Riverdale, N.Y. (November 28, 2007)- In the 100th meeting between Manhattan College and Fordham University in men's basketball, the Rams held off a spirited second half Jasper comeback to emerge with a 66-57 decision tonight at Draddy Gym. After 100 meetings between the two Bronx programs, the overall series stands nearly even, with Manhattan holding a 51-49 advantage.
The Jaspers came out of the gates strong, as a Rashad Green jumper and back-to-back three pointers from Jamel Ferguson and Devon Austin provided Manhattan with an early, 8-2, lead. The Rams clawed back into the game, taking the lead on a Chris Bethel lay-up with 12:51 left in the first half, and slowly worked the advantage to as many as 13 points, 31-18, with 3:09 left before the break, following another Bethel lay-up. At that point, it was the Jaspers' turn to climb back into the game, using an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to four points, 33-29, following an Austin lay-up with 32 seconds left before halftime. Fordham's Herb Tanner buried a three pointer with seven ticks remaining before the break to give the Rams a seven point, 36-29, lead heading into the locker room.
“There is disappointment on my end,” commented Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen. “You always like the numbers to work in your favor, but you have to give Fordham credit. They got some huge contributions from their bench tonight.”
In the second half, Manhattan closed the gap to one possession on several occasions, but could not get the basket or defensive stop that would allow the Jaspers to pull even or take the lead. Fordham responded to each Manhattan spurt with some clutch baskets to work the lead back to a larger margin. The final Jasper spurt brought an 11 point deficit down to just two points, 55-53, following a Ferguson steal and lay-up, but once again, Fordham scored the game's next three field goals to push the lead back to eight, and the Rams converted from the line in the game's final minute to earn the hard-fought victory,
“Our defense got us into our offense tonight,” continued Rohrssen. “Unfortunately, we didn't shoot the ball well from anywhere on the floor.”
The Jaspers converted 37.7% from the field (3-20 from beyond the arc), and shot 57.1% (8-14) from the line. Manhattan's effort was notable, though, as the Jasper defense forced 17 Fordham turnovers. Manhattan also held a 39-34 advantage on the boards, including a 21-14 edge on the offensive glass, another sign of a team that played hard for all 40 minutes.
Austin paced the Jasper offense with 13 points, adding seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals. Rookies Rashad Green and Andrew Gabriel also posted strong performances, with Green totaling 10 points and eight caroms and Gabriel recording eight points and eight rebounds. The rebounding totals were game-highs.
Fordham's Sebastian Greene earned the John “Doc” Johnson Award as MVP of the annual Battle of the Bronx game after scoring 11 points and tallying seven rebounds.
Manhattan gets back into action on Saturday, December 1, traveling to Boston, Mass. to take on the Boston University Terriers. The game is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m.
