the period. But Temple outscored the Rams 5-2 over the final 2:35 to take a 35-27 lead at the half. Temple opened the second half with a 6-2 spurt to build the lead to 12, 41-29, before a Gaston layup and Bristol jumper made it an eight-point contest, 41-33, with 17:14 remaining. The Rams trailed by nine, 47-38, following a pair of Gaston free throws but Temple exploded for a 13-2 run to take a commanding 60-40 lead with 11:16 left. The Owls would increase the lead to as many as 23, 65-42, with 9:16 left. The Rams then went on a 16-6 run to pull to within 13, 71-58, with 3:49 on the clock following a Devon McMillan jumper in the lane. But that was as close as the Rams would get. Gaston finished with 14 points and six rebounds for the Rams while McMillan added eight points and five rebounds and Bristol recorded six points and nine rebounds. The Rams will return to action on Saturday afternoon, February 4th, as they host the Charlotte 49ers in an Atlantic 10 game in the Rose Hill Gym at 1:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on the YES Network. Notes
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